Amid Safety Concerns, Southington Mulls High School Archery

SOUTHINGTON, CT — It's been nearly 10 years since Southington High School students were pulling back bows and firing arrows as part of their physical education curriculum.

The Southington Board of Education is now mulling a new course that would resurrect archery and bring it back to SHS for the 2026-27 school year.

That idea, however, was met with significant concern by one of the SHS security guards at the school, who expressed worry about what could happen if arrows were fired in schools.

At the school board's last regular meeting on Dec. 11, board members conducted a first reading of the policy change that would bring back high school archery.

In addition, they heard testimony from the audience of citizens for and against the idea of archery at school, with educators saying "yes" to the idea, but an SHS security guard showing major worries.

According to the proposal submitted to the full board by the school board's curriculum and instruction subcommittee, archery was regularly taught at SHS until 2016-17.

The school and its physical education department want to "bring it back for a variety of reasons."

The department said archery is a "safe, developmentally appropriate, and fun activity that fits in perfectly with our new department mission, vision, and beliefs."

According to SHS physical education teacher and department head Tony Loomis, who also lives in Milldale, archery would "enhance a student's life and make them better."

A 23-year teaching veteran, Loomis said safety is always a top priority.

Southington resident Lisa Galske, also a physical education teacher in Bristol, said the activity will "create a safe space for students to be comfortable and try something new."

With the U.S. set to host the Olympics in 2028, Galske said archery will provide an activity that would allow students to connect to the games, where archery has been a longtime Olympic sport.

Veteran physical education teacher and Southington resident Amy Gagnon agreed.

She said archery "is an activity for all the children, including those who are not good movers."

Gagnon called archery a "lifetime activity supported in a safe environment by certified professionals."

"This will give the students the opportunity to experience a non-traditional activity," she said at the meeting.

The idea of students firing off arrows in the school building, however, proved deeply worrying to one speaker on Dec. 11, a speaker who happened to be a security guard there.

Antonio Cusano of Plantsville, a retired law enforcement and security professional who works for the school system, said he is not in support of SHS teaching archery.

Cusano urged the school board to review the program and its risks, among other issues.

"I must express my urgent concerns regarding this proposal," Cusano said. "Before any steps are taken, I urge the curriculum team and the board to conduct a comprehensive review of the program, its risks, and its alignment with existing policies."

He said simply adding something like archery to the curriculum may jeopardize student safety.

"The gravity of the issue at hand necessitates immediate attention and careful deliberation," he continued. "Archery, while a respected sport, and I perform it myself, involves the potential use of lethal weapons.

"Bows and arrows, by legal and practical definition, are weapons with the capacity of launching projectiles capable of causing serious bodily harm up to and including death.

He said archery indoors in schools presents several safety risks.

Cusano said school gymnasiums are not designed to contain projectiles such as arrows, and they don't "mitigate the consequences of accidental discharges."

"The potential for a catastrophic incident inflicting great bodily harm or death to a person, whether due to an equipment malfunction, user error, student defiance, or unforeseen circumstances, cannot be overstated," Cusano said.

Cusano said the proposed policy doesn't comply with safety standards at SHS, and he said it could expose the district to liability, not to mention harm students and staff.

"It is deeply troubling that previous objections" ... have been overlooked by the department leaders, he said.

Cusano criticized the surveys distributed by the physical education department, saying they only surveyed students and not staffers or the community.

School officials will review the policy and have a second reading for SHS archery at its next meeting in January, where it could be voted on if the board chooses.

With a first read, board members read the policy, then come up with any questions for the second reading, which is Thursday, Jan. 8.

Residents can comment on high school archery during the audience of citizens portion of that meeting that same night.

School board meetings are at 7 p.m. at the John J. Weichsel Municipal Center, 200 N. Main St., Southington.

For the minutes of the Dec. 11 Southington Board of Education meeting, click on this link.