Sewanhaka reviews school safety plans

Prepares in the wake of Parkland shooting

Posted

Sewanhaka Central High School District Superintendent Ralph Ferrie addressed parents’ concerns over school safety on March 1, following the shooting that killed 15 students and two teachers in Parkland, Fla., on Feb. 14. In his letter, Ferrie explained that while the district was on break during winter recess at the time of the Parkland shooting, the Central Office Administrative team and school principals had met to review the district and school’s safety plans.
“All Sewanhaka schools have numerous security measures, including single-door entry, required identification to enter buildings, video surveillance cameras and a strong partnership with local law enforcement,” Ferrie said.
The Floral Park Village and Nassau County Police Departments work together with the district during the schools’ lockdown drills to provide tips and constructive criticism. NCPD also worked with the district to implement the Rave, rapid response system, program in each of the schools. The Rave program works through an app that allows the schools to reach out to a separate department in the NCPD in order to alert the police of an active shooter situation.
“So we’re not waiting for a 911 call,” NCPD Commissioner Patrick Ryder said in an interview with Newsday. “Our cars are already out there.”
The Rave program also allows NCPD to access the school’s security cameras in order to see what the situation is like in the school the moment the police receives

the call.
And New York State Senator Todd Kaminsky also weighed in on the school security debate as he plans to introduce legislation to prohibit schools from arming teachers, a measure that was popularized by President Donald Trump after the Parkland shooting. State Senate Democratic Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, State Senator John Brooks and Long Island teachers and students joined Kaminsky on March 3, in Rockville Center, to support the legislation.
“More guns does not equal safer schools,” Kaminsky said in a statement. “Calls to arm our teachers are merely a distraction from urgently needed, common sense gun safety measures, increased funding for mental health services and funding for hardening technology for our schools.”
Stewart-Cousins and Brooks shared the idea that arming teachers would create more dangerous situations, and that better gun laws are required to protect students from tragedy.
The Sewanhaka Central High School District’s Safety Committee will meet in the coming weeks to review the district’s safety protocols and provide proper feedback. The committee will be expanded to include representation from each of the five high school’s administration, parents and community members, according to Ferrie’s letter to parents.