Dec 19, 2012 By Terri Johnsonstaff Writertjohnson@thealmanac.Net 7 min read

Within hours of the mass shooting in an elementary school in Newtown, Conn., the morning of Dec. 14 in which 20 young children and six adults were killed, local school districts released statements to reassure parents and guardians of the safety procedures in place.

In the Upper St. Clair School District, Superintendent Patrick O’Toole said the district had reviewed safety protocols since the shooting.

“We have invested in additional security and ongoing training each year,” O’Toole wrote. “At USC, we have dedicated a great deal of resources toward student and staff safety. In cooperation with the township police, we have invested in additional security and ongoing training each year.”

Upper St. Clair Township Police Chief Ron Pardini was unavailable to comment.

“It is critical for everyone to report to police and/or school officials any unusual or questionable behavior of individuals.” O’Toole said.

Any concerns about a child’s safety or reaction to the Connecticut tragedy should be shared with the school principal, counselor or the superintendent.

A lone gunman walked into the Connecticut elementary school and within about 10 minutes shot and killed 20 children, ages six and seven, along with six teachers or staff, before fatally shooting himself. The body of his mother was later found in her house.

“As a result of Friday’s events, you will be holding your children a little tighter, hugging them a little longer, and wanting to ensure their safety,” wrote Joseph Dimperio, acting superintendent of the Peters Township School District.

He said the safety and well being of the district’s students is the top priority.

“Throughout the district, we regularly practice emergency drills such as evacuations/fire drills and lockdowns,” Dimperio said.

There is an armed police officer assigned full-time to the high school during the school year.

All staff members met Dec. 17 to review the district’s safety and security procedures, said Shelly Belcher, district spokeswoman.

“We do that at the beginning of the school year and we did it again. I’ve been fielding a lot of questions (Dec. 17) on what we have been doing. When it happens in a school, and we’re all parents, we’re looking to see what we can do better.”

Peters Township police Chief Harry Fruecht said the district and police are as prepared as possible, “as prepared as anyone is.”

“All of our officers have active shooter training,” Fruecht said.

Two township officers are members of the South Hills Area Council of Governments Critical Incident Response Team. All township officers have six days of training each year on handling active shooting situations, a vast majority of which is handled in-house. Fruecht said the township is in the process of providing every police officer with a patrol rifle. Several are equipped with ballistic helmets, face shields and all wear bullet-resistant vests.

In Mt. Lebanon, police Lt. Aaron Lauth said since the April 20, 1999, mass shooting at Columbine High School in Ft. Littleton, Col. in which 12 students, one teacher and the two shooters died, police have approached an active shooter situation differently. Previously, Lauth said police were trained to secure the “perimeter” and to wait for backup.

Now, in a similar situation, police are trained not to standby and wait, but, rather, to determine if there is an active shooter and then to move in to “neutralize” the person or persons doing the shooting.

Mt. Lebanon officers are trained extensively for a similar situation and then to call for mutual aid.

“You don’t stand around and wait,” Lauth said. “It may sound a little cruel, we’re taught you need to move toward the threat, even if that means bypassing wounded victims. You continue to bypass the carnage to get to the person causing the problem. The Mt. Lebanon School District issued a letter to parents and included a link to services parents could seek to help to address the concerns of student.

Cissy Bowman, district spokeswoman, said Dec. 17 that parents were notified by the superintendent as well as by email by principals in each of the district’s 10 schools over the weekend. All staff members attended a faculty meeting Dec. 17 to interact. The district conducted a drill in October at one of the elementary schools and a full disaster drill.

In South Fayette, Superintendent Bille Rondinelli wrote a letter to families going into detail on advice on coping with the tragedy from the American Psychological Association website.

In addition she explained that the district recently designated Aaron Skrbin, associate high school principal, as director of school safety. “We must all play a role in school safety: however, having a specific person designated keeps school safety information and procedures on our forefront.

“South Fayette students are always encouraged to share any troubling information with a responsible adult such as a teacher, counselor, administrator, coach or other. By sharing this information, ‘not to be referenced as tattling,’ numerous situations may be avoided and others may be truly helped.”

Bethel Park School District Superintendent Nancy Aloi Rose, sent parents a letter Dec. 14, in which she wrote of how the news of the shooting in Connecticut, “somehow morphed into an incorrect rumor that there will be a shooting” at the Bethel High School Dec. 21.” She said there is no threat of an impending shooting at the high school or any other school in the district.

Cecil Township police Chief J.T. Pushak, one of the three municipalities in the Canon-McMillan School District, said for the past 15 or 16 years, police officers have conducted a daily walk-through in the three elementary and one intermediate schools. Pushak said the police department works with neighboring police to assure sufficient back-up in the event of an emergency.

]As for parents addressing children’s questions, Pushak said to tell them that sometimes there are bad people out there and bad things happen, but it probably won’t happen to them.

“And, if it does happen, their teachers are there to keep them safe and to follow what the teachers and police say,”Pushak said.

As for the school district’s response, Superintendent Michael Daniels wrote Dec. 14, “I want to assure you our staff will be diligent in making sure our buildings are secure and safe and that our district-wide safety and security procedures continue to be followed with a heightened awareness of this sad reality.”

Communications were also sent by officials in the Chartiers Valley School District, in which Superintendent Brian White said the district would review the safety and security procedures, and preventative measures.

In the Keystone Oaks School District, Superintendent William Stropkaj, recommended the resource “Talking to Children About Violence: Tips for Parents and Teachers” from the National Association of School Psychologists.”

Jim Cromie, spokesperson for the district, added: “For more than a decade, Keystone Oaks has worked diligently to create safe schools for our children and staff. We have safety procedures in place for each building and are constantly reviewing and refining them with our administrators, faculty and staff. We also regularly train within our buildings and with local police, fire and EMS for all types of potential emergency incidents.

“Additionally, Keystone Oaks has a full-time armed and highly trained police officer on the high school/middle school campus as well as a security guard. Officer Aaron Vanatta oversees our emergency response procedures and regularly attends training sessions so that we can compare best practices with other area school districts and state agencies. As more details emerge, we will work with emergency management officials to make any adjustments to our plans that are necessary.”

• Freelance writer Deana Carpenter contributed to this article.