Local school districts reacted this week to the shooting deaths of 20 first graders and six school teachers and administrators at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. by reviewing school security practices and providing counseling for students.
Both Herricks and Great Neck school district officials said they had also bolstered security in the wake of the shootings. Sewanhaka, New Hyde Park-Garden City Park, East Williston and Mineola school district officials said they would await a review of existing security practices before making any changes.
The schools were joined in ensuring the safety of students by the Nassau County Police Department. Nassau County Police 3rd Precinct Inspector Sean McCarthy said officers in his command had been “intensively” patrolling schools throughout the precinct this week. He said the precinct’s Police-Oriented Problem officers, who specialize on community issues, were dispatched to consult with school officials.
“The direction this week was to reach out to all the schools,” McCarthy said, adding that effort was an extension of the precinct’s routine focus on school security.
“We had not discussed this publicly in the past in order to not publicize security procedures, but in light of the tragedy in Newtown, we felt that you should be aware of this,” Bierwirth wrote.
At the Herricks High School and Middle School, security guards are now stationed immediately inside the entrances. Identification of all visitors is being verified as at the elementary schools. Additional video cameras will be installed, along with more electronic alert capabilities in both buildings in the event of an emergency, Bierwirth said.
He said the district’s emergency plan and staff training will also be reviewed again. This effort, he said, will include seeking recommendations from Nassau County Police experts in school security.
On Monday morning, Bierwirth said crisis teams met in each of the school buildings.
“We’ve also told parents that if they have children are particularly anxious, we’ll try to help,” Bierwirth said. “The fact that students did not return to school the next day but had two full days with their families helped a great deal.”
Great Neck Superintendent of Schools Thomas Dolan said additional security personnel had been added temporarily at all district schools this week.
“We do have an increased visibility of security this week and we’re evaluating that,” Dolan said.
He posted a letter to the community on the front page of the school district Web site on Monday informing residents of the bolstered security and reporting that a review of school district security practices is underway. He also informed parents that school principals were organizing efforts to address students’ emotional needs.
“There have been some students who have sought some counseling. Any student who has expressed that need is being tended to,” Dolan said.
He said “a handful” of secondary school principals had sought counseling, but didn’t know if many elementary school students had been counseled.
“We are all smiling at our kids today, answering their questions honestly and going out of our way to be a little extra vigilant, as well as a little extra caring,” Dolan wrote in his letter.
He said he reviewed security needs with elementary school principals on Monday morning. He said he also planned to confer with secondary school principals on security issues this week.
New Hyde Park-Garden City Park School Superintendent of Schools Robert Katulak said he called parents over the weekend to inform them that counseling services would be available all week to children and parents as needed.
“We are not handling this event with large-scale assemblies but dealing with it on an individual basis to respect the dignity of students and staff,” Katulak said.
As of Tuesday morning, he said less than 10 students in the district’s four elementary schools had needed counseling.
Katulak said principals in the district met with faculty members on Monday morning prior to school, telling them to refer students for counseling if needed. He said he also conferred with administrators to review existing procedures and possible future enhancements. Security procedures in the district are reviewed on a quarterly basis, he said.
“We have to be diligent to redouble our efforts to make sure that the school is a safe environment for learning. No amount of security is enough,” said David Del Santo, a school board trustee in the New Hyde Park- Garden City Park and Sewanhaka Central High School Districts.
Del Santo, an inspector in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, said doors and ground floor windows in all buildings should be secured and security protocols followed. Beyond that, he said, there is no certain way of preventing a recurrence of the events in Newtown.
“With somebody who’s got a willingness to sacrifice themselves, it’s very hard to guard against that,” Del Santo said.
In a statement released on Monday, East Williston Superintendent of Schools Elaine Kanas said all building safety teams met on Monday morning to review safety and emergency protocols. She she and other school administrators have also been in contact with local police authorities the determine if additional steps were needed.
“Our building support staff, including school psychologists and guidance counselors, is available to support all students and their parents,” Kanas said.
Kanas also e-mailed district parents a list of Web sites to use in helping their children cope with grief and tragedy. The district Web site also listed those sites.
Jim Bloomgarden, principal of East Williston’s North Side School, said he sent e-mails to parents of the elementary school’s students to make them aware of counseling services at the school and to suggest that parents minimize their children’s exposure to television reports of the events in Newtown.
“We made a conscious decision not to initiate discussions of the events in our classrooms,” Bloomgarden said. “We have very young kids here. We did not want them to be frightened.”
As of Tuesday morning, he said, “very few” students in the school needed counseling.
“In the vast majority of our classrooms, the kids weren’t even speaking about it,” Bloomgarden said.
He said he reviewed security procedures with Nick Masesso, a Nassau County Police-Oriented Problems officer from the 3rd Precinct.
In his blog on the Mineola School District Web site, Mineola Superintendent of Schools Michael Nagler wrote that the doors to district school buildings are locked and visitors must sign in. He noted that security guards are posted at the entrance to the Mineola High School.
“If you believe your child is having any anxiety about going to school please call or e-mail your child’s principal,” Nagler wrote.
He also said he plans to discuss security procedures and student safety at a school board meeting on Thursday night in the Willis Avenue School at 7 p.m.
“This event has had a major impact on us all and it is important that we learn from this and past tragedies and extend our efforts in order to prevent future events like the one that took place on Friday,” said Ralph Ferrie, superintendent of the Sewanhaka Central High School District in a statement at Monday night’s school board meeting.
