Worry and Fear Grips Schools and Parents in Wake of Newtown Shooting and Local Threats

Random and disturbing threats in the Chicago area followed the Newtown school killings, underscoring vulnerabilities and prompting discussions of gun control and guns for teachers.

The first day of school after the Sandy Hook school massacre brought a wave of fear, worry and outright threats to Chicago-area communities as educators and police sought to reassure people that efforts to protect their children would be redoubled. Parents and educators everywhere were talking about school security even as incidents locally in the last three days underscored potential vulnerability. Here's a glimpse of what's taken place in the past few days. Parents in Valley View School District 365U balked at what some saw as an overzealous response to the tragedy after the district enacted strict policies regarding visitors, barring parents from school parties, and began random "magnetic wand" searches" at the two high schools and five…

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Inspections Show Valley View Schools are Clean, Safe

Patch obtains copies of the Health and Life Safety Inspections of each district school through Freedom of Information request.

A majority of Valley View schools are flawless when it comes to safety and cleanliness, inspections performed by the Will County Regional Office of Education show. And those school buildings that did have violations were few and far between, and relatively minor in nature. Patch obtained copies of the Health and Life Safety Inspections, performed annually by the Will County Regional Office of Education, for every school in the Valley View School District 365U through a Freedom of Information request. Just eight schools received violations—four from Bolingbrook and four from Romeoville. The district operates 20 buildings, all of which were last inspected in May. “Since these visits are scheduled, most schools are prepared for the visit and …

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The View from Valley View 365U

Everyone Plays Important Role In School Safety

Leroy Brown, Valley View School District safety coordinator, discusses what school officials can do to help keep their campuses safer.

We want all parents and community members to be aware of the current safety protocols and procedures in place for our school district.  Our district's first priority is protecting all students and school personnel. We work with local police, local fire departments and emergency responders to keep our schools safe. Because there is no absolute guarantee that violence or an emergency will never occur, we have many safety measures already in place in our district to prevent such events, including: Our district continues to work diligently to provide a safe learning environment for all of our students and a safe environment in general for our staff, parents and community. Everyone, especially students, can play an important role in helping to …

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Donna KPG

7:33 am on Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Mr. Brown is fantastic at his job. I had a problem last school year involving my son and Mr. Brown immediately responded to the situation and made sure it wouldn't be repeated. I complete faith that Mr. Brown and his staff will do everything in their power to insure the safety of our children.   more ›