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Ever since the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary, school officials have been doing their best to make Coginchaug a safer place. A meeting with every staff member in the CRHS Library took place at 7:05 a.m the Monday after the shooting. Some security precautions have been changed while others will receive increased enforcement. Students are becoming accustomed to the new security, and have feedback about their safety. “There’s a police officer parked at Coginchaug every single morning who watches everyone as they come into school,� said sophomore Megan L’Heureux. Police officers have also been seen around the other RSD13 campuses. Korn
Elementary School and Strong Middle School have been spotted having more police security recently. Overall, Megan feels safe, but she still thinks the school could use some increase in security. “I think there should be more security guards, and they also should all be armed,� said Megan. Freshman Micah Morris agrees with Megan, but he has something else to add. “I think they should be armed, but their weapons should be concealed,� he said. “I feel like security like that walking around the building would make everyone feel more comfortable.� Sophomore Holly Longabardi says the
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security doesn’t really affect her that much anyway. “I feel safe at Coginchaug, and I don’t think that anything needs to be changed now.� she said. There are mixed feelings and opinions relating to armed security from both the students and the faculty at Coginchaug. There has been no official word that any changes or improvements will be made in that area. Principal Mr. Andre Hauser confirms students probably won’t be seeing armed security anytime soon. “I think the only people who should be armed are law enforcement officers. Schools are safe places.� As for the police sightings at Regional School District 13, Mr. Hauser explained that he doesn’t control it.
“The state police are assigning troopers at key times, especially in the morning. Police were most sighted right after the Newtown incident, for about a week,� he said. In terms of how long we can count on them being there, it is however long the state police feel it is necessary. Mr. Hauser also explained that Coginchaug is actually ahead of most schools in terms of security. Assistant principal Mr. Brian Bodner is dedicated to attending statewide security meetings that focus on improving security at schools. Many of the topics discussed at the meetings are things that CRHS has already taken action on, like buzzers for the office to let people in. “Other administrators from other schools were taking notes when Mr. Bodner shared his advice about security,� said Mr Hauser.