Weston Amps Up Security for Town Schools

In response to the tragic school shooting in Sandy Hook, educators are working to make Weston's public schools safer, from defining the role of a school resource officer and revising the policy on school visitors to going over crisis plans with police.

Supt. of Schools Dr. Colleen Palmer said all administrators and members of the school district's security team participated in a two-day summit with Weston Police Chief John Troxell and two sergeants on July 8 and 9.

"We rolled up our sleeves and reviewed all crisis plans," Palmer said.

The superintendent recently attended a Board of Police Commissioners meeting and said a memorandum of understanding for the role and responsibilities of an SRO on campus should come before the Board of Education for a vote next month.

Palmer said it will be the first time a police officer is hired to work on the education campus, which has four schools. While the officer will primarily work in the high school, she said s/he will schools.

Knowing Who Comes & Goes

Aside from security measures with police, Lewis Brey, the district's human resources director, said the policy for school visitors is being updated for the first time since 1989. In fact, he said the Policy Committee is reviewing all security related policies.

"[The Visitors policy] used to be how to open our schools to the public as much as possible, in a positive way," Brey said. "We still want to do that."

Most of the proposed changes entail how schools lock their doors, requiring appropriate identification for visitors, making appointments and checking in. A parent wanting to tour the school would need written permission from the principal, which can be in an email, according to Brey.

"We just want to know who's coming before they enter," he said.

Another proposed change would require visiting students to have written permission to be in a school. Prior to that, Brey said visiting students were able to hang out, while waiting for a friend.

The Board of Education had its first reading of the policy Monday night. The second reading will be at its Aug. 19 meeting.

Brey said the policy on use of physical force involved instances when it is justified for a school staff member to use force against a student to protect other students and themselves.

He said, "This is something we obviously don’t want to see happen except in the most extreme circumstances."