As Verona parents shared the fear and grief of parents in Newtown, Conn., Superintendent of Schools Steven A. Forte announced changes to school security that will bring uniformed officers walking through all six Verona public schools.
On Friday morning, a man identified as Adam Lanza killed 26 people in the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, including 20 children and his mother.
According to Police Chief Doug Huber, each Verona school will now be assigned an officer and the officers will walk through each building on most school days. Details about how long officers would be in each building were not made public.
The statement by Forte said that Sgt. Dan Greco will meet with school principals to review security procedures on Monday. Schools will review security procedures and hold drills next week. The note also asked parents to follow security procedures when entering the schools, including reporting to the main entrance and announcing themselves, signing in at the main office and leaving the building promptly once their visit was over.
The Connecticut school reportedly required visitors to be buzzed into a vestibule before gaining entrance to the main building. It is not clear how Lanza, who is said to have been heavily armed, got into the school.
It is too soon to tell whether the procedures will assuage the grief over the shootings, which was raw among Verona parents today. Some were openly talking about removing children from the public schools for home schooling and others debating the merits of more prominent security, including the presence of armed security guards, perhaps drawn from the ranks of retired police officers.
What about metal detectors!
The shooter Adam Lanza shot or smashed hes way into the school after being denied entrance by staff
Schools should look into having a full time armed non uniformed and trained Security officer in each and every school as well as cameras and buzz in intercom’s at this day and age Security is a High profile case and job many of the High targets are known as soft targets schools banks malls supermarkets how many of you have just run into these places and didnt stop to think what if? IS THERE A ROBBERY IN PROGRESS OR HOSTAGE SITUATION IN PROGRESS,unfortunately in todays society where you can purchase legal and illegal weapons ,home made bombs pipes bats knife or any weapon or his hands a car ??? We as American citizens must take further actions to protect ourselves or loved ones remember guns dont kill alone its the deranged individual behind the trigger!!
The culture of school security must change. First practice, practice, practice REAL scenerios not a “lock down,” you need to create a sense of chaos during a REAL emergency. Next, use rescources from local, county, state agencies. The local emergency services, police, fire, EMS will be not be enough, as they will be quickly overwhelmed.
Use one and only one door for entry in and out of schools, metal detectors and have student and teachers, other staff use their I.D.’s as a security entrance tag (as most use an I.D. at their place of employment). I.D.’s also act as an accountabilty scource.
Not sure whether gunman gained entry through broken window or used it as a diversion tactic, draw attention away from other entry point.
These are difficult things to digest, but I’m sure Newtown is a similar community to Verona, so, don’t say it can’t happen here.