District preps for a safe school year

With roughly a month left until students return to school, the East Meadow School District is preparing to introduce safety measures that were prioritized in this year’s budget.

“In preparation for the 2018-19 school year, the East Meadow Union Free School District is making a number of upgrades to enhance security for students and staff, as that is our district’s top priority,” said Superintendent Kenneth Card.

The school district is currently in process of completing multiple projects, such as establishing a new visitor check-in system, adding new security guards and getting quotes from vendors on installing security vestibules, Card said. The visitor check-in system will require all personnel to use IDs, that will be distributed on Superintendent Conference Day.

Card also stated that the school district is in process of developing a Safety Task Force that would review district-wide and building safety plans to make sure the district is complying with New York State law and commissioner regulations.

Children in third grade to fifth grade will be learning a new mental health curriculum that will be implemented in the late fall.

“Each of these elements is instrumental in enhancing our district’s overall security and support for students,” he said.

The Feb. 14 shooting in Parkland, Fla sent a wave of protest and debate throughout the U.S. in 2018. This shooting was the fifth deadliest school shooting in the U.S, killing 17 students and faculty at Stoneman Douglas High School.

Five and a half years prior to the Stoneman Douglas Shooting, 26 elementary school students and faculty lost their lives at Sandy Hook Elementary School, the third deadliest school shooting in the U.S.

On March 1, less than a month after the Parkland, Fla shooting, Card sent out a district-wide letter notifying parents, staff and students current and upcoming actions that the district was safer to prevent a similar tragedy in East Meadow Schools.

The letter laid out several of the actions outlined above, in addition to some that are still being implemented. This includes door ajar devices on all exterior doors to monitor its movement, cameras to monitor the doors, card systems for the teachers to access the buildings and wifi that can be accessed at all times. The Smart School Bond Act from the NYS Department of Education, voted on in 2014, funds these educational technology-related purchases.

The letter also stated that the district is implementing training and outreaching to parents and law enforcement.

Bulletproof doors are also being installed, according to the letter. NYS schools are already required to meet requirements for the SAVE Act, which establishes school safety plans, and Dignity for all Students Act, which seeks to protect students from discrimination, harassment and bullying.

All other safety plans are up to local government to pass.

Jim Coll, a former NYPD officer, said that arming faculty members has been suggested.

“It should be a matter governed by local school boards,” Coll said. “The people in the area have the most control and the loudest voice. Where I think that the state could be helpful is in districts that do decide to arm their security, the state could be helpful in providing grants for training.”