Westport school administrators participated in a “crisis preparedness” workshop on Tuesday using simulated emergencies at each level, the school district said today.
While the workshop had been planned during the summer, Superintendent of Schools Elliott Landon said that its timing was extremely serendipitous, according to a district news release.
The workshop coincided with the National Conference on School Safety this week that had been generated by the recent spate of school shootings.
Last Friday, prior to the workshop, Landon had posted on the school system Web site a statement about the district’s state of readiness.
“While there’s no guarantee that any system of protection can be 100 percent foolproof,” he said, “I’d like to reassure Westporters that school security has always been an important consideration for this district and that we have been proactive for many years.”
He explained that all schools have procedures to deal with critical situations, and all teachers have access to a crisis manual which clearly describes what to do in various emergencies.
The procedures and the manual were developed several years ago following a “security audit” with the active participation of police and fire department officials in consultation with former FBI agents, the news release said.
During this school year, the manuals are undergoing review and the security audit is being updated, the district said.
Crisis teams in every school have been trained in emergency response and the schools have annual “lockdown” d rills.
Westport was the first school district in Connecticut to conduct simulations of emergency situations under the guidance of the State of Connecticut security specialists, according to the district.
The exercises, which were conducted annually for several years, were observed by independent teams of experts who then provided feedback so the schools could address any identified weaknesses.
Tuesday’s workshop was a follow-up to those earlier activities. Administrative groups gathered by school and were given a hypothetical crisis that they had not seen before.
They were instructed to describe their responses to the specific situation and to detail how they would accomplish the critical tasks that emergencies require, and in which they have been trained.
At the conclusion of the workshop, each school group reported orally on how it handled the simulated crisis, and during the next two weeks, the district’s crisis coordinators will now visit each school team to analyze its response in depth, the district said.
Every principal has a special manual that provides information about CPR training of staff, and includes school layouts andother information the emergency services would need to know if called in during a problem situation.
These manuals were also distributed to the Westport police and fire departments.
For further security, staff members are required to wear picture IDs when in school buildings. All classrooms have public address speakers, intercoms directly to the office and telephones, and all schools have outside PA speakers.
Elementary and middle school doors are locked from the outside after the start of the school day and visitors must be identified and “buzzed in.”
Entry safeguards during school hours will shortly be in place at Staples High School, which continues to employ an on-campus security officer, the district said.
The schools are protected after hours by various security devices which the district said it does not describe in order not to undermine their effectiveness.
To communicate with parents during an emergency situation, the district said it will post notices on its Web site and carry a message on the Emergency Response Line, 341-1766, the number also used to announce school closings in bad weather.
“We earnestly wish never to need the crisis procedures we have in place,” Landon said.
“But we hope it reassures the community to know that we have prepared for emergencies, that we have practiced our responses and that our attentiveness to the safety of our students and staff is continuous.”
I have been informed that the Police, Fire, and EMS personell have NOT been trained and familiarized of the layout, floorplans, etc of the new Staples HS. Shouldn’t this be a major priority should there be an emergency? How are our protectors supposed to do just that inside 125,000 sq. feet of a building they are not familiar with?? Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t the new Staples 4 times the size of the old? These are our first responders and they should be first on the list to receive training to protect our children God forbid a crisis arises.