School administrators have been meeting to review security measures after the school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut.
“My reaction was shock and then, as probably anybody who works in a school, ‘Oh my gosh, could that happen here?’” Assistant Principal Jason Mullin said. “What do we do if it happens here?”
The administration came together to look at what they could change or add to the school’s security to make the school as prepared as possible for this sort of situation. Currently the only things that have been discussed are locking certain doors during the day and more restrictions on visitors.
Mullin said that the only doors that are open during the school day are by the Marauder Gym, the cafeteria, the band hall and the front doors. Visitors such as students returning from college must contact a teacher first and then the teacher must let the front office know what time the visitors will arrive.
“There’s just a general awareness to be vigilant,” Mullin said. “Just to make sure we’re doing what we’re supposed to do.”
Mullin said that the problem with the doors is making sure the students in athletics and portable classes are able to get back into the main building. Mullin said that there will be more security plans in the future.
“As the school year goes on and going into next year, we will have a little bit more time in the summer to redesign our plan,” Mullin said. “That’s something that even before the shooting at any school is an ongoing thing.”
Sophomore Cat Cakmis said she doesn’t see a point in locking the doors and if someone wants to get in they will find a way. She said she thinks there could be more that the school could do for protection.
“I believe that teachers who have licenses should be able to carry concealed weapons,” Cakmis said. “That way they can protect themselves and students.”
Portables also cause a security concern because they are not connected to the main building and are easily accessible.
“There is always a concern anytime you have anything detached from the main building,” Mullin said. “In a perfect scenario everything is indoors and we can lock all the doors so no one can get in through anything but the front door.”
Algebra teacher Sandy Lumley said that ever since she was moved out to the portables she has always seen the security risks. She locks her door every day and keeps the window on the door covered. She said she doesn’t open the door for anyone her and her students don’t know.
“When I first came out to the portables which was several years ago, that was my first reaction,” Lumley said. “What do I do for safety? But I feel very secure that these security officers are out here watching.”
Lumley said that after she graduated from high school in the mountains of Colorado, there was a break-in at the school and one student was killed. She said that the shooting does not register as high as other shootings like the Colorado shooting at Columbine because there wasn’t a large death toll. However, she said that in her area nothing had ever happened like that before.
“The first thing I’m thinking is I feel for those parents,” Lumley said. “As a teacher, I think that these students are my kids, and I am taking care of them during that hour and a half. That means that they need to feel safe so that they can learn.”
Mullin said that the most important lesson one can learn from Sandy Hook and other shootings like the ones in Columbine and Aurora is to not be paranoid but to always be prepared.
“Unfortuantely, the way the world is now we all have to have that awareness that we need to be prepared for anything, but at the same time be realistic,” Mullin said. “We live in a great town with a great school, but we can’t be blind. The moment you think that it could never happen here is when you open yourself up to those kinds of situations.”
