Keeping Kids Safe at Hermosa Beach Schools

Keeping students and everyone on a school campus safe became an elevated concern for the Hermosa Beach Police Department and the Hermosa Beach City School District in the wake of the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, CT.

A Dec. 21, 2012 article on the reintroduction of a bill by California State Sen. Ted Lieu that would require all public schools in California to have established emergency response plans detailed the actions HBPD and the school district routinely take and were taking after Sandy Hook. 

Hermosa Valley and Hermosa View regularly practice school-wide drills, including earthquake, fire and lockdown drills. Drills are held according to a schedule with unannounced ones held periodically, said Superintendent Patricia Escalante. 

Also, within an hour of news about the Sandy Hook shooting, Hermosa Beach Police officers went to each school to make sure sites were secure, she said. Psychological resources were also made available.

"The district and city officials have been in constant contact over this past week and police have been at each school every day to interact with parents and children and to provide support," she wrote via email.

The district also can instantly notify parents of an emergency via phone, text, email by Smartphone or any electronic device, said Escalante.

The school board and City Council met recently and went over school safety.

Read the full story here.

• Previously: Lieu Reintroduces School Safety Bill