Schools
Armed School Security Officer Approved For 2019-20 In Ellington
An armed school security officer will be part of a comprehensive safety plan in Ellington, education officials said.
ELLINGTON, CT — An armed school security officer is one component of a miuti-faceted safety plan unveiled Tuesday by Ellington education officials.
For the 2019-20 academic year, the two school resource officers will be on full-time, officials said. SROs are armed police officers wearing the traditional uniform, officials said. The SROs are assigned to cover all five schools with one primarily stationed at Ellington High School, school officials said.
Last year, the school security officer, or SSO, designed to "provide various safety and security services in coordination with the school administration and SROs at Ellington High School," was not armed. The current SSO is Michele Landry, a former 20-year veteran Vernon police officer.
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School system officials said, over the past 10 months, administrators worked with the Ellington Board of Education and Sgt. Brian Santa of the Ellington Resident Trooper's office in consultation with legal counsel to develop "policies and protocols" to enable the SSO to be armed for the start of the 2019-2020 school year or "shortly thereafter."
The SSO will be required to maintain certification and training in accordance with the Connecticut Police Officer Standards and Training Council, including firearms qualification, under the supervision of Santa.
Find out what's happening in Ellington-Somersfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Although the SSO may be assigned to any of Ellington’s five schools, the primary assignment
will continue to be Ellington High School for the "foreseeable future," school officials said.
School board member Michael Purcaro, who has coordinated regional response drills for incidents at schools, said the decision was based on "lessons learned" from various incidents and training exercises. He said allowing the SSO to carry a police-type sidearm is part of a "high-impact, low-probability" approach.
See more about the comprehensive security plan here.
Superintendent of Schools Scott Nichol said parents with inquiries about the added security measures can contact him at snicol@ellingtonschools.net.
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