Schools tightening security in wake of Sandy Hook shootings

With the Sandy Hook shootings fresh in the minds of Americans, local school administrators are looking closely at their own security.

 

Twenty-six people, mostly children, were killed on Dec. 14 when a gunman shot his way through a locked door in Newton, Conn.

 

“That is just one of those things that happens and makes people stop in their tracks,” Berlin Brothersvalley School District Superintendent Margie Zorn said at a board meeting Thursday.

 

Schools throughout the county are working with first responders and re-evaluating emergency procedures and security. 

 

These include Berlin Brothersvalley School District, Windber Area School District and Turkeyfoot Valley Area School District.

 

“It caused concern for schools everywhere,” Zorn said.

 

Turkeyfoot administrators re-examined safety after a man came into the school with a gun on the day of the Sandy Hook shootings. No one was harmed or endangered. The man was charged with possession of a weapon on school property and summary criminal trespass.

 

Turkeyfoot Superintendent Darlene Pritt said administrators are discussing ways to heighten security and are re-evaluating the emergency action plan. The plan is reviewed yearly.

 

She said the school plans to perform monthly lockdown drills.

 

Zorn said Berlin school district is also re-evaluating the security plan.