Campus Security Updates

Dear Athena Community, 

Welcome to the 2024-25 school year! It is such a joy having children and families back on campus. 

If you have been part of our community for a while, you likely know that we are transparent in our communication, strive to be proactive rather than reactive, and are intentional and deliberate in our decision making. My leadership team and I spent extensive time over the summer thinking about, discussing, and researching various options for increasing our security measures on campus in response to parent requests and with an awareness of our changing city and world. It is with this deliberation and intentionality that we have decided to hire a local security company, Watchmen Protective Services, to provide an added layer of security for our campus and our community. I hoped to make this announcement prior to the start of school, but I had to wait for all of the logistics to be sorted, and wanted to provide opportunities for all of our staff to get to know our Watchmen team before their first shift, which will be this Monday, August 26.

Watchmen serves several schools in town, including St. Andrews, The Girls School, St. Francis, Regents, Wonderwell, and Veritas Academy. In talking with these schools, the overwhelming sentiment is that they are “very pleased” with the services provided, reporting that their Watchmen team members feel like a “part of their community,” the “parents and children love them,” they are “very discreet and have a professional demeanor,” and “from a quality standpoint, there is no higher.” 

We’ve been assigned two trained, licensed, seasoned professionals, Estella Garcia and Randy Villanueva (pictured below), to work alternating shifts of eight hours a day. Randy and Estella will be dressed in plainclothes with a concealed weapon. They will provide a physical presence on and around our campus, and will also provide additional safety and security-related services for our community, including staff training, advising us of any additional measures we should be taking, a 24/7 hotline, and personal connections with local emergency personnel. Randy and Estella are professional and friendly, and we have screened them for kindness, experience, credentials, and respect for all humans. 

If you feel this decision is a big step, we are right there with you. We all wish we lived in a world where this type of decision was not on the table. In our search for the right people to provide extra security for our community, we vetted several companies in an effort to find the right combination of training, expertise, alignment with our values, understanding of the important and unique role of security and campus safety in a school setting, and respect for the needs and sensitivities of young children, families, and teachers. While we did not initially seek out armed security services, Watchmen is far and away the best company we found for the job. The security firms whose employees do not carry weapons did not meet our standards. We realize that firearms are a divisive subject, even in the most united of communities. Neither Estella nor Randy have ever drawn their weapon during their tenure with Watchmen, and both are experts in de-escalation.

Before joining Watchmen, Estella followed her two daughters to school and served as a Kindergarten teacher, then embarked on a career in law enforcement. Her daughters are now grown, and after retiring from law enforcement Estella has shifted her service to private security and home health. Randy joined Watchmen after 26 years with APD, during which time he reached the rank of Lieutenant. He is not only a father of five but a grandfather of three, and is also part of Watchmen’s team at The Girls School. The entire Watchmen organization is comprised of veteran law enforcement officers, even some commanders, with many years of training and experience, including in mental health. They are also commissioned by the Texas Private Security Board and trained, certified, and licensed at the highest level through the Texas Department of Public Safety.

We plan on onboarding the Watchmen team slowly, in phases, and with great intention, while we navigate what is best for our community. For the first couple of weeks we will spend lots of time with them as they continue to learn about our school, grounds, community, and surrounding neighborhood. The only interaction your children may have with them is a friendly greeting here and there. The children will not know that Randy and Estella carry a weapon, nor will they be able to see that they do. As far as messaging with the children, we do not intend to offer any details, as Estella and Randy will just be called by their names, and will look like a parent or another staff member. In response to questions, we will respond with a statement along the lines of: “Randy/Estella is another person at Athena here to take care of you.” 

Randy, Estella, and/or their supervisor, Mike Summers, and/or owner of the company, Chris Garcia, will be available next week after drop-off for informal meet-and-greets. If you’d like to get to know them, please stop by the outdoor area in front of our office after dropping your child off on your classroom’s assigned day, as detailed below. Don’t hesitate to ask any question of them. If this time slot doesn’t work for you, or you would like additional time with any member of the Watchmen team after this initial meet-and-greet week, please let me know and we will arrange it. 

Monday: Movers & Shakers & Primary 5 

Tuesday: Tots 1 & Primary 3 

Wednesday: Tots 2 & Primary 4
Thursday: Tots 3 & Primary 2
Friday: Tots 4 & Primary 1

We want to hear any questions or concerns you might have. Please direct them to me or Mandy, rather than your teaching team. We are all looking forward to a great 2024-25 school year! 

Warmly,
Lisl Friday, Founder