Parents React to Newtown Tragedy, Seek Solution for Safer Schools

Dozens of Paramus parents shared their thoughts, fears, concerns and ideas Thursday night in relation to the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy which has left people across the nation asking what can be done to protect the children.

The Paramus school district brought parents together for a forum facilitated by school counselor Cindy Miller to share their concerns and reactions to what happened in Newtown, in order to come together as a school community to share thoughts and ideas.

Members of the Board of Education, school principals, teachers, counselors and administrators joined in the hour-long discussion.

Gun control, better care for those with mental health issues, the innocence of young children and school security measures were among the many discussion topics raised but the main concern shared by parents is safety in Paramus schools.

One parent wanted to know how she would find out where students were taken if such an evacuation were to occur in the district. Another wanted to know what security measures exist currently.

The school district has emergency plans in place for all scenarios, said Sean Adams, assistant superintendent. He explained that in the event of any kind of emergency all parents would be notified of emergency information by way of the school's Honeywell system that would send text messages, emails and calls to landlines.

The district is actively looking into what additional security measures can be taken and administrators have been speaking with the Paramus Police Department for input, he said.

One parent stated that immediacy in alerting authorities is key in protecting people from a threatening event to which Adams said the district is currently exploring the use of panic buttons which could installed in the school buildings as a possible solution.

While discussing how children react to news of a tragedy like this, Miller pointed out that youngsters tend to cope differently than adults and are able to move past things more quickly. She reminded parents it's important to give children the age appropriate information and also shared handouts which outline how to talk to children about violence and crises.

All week the school district's crisis team has been on-hand working at all the schools to help staff members and students cope in wake of the tragedy. Police have been working with the schools and provided a presence near the schools earlier this week to help parents and staff feel more secure.

See related story

Paramus School Community Looks to Cope in Wake of Newtown Tragedy

'Like' Paramus Patch on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.