After bus-stop incident, High Plain refocuses on safety

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May 28, 2009

By Bethany Bray

The 11-year-old student who brought an air soft gun to a school bus stop on Monday, May 18 will receive a summons to appear in Lawrence Juvenile Court, where he will be charged with possession of a dangerous weapon and four counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, said police.

The High Plain Elementary student showed the air soft gun to a number of other children and discharged the gun three times, hitting students without seriously injuring them, according to police. The student also discharged the weapon one more time on the school bus before arriving and being apprehended at school.

In the week since the incident, High Plain Principal Brenda O'Brien has visited every classroom with a counselor to follow up and talk with students, as well as send letters home to parents and reply to numerous e-mails and calls of concern.

"Our No. 1 concern is to always maintain the safety and security of every child," said O'Brien. "The students brought this (student) forward to us, and I can't compliment them enough that they understood this was important to maintain safety for all of us."

The 11-year-old's weapon was not a BB gun, as previously reported, but an air soft gun, said O'Brien. Air soft guns shoot plastic pellets with compressed air, and are often fashioned to be replicas of real weapons.

Citing student privacy and confidentiality, both O'Brien and Superintendent Claudia Bach would not give the name of the student, nor comment on the punishment.

"We are very, very eager to protect all of our students, so we feel very strongly about it ... It's in the hands of Brenda (O'Brien), and her team of teachers will be looking into situation very, very thoroughly," said Bach. "Brenda O'Brien is, in every way, the most conscientious of principals you could ask for. She handles all situations with the greatest degree of attention and care. She goes overboard in responding to parents', teachers' and students' concerns. She really is 100 percent the most conscientious."

The student handbook of the Andover Public Schools cites a "safe school environment" policy, with zero tolerance for drugs, alcohol, weapons and violence. The handbook is sent home with students every year, and parents must sign a statement saying they've read the policies.

Under the zero-tolerance policy, any student found in possession of a controlled substance or "a dangerous weapon, including, but not limited to a gun or knife ... may be subject to expulsion from the school or school district by the principal."

The same policy guarantees the student in question a hearing to present evidence and witnesses before the principal. After the hearing, "a principal may, in his/her discretion, decide to suspend rather than expel a student," reads the policy.

On May 18, the student with the air soft gun was reported to High Plain staff by other children on the bus as soon as the bus arrived at school.

The student was immediately brought to the office, and the police were notified, wrote O'Brien in a letter sent home to parents last week. During the course of an interview in the office, the student turned over the air soft weapon from the student's backpack.

"I assure you," wrote O'Brien to parents, "that the safety and security of your children is of paramount concern to me and that I have taken every appropriate action to prevent any such incidents from occurring in the future."

Last week, O'Brien and High Plain counselor Janet Yedinak visited each classroom at High Plain to tell students "on buses, recess, anywhere - we have rules because safety is No. 1 to us," said O'Brien.

"We recognize in all these situations, the importance of providing appropriate communication. We met with every class, and explained that one of the things that is so important is safety, and why we have rules, so they can feel secure. Anything that feels unsafe, they should tell an adult."

O'Brien said she has been responding to every call and e-mail from parents about the incident, and has tried to be very open with staff, students and the High Plain community.

"My goal is to make sure parents feel we are providing the communication they need and responding to their concerns," she said.

Andover Police have reported that the 11-year-old bought the gun at a New Hampshire flea market without parental knowledge or permission.

When the student discharged the weapon, four students were hit, ranging in age from 9 to 11, said police.

In times of crisis, planning kicks in

The Andover Public Schools have a detailed emergency and crisis management plan, known to all school personnel, from elementary to high school, said Superintendent Claudia Bach.

"There are a dozen or so categories, from evacuating a school on a snow day to a death in the school, or a stranger on campus," she said. "We practice various parts of that plan, and the teachers go over it every year."SClBOne former principal used a toy skunk to practice, said Bach, and would place the stuffed animal around the school. Students would spot the skunk quickly, she said, and alert a teacher. After the exercise, the principal would talk with students about what to do if a "skunk" - or crisis - was in the school building.

Each of Andover's schools has a crisis team that carries out specific responsibilities during a crisis. The plans and team members are updated every year, said Bach.

"With the reality of Columbine, we practice different scenarios that might arise. It's the same as with the H1N1 flu, we have a plan. We have had those pieces in place for a long time," said Bach. "In any case, those things click in really quickly. Whenever we have issue, I'm in the loop immediately, and we have very, very good communication with the police department. The processes we have in place have served us well so far, in any incident we've had."