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<p>HANOVER TWP. &#8212; Hanover Area School District Superintendent William Jones showed a U.S. map to audience members to start a presentation on school safety Tuesday night.</p><p>The map had a red dot on each area where a school shooting has occurred since the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre of 2012.</p><p>&#8220;That&#8217;s incredible,&#8221; he said, referring to the dots spread over almost all of the map.</p><p>To prevent a tragedy at Hanover Area, officials plan extra security measures as well as more active shooter drills. &#8220;Don&#8217;t think for one minute that this cannot happen in a school district like ours,&#8221; Jones warned.</p><p>The district has already implemented limited entry points for buildings as well as a revised entry protocol, which includes further questioning of visitors and showing identification.</p><p>&#8220;Before you get through that door, what&#8217;s your story? Because if you have bad intentions, we don&#8217;t want you in the building and that&#8217;s the first line of our defense,&#8221; said William Kane, assistant principal of Hanover Area Junior-Senior High School.</p><p>Tinted windows for certain areas such as the cafeteria are another protective measure in the works.</p><p>The district also recently upgraded to 20 security cameras, which will help monitor all hallways, exits, entrances, and other areas.</p><p>Jones emphasized the importance of monthly drills so everyone will be prepared if an active shooter situation ever happens.</p><p>&#8220;I want our kids to be able to react to situations,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I want them to automatically know what they have to do. Because if they have to think &#8212; they&#8217;ve lost time already.&#8221;</p><p>Officials plan &#8220;targeted training&#8221; for employees, including not only teachers, but office staff, kitchen staff, and maintenance workers. After teachers are trained, they will then practice procedures and protocols with students.</p><p>Kane also showed a video about the &#8220;run hide fight&#8221; protocol recommended by the Department of Homeland Security. In an active shooter situation, people should try to evacuate as soon as possible. If that is not a viable option, students and teachers should hide, keep quiet, and block their classroom door. As a last resort, they should &#8220;fight&#8221; by disarming the attacker with makeshift weapons such as chairs, fire extinguishers, scissors, and books.</p><p>Amy Mullery, a high school counselor, touched on mental health. &#8220;One thing all of these school shooters have in common in the United States is some type of mental health problem,&#8221; she said.</p><p>Mullery said students are referred by teachers, administrators, and sometimes other students to guidance counselors if they are having issues. If a student is in a &#8220;crisis situation,&#8221; the school contacts agencies such as Northeast Counseling Services.</p><p>Mullery also stressed the role of parents when it comes to detecting mental health issues, saying they need to notify the school if they notice abnormal changes in behavior.</p><p>&#8220;Parents, if you are taking away one thing from tonight, please &#8212; you are the frontline,&#8221; she said. &#8220;Please let us know. We&#8217;re here to help.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Hanover Area High Assistant Principal William Kane talks to parents about school safety in the auditorium of the high school during a public presentation on school safety. Sean McKeag | Times Leader </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_TTL030718SchoolSafety1-1-1-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Hanover Area High Assistant Principal William Kane talks to parents about school safety in the auditorium of the high school during a public presentation on school safety. Sean McKeag | Times Leader </caption0><photoCredit0>Sean McKeag | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_TTL030718hanoverSecurity1-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Hanover Area High Assistant Principal William Kane looks at school video monitors on his phone with School Resource Officer Sgt. Eric Richardson. The monitors can be viewed in Hanover police cruisers, the police station and by administrators on a telephone app. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_TTL030718hanoverSecurity1-1.jpg</photo1><caption1>Hanover Area High Assistant Principal William Kane looks at school video monitors on his phone with School Resource Officer Sgt. Eric Richardson. The monitors can be viewed in Hanover police cruisers, the police station and by administrators on a telephone app. </caption1><photoCredit1>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_TTL030718SchoolSafety1-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Hanover Area Superintendent William Jones talks about the number of school shootings in America since the Sandy Hook Elementary massacre that took place in Newtown, Conn., in 2012. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/web1_TTL030718SchoolSafety1-1.jpg</photo2><caption2>Hanover Area Superintendent William Jones talks about the number of school shootings in America since the Sandy Hook Elementary massacre that took place in Newtown, Conn., in 2012. </caption2><photoCredit2>Sean McKeag | Times Leader </photoCredit2></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Kulsoom Khan</p><p>kkhan@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div>

Hanover Area hosts safety session in wake of Florida school shooting