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Date: 1/25/2023
AGAWAM – Schools have returned to running lockdown drills, one of several safety strategies they employ, School Safety Supervisor John Nettis told the School Committee on Jan. 10.
Nettis said overall the town’s schools are doing “very good” with safety.
“I’m very grateful for where we are now. I’m very impressed with what I’ve seen in the passion to protect staff and students,” he said.
He explained that so far this school year, there have been two evacuation drills. Both were successful and monitored with the district’s drone program.
“Some schools haven’t done a drill in almost three years,” said Nettis. “There were also four lockdown drills, including a soft lockdown and barricade.”
According to Nettis, the goal of a soft lockdown is to recondition staff and students to the dynamics of a lockdown: shutting off lights, pulling shades, securing and locking doors and barricading at higher than an average adult height.
“With a soft lockdown, we only barricade up to waist level, so we can breach doors after they are unlocked to see if everyone satisfied the other parts of the lockdown, such as shutting off lights,” he explained.
“We also want to see if people are dispersed around the classroom, instead of bunched up in one area, like we used to do six years ago.”
Next year, he plans to talk with the committee about updating the district’s reunification procedures, which identify how students are returned to their families following a school emergency. A reunification drill, similar to one done a couple years ago, also will be conducted, after Nettis and the Police Department identify the best reunification sites.
Additionally, there have been two staff training sessions on school safety strategies and procedures, one of which was on taking countermeasures.
“Going forward, we will focus on open-air events, sporting events, auditoriums, cafeteria and training for taking countermeasures,” Nettis said. “If there was some type of an event in an open area, there isn’t always the opportunity to run or to hide.”
The second training was called the Parkland Experience, which highlighted pitfalls learned from a 2018 mass shooting at a Florida high school.
“There were a number of safety malfunctions at Parkland that weren’t mechanical, said Nettis. “Safety is something that happens between your ears — it’s not something you hold in your hand. It’s your attitude, not your aptitude, that’s going to determine where you go with safety.”
Committee member Shelley Borgatti-Reed asked if the various types of doors and windows in the schools can make it more difficult to secure a building if there’s an actual lockdown.
Nettis said while Agawam’s schools are “antiquated facilities,” there are ways to deal with outdated doors to keep them secure. He said this has been ongoing issue that will continue — including at a new high school, if one is built.
“Even if we spend billions of dollars on safety measures, we’re still going to need to use our creative license, based on our pocketbook, as well as our attitude toward safety.”
Another topic he touched on at the Jan. 10 meeting was canine searches for drugs. Since September, he said, there have been two canine searches for drugs — one at the high school and one at the junior high school. Both were conducted with assistance from the Agawam Police Department and the Hampden County Sheriff’s Department.
While no contraband was found in either search, committee member A.J. Christopher asked why searches are unannounced. Nettis explained that announced searches give students time to either flush banned substances down the toilet or hide it.
“If we think someone has a substance abuse issue, what we want to do — and it’s part prevention as well — is do an intervention, catch them, and then provide some type of treatment,” he said. “It’s been working — we just need a little bit more time.”
When there are opportunities to work with parents, they’re very grateful to learn about law enforcement strategies used to keep their homes safe, said Nettis: “We want to make sure we’re using that power of prevention and cure.”
Although several administrators and parents have been trained in safe search procedures, he said many parents are afraid to search their children’s rooms.
An increase in the use of fentanyl, which is now considered the most dangerous drug in this country, is the reason behind having safe searches.
“Two years ago, fentanyl was just at our borders. And now? It’s here, so we have to develop strategies around safe search procedures,” Nettis told the committee. “We’re training parents because we want them to have a more active approach and presence at home. The ones who aren’t afraid really need some type of strategy and formal type of instruction on how to search a room safely.”