'Too close ... too real': Local parents, school officials shaken by mass shooting in Texas

May 25—JOHNSTOWN, Pa. — After learning of Tuesday's massacre at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, Ferndale Area parent Mark Lux was left with questions he couldn't answer.

"How is this continuing to happen?" he asked. "How have we, in this day and age, not learned to stop people from entering schools?"

In the most recent national tragedy, 18-year-old gunman Salvador Ramos allegedly gunned down at least 19 children and two adults at the elementary school before he was killed by law enforcement.

"A school is a place to be safe," Lux said. "This is supposed to be a fun learning environment."

As he reflected on the incident, the father wondered, given all that's implemented already, how schools across the country could be made more safe.

Kimberly Roberts, a Westmont parent, said it's "incredibly nerve-racking" to send her child to school, especially after the "close call in December" — when, authorities say, two teens planned a shooting at Westmont Hilltop that was uncovered and thwarted.

"It's just too close, it's too real," Roberts said of the Texas shooting. "It's such a reality for every parent. We're all just holding our breath and hope our kids get home safely every day."

The mother described herself as a pro-gun individual but noted that something has to be done to curb these school attacks.

"What I think we can be done is we start looking at mental health and we start looking at gun control and it can't be partisan ... for the safety of our future," Roberts said.

Officers in schools

Many local districts already have school resource officers, have locked and multi-layered entry points and require identification for individuals seeking access. In recent months, some have strengthened security measures.

Greater Johnstown School District purchased metal detectors for the high and middle schools and hired security guards to operate the machines along with employing additional SROs for the district.

Westmont Hilltop school leaders hired a school police officer in February to patrol the elementary and high schools after teenagers Preston Hinebaugh and Logan Pringle were accused by authorities in December of planning a school shooting.

However, the SPO, Karissa Grossman, resigned May 19, citing a lack of support to effectively do her job.

A letter sent to parents on Tuesday from Superintendent Thomas Mitchell said school officials have begun searching for a new officer "with the anticipation of having a permanent replacement for the 2022-23 school year."

For the remainder of this term, Upper Yoder and West Hills police departments will provide coverage.

"The substitute/supplemental officer agreement between the school district and local police departments was established this year and utilized when needed," Mitchell said in the statement. "At our next meeting, we will revisit the benefits of directly hiring our own officer compared to employing the officer through the local police department."

Westmont school board's choice to pursue an SPO, which is an employee of the district, versus a school resource officer from a local law enforcement agency has received scrutiny from some parents and community members.

Mitchell said Westmont will continue to work with the two police departments to ensure the "safest possible learning environment for the students and employees" of the district.

Roberts said after seeing Mitchell's letter she felt hopeful the school leaders appear to have heard the community's concerns and are considering a change.

Honest discussions

Lux said he thinks these murderous rampages are the result of a lack of mental health access for children and doesn't think there's enough done to help at-risk youth. He added that educational institutions can't be held solely responsible for preventing violent acts.

Lux called on parents to check in with their children and learn to recognize the signs of danger before a tragedy occurs.

The self-described Second Amendment supporter also questioned whether, if permitted, trained teachers should be allowed to be armed within districts, but noted that the better solution is to stop individuals before they get into the schools.

With the severity of these situations, children often have several questions as well — such as why the shooting happened and if they're safe in their own school, ACRP outpatient psychiatric Director Shanna Handzus said.

She recommended children be provided a listening ear, age-appropriate and honest responses — and reassurance.

"Parents need to know that lying or hiding everything from a child can only make them more anxious," Handzus said.

The best approach is to wait for students to come forward with questions and encourage them to talk to a trusted adult.

Handzus said, as a mother of two, she empathizes with parents' concerns.

"There's always the 'what if?' " she said.

That's why she teaches her children the same lessons she recommends — to be aware of their surroundings, to pay attention to the behavior of others and to listen closely to safety presentations.

For educators, the psychiatric professional said its good to reassure students of the safety measures already in place, such as locked-door policies, metal detectors and security guards or school resource officers.

In the case of older students, teachers should encourage them to use their voices and speak up if they see or know something that could lead to a tragedy, Handzus said.

She noted that there's no collective data to show how many school shootings were avoided because someone spoke up.

Jason Moore, Central Cambria School District superintendent and father, said the attack in Texas is an "evil" that "no child, parent or teacher should have to contend with, but it is becoming far too common in our country.

"I can't imagine the pain that those parents and that community is feeling right now."

In the past few years, Moore has been involved in school safety discussions on two fronts.

Not only is he a superintendent but he also served for a little more than four years on the Greater Johnstown School Board — including one term as president.

"If kids don't feel safe coming to school, they can't learn," Moore said. "If parents don't feel safe sending their kids to school, nothing else that we would do would matter."

Central Cambria has its own safety procedures that are constantly re-evaluated, but also makes use of risk and vulnerability assessments from the Pennsylvania State Police and private companies, such as Gittings Protective Security Inc.

"Getting those outside perspectives has been excellent for us, but we can't emphasize enough the importance of building relationships with students and families as a preventative tool for safety," Moore said. "Our school police officer, Nate Stohon, has been with the district for several years. Students know that they can trust him, so they are very comfortable coming to him if they hear or see something that may be suspicious or potentially dangerous."

The superintendent also recommended more resources be geared toward a focus on behavioral and mental health to help make schools more safe.

Gittings provides risk and vulnerability assessments for about a dozen districts in the area. Within those evaluations, the security company makes recommendations on best practices.

Vince Mock, Gittings director of threat preparedness, recommended a multi-pronged approach to school security.

That ranged from physical security of the building — locking doors, implementing key fobs and creating safe zones in classrooms — to improving school culture, such as adherence to security policies and procedures, including keeping doors closed and locked during instruction.

Mock also said it's instrumental for educators, administrators and community members to learn to "identify people on the pathway to violence" and how to intervene effectively.