North Bellmore Superintendent Arnold Goldstein said that schools also have a special burden because we are charged with keeping children safe.
"We have tested safety procedures in place which adhere to state and police standards," he added.
These include:
- They are regularly reevaluated and fine tuned, and practice drills are conducted regularly.
- Doors are kept locked during the day to ensure that no one can enter without authorization.
- Parents are expected to ring the bell, and to announce who they are and why they are in the school.
- All parents who enter the building are instructed to go to the main office and to sign in so that we can keep track of who is in the building.
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Goldstein also noted an article, Talking to Children About Difficult Topics, that discusses parents wanting to shield their children from this information.
One of the articles notes that as “adults, we often want to shield our children from the truth in order to protect them from hurt.
"While I urge you to limit your child’s exposure to TV and the Internet, it is impossible to thoroughly shield your child," Goldstein wrote in an email to the district parents. "He or she will likely hear about the events on the news, see it in a newspaper, read about it on-line or hear others – friends and adults – talking about it. This is a conversation that cannot be avoided."
Members of each Crisis Intervention Team, including a trained psychologist or social worker, will speak with all students on Monday.
"Their goal will be to address the fears and concerns that children may have in an age-appropriate manner, and to encourage children to positively channel their fears," he wrote.
Goldstein also mentioned the importance of watching for signs of children developing emotional difficulty at home as a result of this incident.
