There has been a lot of discussion in the wake of the recent Sandy Hill Elementary School tragedy. Because of incidents such as Sandy Hook and Columbine High School in Colorado, it would seem that any school district should take a close look at how safe their schools are and if they can be improved.
Even in relatively quiet Los Alamitos, the Los Alamitos School District had begun taking another look at what it can do to better protect the safety of its students.
“Statistically speaking, our schools are safe,” Superintendent Dr. Sherry Kropp said. However, she also noted that the district is addressing the issue of school security with a special task force that was formed in August of 2012.
The Violence Prevention and Response Task Force met this last week to define the purpose of and discussion of having school resource officers/security officers, security cameras, secure campuses (fencing), use of volunteers and uniform prevention procedures.
“We practice already for a variety of drills including fire, earthquake and lockdown procedures, as required,” said Dr. Kropp. Lockdown procedures are basically when teachers lock their classroom doors and people stay in the room they are at or get into a room, she explained. “Where there is a bomb threat, we do lockdown procedures and call the police to help us identify the seriousness of the threat.”
“Initiating lockdowns come from the schools although law enforcement might suggest it,” she continued. “We are really fortunate we have strong relations with law enforcement.”
“We’ve had an increased police presence in all of our schools since Sandy Hook. It’s what they did immediately through an ongoing relationship between the district, Los Alamitos and Seal Beach Police Chiefs as well as the city managers.” Kropp said. “They are amazingly supportive, are proactive and responsive to our requests.”
Additionally, she said that all Los Alamitos schools have emergency supplies such as food, water and blankets in each classroom and in the administrative offices thanks to parents, and are updated annually. “There have been no outstanding incidences this year,” she said. “We’ve just had drills.”
It was on Dec. 14, 2012 at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut that Adam Lanza gunned down 20 children and 6 adults including his mother before taking his own life.
Los Alamitos Police Department patrols have been stepped up since Sandy Hook, according to Operations Division Commander Captain Bruce McAlpine, spokesman for the Los Alamitos Police Department.
“All officers have been trained in active shooter response,” he said. “We are really just one stakeholder in maintaining school safety, along with parents, students and the community.”
“Right now, people are coming to terms with the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary,” McAlpine said. “They feel something needs to be done whether it’s adding cameras, fencing or resource officers. “From 2003 to 2009, Los Alamitos schools used to have school resource officers, which were discontinued when the economy had a downturn, according to McAlpine.
“It allowed for an officer to have direct contact with students, staff and parents,” he continued. “Volunteers could be a potential option that communities might want to explore.” “You can’t make a school like a fortress,” he said. “Working towards progress has to be a joint effort with schools, parents, the community and law enforcement.”
“I’m sad,” said Dr. Kropp. “It is sad to me that this is necessary. I think our schools are safe but we have to make sure we are doing everything we possibly can.”
