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Mostly Cloudy Seaford, Wantagh school districts keep security a top priority
In the wake of recent mass shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde, school officials in Wantagh and Seaford said security would remain a top priority for the 2022-23 school year.
Seaford superintendent Adele Pecora and Wantagh superintendent John McNamara both met with Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder on June 13 to go over school safety protocol, from shooting threats to the danger of illegal drugs in the schools.
Ryder, who recently hosted a fundraising and toy drive event in Wantagh dedicated to the victims in Buffalo and Uvalde, has already made school safety a chief goal of Nassau police.
“We’re very proactive here in Nassau County,” Ryder said during the fundraiser. “We’re way ahead of all the things you see in the news today — breaching systems, alarms connected to the schools, school assessments conducted by officers and so on.”
Pecora said that both the Buffalo and Uvalde shootings profoundly affected her. “When you’re in a profession of educating young children, it’s really hard not to personalize events like this,” Pecora said. “As superintendent, it forces you to hyper focus on things like building security for every school.”
She added that both incidents re-emphasized the importance of securing the schools. According to Pecora, Seaford formed an ad hoc committee in the wake of the mass shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. in 2018, with the top goal of securing the perimeter of every school building.
A security task force, comprised of teachers, administrators, parents and security guards, was brought back this year, and security at Seaford schools has been greatly enhanced as a result, she said.
“This task force is essentially a think tank dedicated to securing the perimeter,” Pecora added. “And thanks to technology, we now have school lockdown systems and a swipe system. Secondary school students have to wear lanyards to go in or out of the schools. We limit points of access with this swipe system.”
Pecora also mentioned that Seaford has set up an anonymous reporting system, where students can feel safe to report anything suspicious. This system is not limited to shooting threats, but is also intended to stop the use of drugs and cyberbullying in schools.
McNamara also personalized incidents such as school shootings, saying that “these events hit everyone hard, but when you’re overseeing a school district, it’s especially difficult.”
McNamara praised Nassau police efforts to combat threats to schools, and referred to Wantagh’s goal to keep its schools safe as a “multi-pronged effort.” McNamara said that Wantagh has fostered good relationships with both the police and fire departments, and has also been in contact with Nassau BOCES (Board of Cooperative Educational Services) to pursue a shared security agenda.
“We have a consultant from BOCES that works with us once a week and provides feedback on our current security measures,” McNamara said. “We are also in regular contact with parents in the district and urge them to report to us any concerns that may be out there on social media.”
McNamara also mentioned the importance of providing mental health support in schools to curtail potential problems.
According to both McNamara and Pecora, the Department of Homeland Security has been sending liaisons to schools regularly to check on the wellbeing of the students and the security of the schools.
Reassuring Wantagh parents, McNamara said, “We want you to know that this is something we take very seriously. We work as hard as we can to provide a safe environment for both students and staff.”
Pecora added, “Securing our perimeters is the most important thing for us at the moment. We are prioritizing students’ physical safety and mental health, and taking preventative measures towards any threats to both.”
