Sandy Hook Elementary School perhaps did everything right. Its staff and teachers worked every day to create a climate that valued kindness and posted the plan for all to see. They had lockedown drills that trained everyone to stay low and quiet in the event of an emergency. A security system introduced this year required visitors to ring a bell, sign-in and produce a photo ID. After 9:30 a.m., the doors were locked.
And now it's the home of the one of the worst school shootings in U.S. history, twenty children dead and eight adults, including the shooter.
Those who know the world of school security are already predicting what comes next: A strong reaction -- maybe an overreaction -- by parents, schools and legislators who want to take action. Politicians will be elected on platforms of school safety. Vendors will turn up with technology and crisis plans to sell. Schools will rewrite their crisis plans and run extra drills. This morning we talk with a school superintendent has dealt and continues to deal with all of these issues.
Dr. Douglas Huntley is Superintendent of the Queensbury Union Free School District in Queensbury, NY and is a member of the Executive Committee of The New York State Council of School Superintendents.
