For the first time, a local police department, working alongside federal immigration authorities, arrived at Ritenour Middle School looking for three students on Friday afternoon. 5 On Your Side sat down with the district's superintendent, who explained what happened."We always knew this was possible, although we didn't believe it would happen on a school campus, but we were prepared when it did," said superintendent Dr. Chris Kilbride.Prepared with a plan for over a year, Kilbride rushed to Ritneour Middle on Friday."As part of our plan, I, along with Ms. Hahn, our assistant superintendent, went right to the school. There we met two officers with the Hillsdale Police Department who are working with an agreement with the Department of Homeland Security and they were there in the school parking lot to check on three students at the school," shared Kilbride.Looking at documents, 5 On Your Side learned Hillsdale police department is in partnership with ICE under a 287(g) agreement. It's a program that allows local law enforcement to assist with immigration enforcement. The department is about 4.1 miles, or about a 10-minute drive, from the middle school. ICE listed these task force model reimbursement plan benefits these local law enforcement agencies may receive: $7,500 for equipment per trained TFO$100,000 for new vehicles per MOASalary and benefits reimbursed per trained TFOOvertime funds up to 25% of salaryKilbride learned the officers had visited a home before coming to the school. He said they never went beyond the parking lot before being re-directed to the school's district office."As part of our plan, we worked to try to get the officers away from the school. They came back here to this office and we had conversations with them and we shared as much information as we could," added Kilbride. He said they asked whether three students were "in good standing."5 On Your Side reporter Justina Coronel asked what that meant."Not sure... good standing can be taken a number of different ways. That could be good standing in terms of academics, that could be good standing in terms of behavior, could be good standing in terms of attendance, but all three of those areas are information that we could not share," shared Kilbride.That's because the officers did not have a warrant.Kilbride added, "It's the first time that it's happened here in the Ritneour community at one of our school campuses, and to the best of my knowledge, it's the first time in St. Louis County and possibly the state."According to Ritenour School District's website, it has a very diverse student population. The website says, "Today, the Ritenour community continues to embrace its diverse student population as it remains one of the only public school districts in Missouri with no ethnic majority. Approximately 1,000 Ritenour students come from families who speak Spanish, Vietnamese, French, Arabic, Amharic or over 20 other non-English languages in their homes."The school sent a message to families on Friday:Dear Ritenour Families,I am writing to make you aware of a situation that occurred near Ritenour Middle School today. Members of the Hillsdale Police Department, working in coordination with the Department of Homeland Security, were present in the area as part of their official duties. At no time did they enter the school but they did interact with school administrators. School operations continued as normal, and there was no disruption to the school day. Any students that were outside were brought back into the building. We are sharing this information so you are aware, in the event your student mentions seeing law enforcement activity. At this time, we do not have additional details to share. As always, the safety of our students and staff remains our top priority. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact our school.Sincerely,Dr. Chris KilbrideSuperintendentKilbride emphasized the importance of informing families."We believe that demonstrates a level of care for the children that we serve, as well as a level of competence," he added. "This is not about one segment of the population. This is not about a specific group of kids. This is about all children."Kilbride said the goal is minimize distractions for students. "It doesn't matter who is involved, if there's a disruption to the school environment, this was a disruption to the school environment. The first step is to bring the children inside, get them back into their classroom, and then to work through our protocols, and that's exactly what staff did," he shared. The superintendent shared, beyond school safety, student learning is a priority. "Just work with us, work together to recognize that every child is entitled to a high-quality education. There are many people working tirelessly to make that happen, and when incidents or politics enter the school, it makes prioritizing student learning that much more difficult," he added.Kilbride is thankful for their staff including their bilingual family liaisons, counselors, social workers, therapists, and building/district administrators assisting students. In the next couple of weeks, the district is ramping up virtual town halls for parents to ask questions.5 On Your Side also spoke with Gabby Eissner, an advocacy strategist with the MICA Project.Eissner shared, "We are really concerned with the rapid expansion of the 287(g) partnerships in the region, this is what we see when they enter into these, it increases racial profiling, creates chaos and makes our communities less safe."She reminded people about the region's rapid response line and urged those in private locations to be aware of their constitutional rights."You are protected under the Fourth Amendment," said Eissner. "This is a good example of what's to come and it is concerning."5 On Your Side reached out to the Hillsdale Police Department multiple times, but haven't heard back yet.