In aftermath, district reviews emergency plans

OXFORD HILLS — SAD 17 is reviewing school emergency plans in the aftermath of a school shooting that claimed the lives of 20 young students and six adults in Newtown, CT last Friday.

On Monday, the Maine Department of Education asked school districts to review their emergency plans, according to reports.

"The horrific events that transpired ... last Friday are indelibly marked in the minds of parents and educators across our country," writes SAD 17 Superintendent Rick Colpitts in a letter to parents December 17.

"What we once thought unfathomable, the murder of young students and teachers in a suburban New England community, causes us all to pause to consider its impact on our children and schools." 

On Monday, Colpitts said all district schools were reviewing and updating emergency plans in consultation with local law enforcement.

Emergency plans are updated annually, Colpitts said, but an event like the Newtown shooting calls for further review.

Schools conduct safety drills for a variety of emergency scenarios and the district facilities can be quickly and effectively secured, Colpitts wrote to parents.

Guidance counselors and social workers will be available for students who need help processing the tragedy or need emotional support, Colpitts said, but parents were best equipped to address the difficult information at home in a supportive environment. 

Colpitts noted that schools are some of the safest places for children and crime in school has been trending downward for the last decade, but acknowledged national statistics "provide little solace when 20 first-graders and six adults are senselessly gunned down in a small town's elementary school."

Interim Paris Police Chief Michael Dailey said the Newtown shootings are particularly unnerving because of the proximity – the violence hits close to home.

Local law enforcement trains for an active shooter incident, Dailey said, but all the planning and preparation can only go so far in the event of an actual incident.

On Tuesday, Norway Police and school employees reviewed the emergency plan for Rowe Elementary, reported Norway Police Chief Robert Federico.

He said the department participates in frequent trainings in the school while students are on vacation and has gone over its response plan countless times, but no amount of planning can prepare schools and law enforcement for an event like the Newtown shooting.

Colpitts agreed –  even though the school followed its emergency procedures and many students were protected from the violence, no community can fully anticipate an event like Friday's rampage, he said.

"There's really nothing you can do to prepare for this," he said. "That school had all the precautions in place that we would have."