Dear Montemalaga Families,

The beginning of the year has gone very well.  I wanted to be sure you know about a new Visitor Management System called Raptor that we will now start using to track visitors to our campus. 

Upon entering the front office, visitors will be asked to present an ID, such as a driver’s license, which can either be scanned or manually entered into the Raptor system.  If a parent or guardian for any reason does not have a US government-issued ID, the school staff member can use any form of identification and manually enter the person’s name.  The Raptor system will check to ensure that registered sexual offenders are not entering our school campuses without our knowledge.  Raptor checks the visitor’s name and date of birth for comparison with a national database of registered sex offenders.  The registered sex offender database is the only official database checked by Raptor.  No other data from the ID is gathered or recorded and the information is not shared with any outside agency.   Once entry is approved, Raptor will issue a badge that identifies the visitor, the date, the time, and the purpose of his/her visit.  A visitor’s badge will not be necessary for those who visit our school simply to drop off an item in the office or to pick up paperwork.  All adult visitors will be asked to wear a badge when on campus, and we appreciate your help with this too.  If you see an adult on campus without a badge, please direct them to the office so they can get one from Raptor.  We will start using the Raptor system after students have settled in to class on Monday, September 16, 2019. 

You can find a document with Frequently Asked Questions about Raptor on the front page of our school web site.  Montemalaga Elementary is one of the school sites beginning the use of Raptor in September.  All school sites in the Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District will be using the Raptor system by fall, 2019.  The safety of our students is our highest priority and the Raptor Visitor Management System allows us to quickly identify those that may present a danger to our students.  Thank you in advance for your understanding and support in enhancing the school safety protocols in our district. 

Sincerely,

Mrs. Jody Pastell, Principal