CBS 21's Steve Knight visits schools on a weekly basis for the "Cool Schools" segment. He talks about his perspective as a visitor of schools and from the perspective as a parent of an elementary age child:
The terrible tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut has left many parents, myself included apprehensive about the overall safety and security of our schools.
I spend a lot of time as a guest in our area schools thanks to my weekly "Cool Schools" feature on CBS 21.
When I first heard about the events of this past Friday, one of my initial reactions was to wonder how the shooter gained access to the school. Over the past few years I have noticed an increase in school security, and I never enter a school without being buzzed in by the main office and issued a security badge.
As we now know, the suspect in the Newtown shooting, Adam Lanza, allegedly bypassed all security measures in place by shooting his way in to the school.
That's leaving many to wonder if we are doing enough to keep our schools secure during the normal school day.
One area resident said his school called and told them about security measures the school is taking. "We got a call from the principal Friday afternoon, Friday evening, that they had recently met with the Police Chief in New Cumberland and they went over all their security measures, and they were up to speed."
Another said schools have been taking the right steps in protecting students. "Schools have done a lot to help prevent some of these things that are happening now. But there is only so much you can do, if somebody really wanting to do a situation like what happened in Columbine and up in Connecticut , there's not really much else you can do."
In the years since the Columbine High School shootings in 1999, schools nationwide have bolstered security measures up to include metal detectors, on site security guards and sophisticated locking systems on buildings. But in the wake of this unspeakable tragedy, many continue to wonder if it's enough.
The terrible tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut has left many parents, myself included apprehensive about the overall safety and security of our schools.
I spend a lot of time as a guest in our area schools thanks to my weekly "Cool Schools" feature on CBS 21.
When I first heard about the events of this past Friday, one of my initial reactions was to wonder how the shooter gained access to the school. Over the past few years I have noticed an increase in school security, and I never enter a school without being buzzed in by the main office and issued a security badge.
As we now know, the suspect in the Newtown shooting, Adam Lanza, allegedly bypassed all security measures in place by shooting his way in to the school.
That's leaving many to wonder if we are doing enough to keep our schools secure during the normal school day.
One area resident said his school called and told them about security measures the school is taking. "We got a call from the principal Friday afternoon, Friday evening, that they had recently met with the Police Chief in New Cumberland and they went over all their security measures, and they were up to speed."
Another said schools have been taking the right steps in protecting students. "Schools have done a lot to help prevent some of these things that are happening now. But there is only so much you can do, if somebody really wanting to do a situation like what happened in Columbine and up in Connecticut , there's not really much else you can do."
In the years since the Columbine High School shootings in 1999, schools nationwide have bolstered security measures up to include metal detectors, on site security guards and sophisticated locking systems on buildings. But in the wake of this unspeakable tragedy, many continue to wonder if it's enough.