Taking on the task of the newly created District 203 position of director of safety and security, retired police officer Louis C. Cammiso will work to help students and staff in implementing safety procedures and adjusting them as needed.

The position was created by District 203 following a shift in the national focus for better school safety and security.

“In this day and age, frankly with some of the issues we’ve seen across the country having to do with school safety, we feel like we needed to bring in an expert in the field,” said Chief Operating Officer Bob Ross

The Director of Safety and Security is meant to work as an expert bringing in previous experience and combining that with the situations at schools to best navigate safety and security issues.

“[Their] main role is to help us, give us advice and improve the systems and procedures that we already have in place to make them even better and to help the kids be safer,” Ross said.

Cammiso will oversee district-wide procedures and ensure their effectiveness, specifically with the recent adoption of the ALICE (Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate) procedure, among others such as severe weather and digital safety.  

“The ALICE system requires that those who are trained be trained by someone certified by the ALICE Institute,” Ross said. “Cammiso will help to conduct staff trainings this year and in future years.”

When determining who to choose for the job, factors including familiarity with the area and with schools were considered.

“When we went out looking for people, Mr. Cammiso really rose to the top,” Ross said. “He was a police officer in Naperville for about 27 years and retired with the rank of commander so he knows what it’s like to lead and that was important to us. He also impressed us with his commitment to school and to students.”

Cammiso has also served as a commander of the School Resource Officer Unit of the Naperville Police Department, making him familiar with the D203 environment.

“As a police officer […] all the SROs were under my command,” Cammiso said. “Also in different assignments I was the public information officer for the police department and that also enabled me to work with the communications people at District 203.”

Cammiso looks forward to taking on the role and serving the school community.

“I’m very excited to be with the district and being part of an effort to make the schools even safer than they are today,” Cammiso said.

Safety is the most pressing concern on a daily basis and having Cammiso working with D203 buildings aims to continue this priority.

“Nothing is a higher priority for District 203 than the safety and security of the students, staff and visitors,” Ross said. “Having this new position allows us to continue to do so and improve for the future.”