School safety a priority among Lynn officials

LYNN – The district attorney, Lynn school officials and local police Friday signed a pact to work together to ensure the city’s schools remain a safe environment for students and teachers.”We work regularly with the district attorney and the Police Department,” said School Superintendent Catherine Latham. “They have been incredibly supportive. Any problems we have right now we’ll stay on top of.”Latham said School Department funds are about to make it possible for Lynn police to monitor school video cameras and other electronic surveillance equipment via a new fiber-optic line.The meeting at School Department headquarters on Commercial Street came barely a week after a spate of vandalism left two Lynn schools in shambles only days before the start of the academic year.”I feel comfortable the kids are safe in the schools,” Latham said.Police Officer Robert Ferrari, assigned along with Police Det. Larry Wentzell to work in the city schools, said bullying remains an issue – both face-to-face and via the Internet – as is gang activity.”A lot of the issues Larry and I deal with start with bullying,” he said.Essex District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett has made school safety a priority, offering seminars and other educational initiatives to teachers, social workers and law enforcement personnel.”We have to develop strategies to deal with these issues,” he said.On Sept. 30, Blodgett will hold his annual School Safety Conference at the Peabody Marriott. Entitled, Prevention Strategies and Planning: Bullying, Cyberbullying and School Violence, the event will feature internationally renowned writer Rosalind Wiseman, author of “Queen Bees and Wannabees,” and 16-year-old Brigitte Berman, who wrote “Dorie Witt’s Guide to Surviving Bullies.”The Lynn public school system has approximately 13,500 students from pre-kindergarten to grade 12.”Ninety-eight percent of them do the right thing every day. It’s the other two percent who take up 98 percent of our time,” said Ferrari.Latham agreed. “The majority do not emulate bad behavior,” she said.Blogett, too, emphasized the importance of role models. “In a perfect world, teachers, coaches and police officers would be my heroes, not the Lindsay Lohans,” he said. “We hope their parents are their heroes.”The city’s ordinance prohibiting weapons of any kind from school property has helped keep violence in check. “The law is a tool that helps us keep our schools safe. And it’s unique to Lynn. It covers weapons that are not banned by other laws,” said Wentzell, noting items such as box cutters and paint ball guns are banned.Ferrari said the weapons ban is well publicized in the schools. “We want the kids to know about this. It’s not behind their backs,” he said.Deputy Superintendent Jaye Warry said efforts are under way to identify as mentors and examples those students who are positively involved in the community. She cited the success of a local cable television show and efforts by George Markos, owner of Brother’s Deli restaurant, to highlight Lynn youth who are doing impressive things.School Committee Secretary Thomas Iarrobino, Police Chief Kevin Coppinger and other members of the school administration and the district attorney’s staff attended the signing of the memorandum of understanding.