From: Anne Mucci <[email protected]>
Subject: School Securtiy and Student Marches
Date: February 21, 2018
Good morning,
I hope that you had an enjoyable long weekend.
In the aftermath of the Parkland school shooting, we have received a number of inquires from students and parents regarding school security and the best ways to support the victims of this tragic event.
Ensuring that our schools are as safe as possible is a continual process. Due to the support of the Borough we are extremely fortunate to have a dedicated School Resource Officer, Sgt. Gil Benitez. The entire MLPD offer us their unwavering support and respond to calls to our schools in less than one minute. In cooperation with the Mountain Lakes Police and Morris County Office of Emergency Management, we constantly review our school security protocols and revise and improve our practices based on what we learn from events in other districts and the results of professional drills and trainings. Recent revisions include varied responses to unexpected fire alarms, monitoring visitors in the building and evacuation and relocation procedures.
For our younger students, we don’t believe participating in the walkouts and marches that are planned across the nation are appropriate or healthy. For older students, we request that students work with school administrators to establish a safe avenue to express their views on this critical topic. Posts on social media that can be viewed by anyone and contain details about school events are not advised.
Keeping our students and faculty safe is a shared responsibility. Please feel comfortable reaching out to me or any of our building principals should you need to share a concern or observation regarding the daily operations of our schools .
Most sincerely,
Anne Mucci, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools