Local school officials react to Connecticut shootings

By Ruth Luse, Managing Editor
   On Friday (Dec. 14) at approximately 9:30 a.m., police in Newtown, Connecticut, received a 911 call reporting a possible shooting at the Sandy Hook Elementary School, Dickenson Drive, Newtown, according to Lt. J. Paul Vance, of the Connecticut State Police.
   Newtown officers responded and requested assistance from Connecticut State Police. Upon arrival, teams of troopers and officers formed “Active Shooter Teams,” which performed rescues of students and staff, removing them to a safe location as they searched for the shooting suspect within the building. The building was evacuated and students walked hand-in-hand out to a safe location.
   Teams found several students and staff suffering from gunshot wounds. The building was secured.
   The suspected “shooter,” now identified as Adam Lanza, 20, of Yogananda Street, Newtown, was located. He was found dead. His death has been ruled a suicide.
   Newtown EMS personnel entered the school to provide emergency care for the wounded. Eighteen children were pronounced dead at the scene. Two children were transported to Danbury Hospital and later pronounced dead (the children were first-graders). Six adult victims also were pronounced dead at the scene.
   A second crime scene was located by investigators at a residence on Yogananda Street. A woman, now identified as Nancy Lanza, was found deceased inside the residence. Her death has been ruled a homicide.
   In all, 28 died as a result of this tragedy on Friday.
       AS EXPECTED, reactions to the deaths resulting from Friday’s mass shooting at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, have come from everywhere.
   New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie ordered all state buildings to fly flags at half-staff on Dec. 18 in mourning of the passing of the victims of the Newtown, Connecticut school-shooting tragedy.
   And on the local level, school officials, understandably shaken, thought about the safety of students in their own schools and issued the following comments:
   On Sunday, Joanne Calabro, South Hunterdon Regional High School District interim superintendent, wrote to parents of students.
   This letter includes news about new security procedures.
    “We are all mourning another senseless school shooting that took the lives of 20 innocent children and six brave adults. Newtown Connecticut reminds me very much of the South Hunterdon community; a close-knit community where everyone knows everyone and the community is very trusting.
   ”We are located in a beautiful, bucolic area that is an easy target for a person who has evil intentions. Our 52 acres have four easy means of egress. Times have changed and we cannot assume that all people have good intentions.
    “IN THE WAKE of this horrific shooting, effective immediately, there will be modifications to school security procedures.
   ”All visitors must use the front entrance (this is the entrance where buses drop off and pick up students) to gain admittance to the school. (Visitors — including parents — will not be admitted through any other entrance.) They must sign in at the office and receive a visitor’s pass.
   ”If the visitor is not recognized by front office staff, he/she must produce a credible picture ID.
   ”I am instructing all faculty and staff not to open the doors even if they see someone they recognize attempting to be buzzed in. In addition, I am asking that faculty, staff and parents emphasize to students not to open doors for anyone, even if they recognize the person. They are to wait for the front office to allow entry.
   ”In the last month, I instituted a new procedure whereby students must sign out when they are leaving their classroom and sign in when they return. We are responsible for their safety at all times and need to know where they are in the event of an emergency.
   ”Recently, we updated our school safety and security plan to comply with state requirements. At our last faculty meeting, we distributed the revised plans to all teachers and highlighted the salient points of the plan.
   ”Additionally, the state requires that we do two drills a month; a fire drill and one of four required safety drills — lockdown, lockout, shelter in place and active shooter. We had an active shooter drill in October in cooperation with the West Amwell and Hunterdon County police.
   ”Our ‘active shooter’ was a Hunterdon County police officer. We learned many valuable lessons from that drill; one of which is that we need to be more vigilant identifying strangers in our building. We are working very closely with the West Amwell police. They normally do a walk-through in our building twice a day.
   ”However in the coming week (now), they are increasing security inside and outside of our building. Ironically, before I learned of the Newtown, Connecticut incident on Friday, I scheduled a joint meeting with our school safety team and a representative from the West Amwell Township police for the first week in January.”
   ”In an effort to further secure our students and staff, all students and parents who must enter the building for after school activities must do so at the side entrance near the high school gymnasium. If you are here picking up a student from an activity, please also sign the sign-in sheet at the door entrance,” the superintendent said Tuesday.
   At Stockton Borough School, said Suzanne Ivans, CSA, “All of our exterior doors require keypad entry; all visitors are escorted.”
   Michael G. Kozak, superintendent of Lambertville Public School and West Amwell Elementary School, said Monday”
   ”In the Lambertville and West Amwell school districts, access is only permitted through one door, which is controlled by a remote switch. No one is allowed to enter either building without signing in at the main office.
   ”A variety of security drills are practiced two times every month and school safety plans are reviewed with the police annually.
   ” In addition, staff members of the security committee attend school safety workshops during the year and report back with ways to improve our safety plans.
   ”The local police provide a physical presence on an intermittent basis throughout the year. Although no plan is fool proof, we review and adjust our safety plans and practice various safety drills monthly to stay prepared for any type of threat that may occur at the school.
   ”We will be once again reviewing our plans this week after the tragedy in Connecticut. Additional steps will be taken to ensure student and staff safety. As parents, community members, staff and Board members, we will work together to provide a safe and secure environment for our children.”