School security 10 yrs after Columbine

New Haven (WTNH) - School security in Connecticut has evolved since the deadly rampage at Columbine High School in Colorado, which happened ten years ago today.

At Hill Regional Career High School in New Haven, resource officers are on site and there's more vigilance among teachers and students. And yes, there are metal detectors.

One of the biggest lessons learned from Columbine is to keep the lines of communication open between students and adults, including law enforcement.

Many school campuses around the state, including at Wilbur Cross High School in New Haven, have school resource officers on duty at all times. Schools have also invested in metal detectors as an extra precaution to safeguard against weapons coming in.

Hartford Public High School also conducts searches through back packs and uses security wands to make sure students are safe. The school resource officers are a common site in the hallways there as well.

In the Eastern Connecticut town of Killingly, visitors are asked to show ID before coming in the building, and there is a closed circuit video camera system tracking people.

Many educators say the most important change is kids are talking to teachers and reporting concerns, because they want to feel safe.

12 students and a teacher were killed when two students opened fire in 1999 at Columbine High School. About two dozen other students were hurt before the gunmen killed themselves. The high school will be closed today, and a private service for families of victims is planned for tonight.