In order to relieve some anxiety over situations like this, it is very important to remember that they are very rare. However, every school should be prepared with a comprehensive safety plan in place. Since the start of school, we have had two safety drills that involved an intruder lock down and full evacuation of our building to an alternative site. We will continue to run these drills regularly so that our students and staff are on alert and know what is expected of them in an emergency.
This year, we added seven new cameras to the high school and are working to add more sometime this summer. These cameras are monitored by our main office staff, our school resource officer and all administrators. It has always been the practice of ELHS keep all doors locked throughout the school day and only allow access to the building to visitors who buzz our main entrance and sign in at the main office.
In light of this event, we are holding an emergency crisis team meeting this week to review our plans with our staff and the East Longmeadow police. Additionally, we will be reminding students how they can help keep our building secure during the school day by following very important safety protocols. Some of our students may need extra support this week, so we also be informing students that our counselors are available to them if they just need to talk some things through.
The link below offers some great guidelines for parents and schools on how to deal with such tragedies such as what happened in Newtown on Friday. It's definitely worth a look. It is times such as this that we all are reminded of our blessings- which includes being a part of the wonderful Spartan community. Our hearts and prayers go out to those in Newtown, CT.
http://www.nasponline.org/resources/crisis_safety/terror_general.aspx
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