U.S. Alerts Schools About Terror Threat

WASHINGTON - The Education Department has advised school leaders nationwide to watch for people spying on their buildings or buses to help detect any possibility of terrorism like the deadly school siege in Russia.

The warning follows an analysis by the FBI (news - web sites) and the Homeland Security Department of the siege that killed nearly 340 people, many of them students, in the city of Beslan last month.

"The horror of this attack may have created significant anxiety in our own country among parents, students, faculty staff and other community members," Deputy Education Secretary Eugene Hickok said in a letter to schools and education groups.

The safety advice is based on lessons learned from the Russia incident. But there is "no specific information indicating that there is a terrorist threat to any schools or universities in the United States," Hickok said.

Federal law enforcement officials also have encouraged local police to stay in contact with school officials and have encouraged reporting of suspicious activities, the letter says.

In particular, schools were told to watch for activities that may be legitimate on their own — but may suggest a heightened terrorist threat if many of them occur.

_ Interest in obtaining site plans for schools, bus routes and attendance lists;

_ Prolonged "static surveillance" by people disguised as panhandlers, shoe shiners, newspaper or flower vendors or street sweepers not previously seen in the area;

_ People staring at or quickly looking away from employees or vehicles as they enter or leave parking areas;

The effort is the latest by the Education Department and other federal agencies to encourage school officials to maintain and practice a plan for responding to emergencies.

After the terrorist takeover of the Russian school, President Bush (news - web sites) asked his top advisers to review their strategies for dealing with hostage situations, Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge has said.

The federal government is advising schools to take many steps to improve the security of their buildings. Those include installing locks for all doors and windows, having a single entry point into buildings and ensuring they can reach school bus drivers in an emergency.

The Education Department sent its letter by e-mail Wednesday to school police, state school officers, school boards, groups representing principals and many other organizations.

The Homeland Security Department also sent a bulletin Wednesday to federal, state and local emergency officials to provide fresh guidance based on the review of the school siege in Russia.

That's exactly right. If a Beslan-type massacre occurs here, in an American school, there'll be no nuking of Mecca or any other Muslim site. Here at home, people will be warned not to take the law into their own hands, muslims will not be interned and no significant closure of our porous borders will take place.

But by God, I predict people WILL take the law into their own hands if government fails in its duty to protect them, as "the people" ultimately have an absolute right and obligation to do in the face of governmental inaction and ineptitude.

One of the things I think we should be encouraging kids to do perhaps is to do what comes naturally to them; namely, explore their immediate surroundings and, in general, be curious about things, maybe even a little mischievous.

It's inconceivable to me that anyone could've successfully "hidden" weapons near the schools I went to and not been found out. Especially at nearby construction sites! Are you kidding? We combed every square inch of such sites after the workers went home, poked our noses into every nook and cranny, pried open doors, swung on ropes, crawled over every piece of equipment, looked under, around and within every interesting object on the site. If there had been weapons, we would've found them. Of course, we WERE trespassing, perhaps even causing some minor damage here and there . . . But better that than Beslan.

I had contacted my son's high school after the Russian school tragedy and talked with the Asst. Vice Principal. I now contacted our Superintendent today and sent the article with the video to him. He returned my call, but I missed it here at work, so I'm waiting for another call back.

My letter to him and his Secretary (she was very interested in seeing it and the video):

Mr. Schmitt/Ms. Loof:

After the Russian school tragedy, and the last incidences of beheadings, I contacted North High's Asst. Principal to discuss security precautions at the High School where my son is a Junior.

I was pretty much given information about what they are currently doing, but felt it doesn't even come close to more carefully securing our campuses in Torrance. I had suggested that one or two gates could be manned as students file into the school grounds in the morning and that the students would have to show their student I.D.'s to the gatekeeper. Oh, well......that takes money and more staff to implement!! We can't do that!

I currently work for (large Aerospace Co.) and we have to swipe a badge to get into our buildings, and that's AFTER we drive past a guard shack where our badges are compared to our faces and are actually touched to make sure they are not cardboard, or faked.

The least we could start doing is checking student ID's at the gates to try and prevent a young looking terrorists from entering the campus undeterred with his backpack!!

OK....so, today I spoke with Jeff, the Site Security Supervisor at North High, and he was fairly patient about any ideas of mine, workable or otherwise. He basically said "get me about 10 more people" and maybe I can implement some of your plans.

One of my other ideas involved the fact that the school office is open to anyone from the outside and that it should be kept locked. Jeff claims that the placing of personnel in the front door to check people as they enter the office building is what they implemented a few years back and makes it somewhat safer. Well, it doesn't. The office is vulnerable, and so are the students, since the office empties out onto the campus.

I told "Jeff" that we have to open up dialogue, not discount ideas. He made it clear that anything different than what they are doing now would mean changing their schedules as it is currently. I replied "so what! If children are attacked in a Torrance school, you watch how quickly all the schools change their schedules!" He agreed, but he countered with "it seems in our society we don't act until we have to or after the fact." I told him "that's not acceptable."

I'd like to know when the next school board meeting occurs as I intend to start a dialogue as soon as possible. Parents are scared for our children. I can't be the only one. I'm sure you don't want to risk even one child for lack of manpower, funds, or the inconvenience of changing school schedules.

I believe it's just a matter of time before the schools become targets, and I believe you must agree with me.

Thank You.

(You can click on the link below for the short video imbedded in this e-mail).

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