As Threats Continue, Hamden High Readies Plan For Reopening Safely

After three days off from class due to gun violence threats, Hamden High students and faculty will return to school Wednesday — and be greeted by security guards waving metal detecting wands.

Hamden schools administrators announced that news, and a series of additional security measures that are in the works, at a special Board of Education meeting Monday night. 

The next morning, Hamden Middle School went into lockdown over yet another social media threat which read, ​“It’s time to shoot up HMS and HHS.” The message also threatened Hillhouse and Wilbur Cross High Schools. (Read more about that in this New Haven Register article.)

Eli Whitney Technical High School in Hamden also went into lockdown Tuesday morning after evacuating Monday due to a similar threat which was deemed ​“non credible” by the school’s principal.

Monday night’s meeting focused primarily on addressing concerns of weapons making it into the public high school.

Following two (and now three) separate social media posts that referenced possible gun violence at the high school, a fight in which a student was stabbed, and another incident in which a loaded handgun was discovered in a student’s backpack — all of which took place within the span of two months — the administration told the public that it will seek a safer environment through four metal detectors, eight wands, an additional school resource officer and a video observation room that also alerts guards and administrators every time a door opens.

They also pointed to four new job positions that they plan to create in order to support their security efforts, including an in-school suspension coordinator who would strategically position teachers who perform in-school suspension duty throughout the day in order to better use those workers as supervisory aides; a supervisor of security who would ​“improve coherence and provide focus to leading all aspects of security throughout the district”; a school climate and culture specialist who would focus on forming partnerships with community-based organizations, handle lower level disciplinary issues and develop mentoring programs; and an additional assistant principal. 

Administration called attention to another new job title that they recently filled: A PPT/504 coordinator. That hire, they said, will free school psychologists and social workers from a significant amount of clerical work and allow them more time to provide direct support to students.

The only changes that will immediately be in effect Wednesday are the presence of a second school resource officer (a position that was previously budgeted for and has gone unfilled due to departmental vacancies) and metal detector screening, beginning with wands provided by the Police Department while $13,000 of equipment is shipped to Hamden. 

"Who Waves The Wand?"

“I’m concerned how this will impact students, especially our neurodiverse students,” Board of Education member Melissa Kaplan said upon learning about the detectors. ​“How are we going to avoid the militarization of our schools?”

“Who is going to be waving the wand? Who will be touching our children?” she asked.

Hamden High Principal Nadine Gannon and School Resource Officer Jeremy Brewer fielded questions about how the metal detectors would work, explaining that the front entrance to the high school will now be closed and ​“five lanes” of security guards screening students will be present at the gymnasium and auditorium entrances to the school. Brewer called it an ​“experimental plan” that will require revision.

Gannon said that there will be ​“both male and female security at both entrances.” Parents will be sent a letter and left a robocall about the procedural changes on Tuesday, and administrators and security are reportedly spending the day preparing for Wednesday’s trial run.

“I understand everyone’s fear around metal detectors right now, and believe me, I’m not a proponent,” Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction Chris Melillo said Monday. ​“I don’t want metal detectors in my school, but I don’t see how we can stop being held hostage to outside threats,” he said, when all it takes to shut down school is a social media post.

“You’re seeing it in New Haven, you’re seeing it in Norwich, Eli Whitney had an incident today,” he observed.

Melillo stated: ​“We need to move from a reactive mode to a proactive road,” adding that waiting for any more acts or threats of physical violence will further traumatize the schools’ students and educators.

Others in the audience criticized the administration’s statements, saying the plan was clearly reactive and in response to ​“headlines” rather than to a consistent culture in which ​“you have educators watching children on the regular being beat to a pulp in your middle schools and your high schools,” and teachers are afraid to speak out for fear of termination.

That’s how Jayme Clark, whose husband works at the middle school, put it. 

“It’s gross and it’s on your hands,” she said, asking for more mental health support for teachers and a more democratic process by which educators’ voices are involved in school decisions.

Melissa Kaplan further inquired why more health professionals were not hired while new security supervisory positions were being brought on. 

Assistant Superintendent for Human Resource and Administration Gary Highsmith asserted that ​“some of the behaviors we’re seeing and some of the trauma we’re seeing might be beyond the scope of traditionally trained school psychologists and workers,” asserting that rather than hire more school social workers, the district is looking to partner with private practices and community organizations to get students a more diverse array of mental health supports. 

“It’s not just about hiring more people, but reimagining the work that some people are doing,” Highsmith added, reiterating the importance of the new PPT coordinator. He also highlighted smaller strategies that the schools have been working with to lower daily intrapersonal violence and fights happening at the high school and middle school, like staggering passing times and changing lunch waves to keep groups of kids smaller and more manageable. An additional social worker and guidance counselor have also been hired at the middle school over the past two years, he noted.

"I'm Terrified"

Meanwhile, those who had been pushing for metal detectors for weeks were just eager to see the administration follow through on their word.

“I’m a terrified parent, and I know what it’s like to be a terrified teacher,” said Karlen Meinsen, a Hamden mom and New Haven educator. If her daughter gets shot while on campus, she said, looking at Superintendent Goeler, ​“That’s on all of you because you didn’t put the metal detectors in.”

State Rep. Robyn Porter also attended the meeting. ​“We’re dealing with a lot of the superficial stuff — that needs to be dealt with right now,” she said, recognizing the pressures placed on the administration to protect students from ongoing threats, she said.

But, she said, mental health is the ​“root cause.” It’s about ​“getting our babies mentally well,” Porter asserted.

After two hours of administrative Q&A alongside anecdotes, solutions, and opinions offered by parents, some were left confused by the nature of the forum.

“I thought tonight was a workshop to discuss safety plans going forward,” Kaplan said, asking why a Board of Education vote was not required before bringing metal detectors into the school. ​“The BOE was never part of this discussion and learned about it along with the rest of the community,” she told the Independent.

“The board charges me with the authority to keep our schools safe, and given the severity of potential threats, no matter how unlikely, and after consultation with law enforcement, I felt it was in the best interest of our staff and students to make the decision to bring in metal detectors,” Goeler concluded.

Khakhis For SROs?

Meanwhile, two Hamden officials continued the discussion about school safety during a discussion Tuesday on WNHH FM’s ​“Dateline Hamden” program.

Police Chief John Sullivan — a Hamden High School graduate who also served as the school resource officer there two decades ago — spoke about possibly expanding the SRO program in the school system.

“If Hamden embraces and put SROs in all the school they should be in plain clothes to blend in,” one listener Jesse Phillips, texted in to the show.

Sullivan responded that some departments do ​“dress-down” SROs in ​“polos and khakis.” 

“It’s something we need to talk about,” the chief said. He did not express a strong view on the question.

Meanwhile, city economic development chief Erik Johnson, who appeared with Sullivan on the program, urged that students’ fears and voices be factored into policymaking on school security along with those of their parents. He spoke of the ​“undiagnosed trauma” many students feel after more than a year and a half of the Covid-19 pandemic as well as community violence issues. Sometimes law enforcement responses to school safety concerns could end up making kids feel less safe, rather than more, depending on how they are rolled out, he argued.

Click on the video above to watch the full episode of ​“Dateline Hamden” with Sullivan and Johnson, who also discussed community policing and business development policies they’re pursuing in town.

Paul Bass contributed.