School districts, county respond to Parkland shooting

“In light of this tragic event, it’s important to review and reflect upon the importance of safety and security measures throughout our district.””

Seaford Superintendent Adele Pecora

In the hours after 17 students and staff members were shot and killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., superintendents in the Wantagh, Seaford and Levittown school districts emailed letters to parents or posted notes to the community on their websites, assuring parents that student safety is of the utmost importance.

Parents began to mobilize as well, using social media.

Superintendents reassure

Wantagh Superintendent John McNamara, in a letter emailed through the districtwide “student messenger” system, wrote that the shooting had “saddened us all,” and encouraged parents to monitor their children’s exposure to social media, because the “reports and images generated can be very upsetting.”

“It may be helpful to be prepared to discuss this senseless violence with your child in a manner that is realistic, age appropriate and reassures them about their personal safety,” McNamara wrote, adding that he attached some resources that could help them.

On Monday, he said he was emailing a second letter to parents as a reminder that the district administration regularly reviews emergency-preparedness plans for each building, holds regular lockdown drills and makes sure students and faculty know what to do in case of an emergency. “And we continue to invest in upgrades to security technology and to review procedures with staff at regular staff meetings,” McNamara said.

In her letter, Levittown Superintendent Tonie McDonald wrote that administrators spent the day after the Florida shootings reviewing security protocols with building staff. She also asked parents to contact her if their children wanted to speak with any of the school’s support personnel.

“We are aware that this tragedy will be prevalent in the news and on social media for what is likely to be many days to come,” McDonald wrote. “Please know that our social workers and school psychiatrists are available to speak with any child who is having difficulty processing this very troubling event.”

Seaford Superintendent Adele Pecora also let parents and guardians know they should not hesitate to contact her office. “We are deeply saddened by the tragedy that occurred yesterday in Parkland, Florida and those affected are in our thoughts during this difficult time,” Pecora wrote on Feb. 15. “In light of this tragic event, it’s important to review and reflect upon the importance of safety and security measures throughout our district.”

She went on to say that building administrators were meeting with faculty to review their emergency protocols, and she encouraged parents to engage in age-appropriate discussions with their children to reinforce that “our schools are safe places.” She attached to her letter a document from the National Association of School Psychologists containing tips for parents and teachers on talking with children about violence.

‘Safer schools’ trends locally

Local parents took to Facebook, creating a group called Parents for Safer Schools in Seaford, Wantagh & Levittown. As of Monday, the group — which welcomed members with the message: “Safe schools. It’s up to us” — had 755 members.

Several posts referred to a list of the Safest Schools in America, released this week by Niche.com, which put the Levittown School District in the top 100, at No. 87. Seaford came in at 114, and Wantagh Schools were No. 425.

Niche.com explained that its rankings are based on “rigorous analysis of data from the U.S. Department of Education along with millions of reviews from students and parents.” It also takes into account factors such as student suspensions, expulsions, law enforcement referrals and school-related arrests.

Wantagh Superintendent John McNamara said he hadn’t seen the rankings and had no idea what criteria the study was based on, and that neither he nor any of his administrators were interviewed by Niche.

County officials respond

Nassau Legislator Steve Rhoads, a Republican from Bellmore, and the Nassau County Police Department have asked that school districts throughout the county that aren’t already connected join a school safety alert network that is already in place. The system can trigger a quicker, more efficient response by law enforcement should there be an active-shooter situation at a school.

The system, called Rave Mobile Safety, is basically a network of “panic buttons” that connect district officials in participating school buildings directly to the Nassau Police Communications Bureau, bypassing the 911 system and triggering real-time camera footage of the inside of the building and of any potential disturbances.

Currently, just 20 of Nassau’s 56 school districts — or 109 of the county’s roughly 450 school buildings — are connected to the Rave system, according to Detective Lt. Richard LeBrun, the NCPD’s public information officer.

While it’s not mandatory for school districts to join Rave, each must by state law develop and maintain its own districtwide safety plan, hold monthly drills and conduct regular staff training on the plan.

“Every school district must within itself do all that it can to make sure students are protected,” Rhoads said. “Those of us in government should look at ways we can assist them in doing that. We’ve got to improve. The status quo is not OK anymore.”

He added that while Rave would not prevent the next school shooting, it could help provide a quicker and more efficient response.

Other school safety initiatives being promoted by the NCPD include trained school resource officers stationed in certain schools; Problem Oriented Policing, or POP, officers in each precinct working with those resource officers and with school district officials to ensure they have and are following efficient emergency-response plans; and community-oriented police enforcement, in which officers patrol around schools.

POP officers help with school building lockdowns against potential threats, and work with district officials to evaluate and improve their safety plans, according to LeBrun, who noted that Farmingdale school officials did a great job of locking down the district’s schools recently, when police alerted them to a robbery suspect in the area.

School district officials interested in connecting to Rave can call it directly at (888) 605-7164.