Don't be alarmed if you see police and ambulances converging on East Lyme High School on February 19. While the kids are off for the winter break, East Lyme's emergency responders along with school staff and a few student volunteers are taking the opportunity to practice how they would handle a potential shooting at the school.
This is one of several "lockdown" drills that the district has held at East Lyme schools since the tragic shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown on December 14, 2012.
"East Lyme schools have a very comprehensive and well-rehearsed school safety plan," East Lyme School Superintendent James Lombardo wrote in a letter to parents alerting them to the drill, which he added is being held to "fine tune our emergency preparedness."
The district is currently in the process of completing a safety audit of all the schools with a view to shoring up any weaknesses in the system. at its last meeting, includes , such as surveillance cameras. That money may, however, come from the town of East Lyme's Capital budget.
The school district has also scheduled a second public forum on school safety for March 20 at 6 p.m. at East Lyme High School to give people a progress report and get input from the community to address any security concerns. The which was held in December, drew more than 100 people.
