MONROE, CT — Though the report of a student bringing a gun to school turned out to be a false alarm on Sept. 12, many Masuk High School students were upset over a new cellphone policy that cut off access to their phones, preventing them from calling loved ones who worried about their well-being.
Ariq Rahman, a Masuk senior and a student representative to the Board of Education, shared his classmates’ concerns at the board’s meeting Monday night. He said the situation highlighted a “major oversight” in the newly adopted policy of teachers collecting phones before class.
After last Thursday’s ordeal, he said students took to social media to “publicly voice their grievances with the school’s response to the emergency, namely the phone policy.”
“These students expressed their fears that in a dire situation, these newly enacted rules would prevent them from contacting their families when they needed them the most,” Rahman said.
“I am not here to advocate for the returning of cellphones into our impressionable hands during class time,” he continued. “I recognize the harm the phones can cause for education. Nor am I here to disparage the board or bash the administration for this policy initiative.”
Rahman admitted that he too had disregarded some classmates’ concerns over the policy.
“But I realize now that in no instance should threat response procedures at schools be made under the guise that ‘it won’t happen to us,'” he said.
Rahman noted how students were already told the school administration will meet with class officers to discuss the situation, adding he is looking forward to that.
“I’m grateful that our concerns are being heard,” he said, “but, in a perfect world, these conversations would have occurred prior to a real life incident.”
Superintendent Joseph Kobza thanked Rahman for sharing students’ concerns and said the issue will be addressed.
Board of Education Chairman David Ferris said the issue of students having access to their phones during emergencies was a topic of discussion before the new policy was rolled out.
“If there was an evacuation, a fire drill, something like that, the teacher would grab the box of phones and go with it,” he said. “We didn’t take it to the next step as far as a lockdown, a stay put, a shelter in place and all of that.”
Ferris said he wants students to know he, Kobza and Assistant Superintendent Sheila Casinelli spoke last Thursday and agreed there needs to a conversation about the issue. He said this will include the Safety Committee, administrators and Principal Steve Swensen.
“We’re gonna have an answer for you and hopefully it will be the best and most logical thing for everybody,” Ferris said. “I just want to let you know that it will be rectified.”
“That’s all we ask,” Rahman said.
“And thanks for your input. That’s why you’re here,” Ferris said.
Handling threats
At 7:20 a.m. on Thursday, Sept. 12, some students reported a potential threat posed by an armed classmate to administrators at Masuk. Kobza said the school immediately went into a “stay put” status, keeping students in classrooms and minimizing movement in the building as a precaution, while police and school administrators investigated.
No weapon was found, but “out of an abundance of caution”, Kobza said police canines were brought in to perform a second search, this time of the entire building and grounds, to ensure no guns were found.
During Monday’s board meeting, Kobza gave a recap of the district’s response.
“First, I want to applaud the students who came forward,” he said. “Even though we deemed this threat to be non-credible, we always ask our students to come forward if they see or hear something that could possibly threaten the safety of the school community — and these kids did just that, so I thank them.”
Kobza also praised the Monroe Police Department for how “swiftly and professionally” its officers responded to the situation.
When students arrived to school, they went to the cafeteria, where they were supervised by security and staff until the situation was resolved.
Kobza said the stay put status lasted for over two hours, no weapons were found and at no point was any immediate danger posed to students and staff.
The superintendent sent out three emails to families. Kobza said a purpose of the emails was “emphasizing the importance of remaining calm during these kinds of situations and relying on accurate information to avoid rumors that may cause unnecessary alarm.”
“I understand the importance of timely information, but I prioritize accurate information over fast information,” Kobza said. “I’d rather be accurate than fast. And there were quite a few rumors and misinformation being circulated.”
Kobza said he received a handful of emails seeking specific details about those who may have been involved.
“I understand the anxiety of not knowing, but it must be understood that privacy laws prevent us from sharing specific details about those involved,” he said. “With that being said, I do want to assure everybody that we are fully committed to ensuring that our school community is safe.”
The administration conducted an “after action review” with police and security personnel to discuss what went well and what could be improved upon.
Kobza said student access to cellphones came up. In hindsight, he said the period when the school was waiting for the canines to arrive may have been a good time to allow students to make phone calls.
“While each situation is unique, we’re looking to put procedures in place where students can access their phones when it’s safe and appropriate to do so,” he said.
Kobza said Swensen is working with staff and students to find solutions for the future. He pointed out how no two situations are exactly the same, “so it’s difficult to make a hard and fast rule on this, but we’re in discussions to make sure it’s better.”
The superintendent praised Masuk school staff for keeping students calm Thursday, the main office for its “calm and professional” manner in handling “probably hundreds of phone calls” and commended the students for the way they responded to the situation and handled themselves.
“I can’t thank the administration and the Monroe Police Department enough for their collaboration, collegiality and professionalism during the entire ordeal,” Kobza said. “It was stressful, but they really handled it very well.”
Ferris thanked the superintendent for his communication with Board of Education members.
All respectful comments with the commenter’s first and last name are welcome.
My grandson told me what was going on thru out the whole thing … with his cell phone
This incident should not be used to go back to old cell phone policies.
This may be the reason this incident happened! Intentional planning to get cell phones back.
Think about it!