Muskego-Norway to Review Safety After Sandy Hook

As the reality of the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT, rippled across all schools in the nation, Muskego-Norway Schools will review their procedures for safety. 

Superintendent Kelly Thompson told the school board Monday night that the incident, where a gunman shot and killed 26 people including 20 children, has forced all schools to redouble their efforts to prevent another tragedy.

"The unthinkable happened on Friday, and our thoughts and prayers go out to all of the families in Connecticut," she said. "So many innocent young lives were lost, and it makes us realize that there's always room for improvement."

Thompson said the district's emergency response team would be meeting this month to review all of the schools' procedures, and to provide recommendations where they saw problems. She would also meet with staff in January 2013 to review safety and security at the schools to see where else improvements can be made.

Muskego schools feature school resource officers from the Muskego Police Department at the high school, Lake Denoon Middle School and Bay Lane Middle School. Additional measures for security have been taken in recent years, including intercoms at entrances, new doors and procedures for signing in visitors.

The 2011 school facilities referendum had also included costs for reconfiguring entrances at older schools to prevent visitors from having to walk too far into the school to reach the office. Although the referendum failed, those improvements have remained on the district's 'punch list' of items that would be a priority.