Eileen King sat in her office last Friday and watched the TV coverage of the terrible events at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. And she cried.

The next day, the Superintendent of Schools in AOS 98, an Alternative Organizational Structure, drove to each school building in Southport, Boothbay, Boothbay Harbor, Georgetown and Edgecomb and walked the empty halls. She tried to think of a way she could do a better job at protecting the 829 kids who go to her schools.

On Monday, like school officials around the nation, she met with principals and other administrators to see if they could think of anything that would make the kids safer. 

King said they might add some special locks and blinds to classrooms, and other things she doesn’t want to talk about because she does not want to let on that there might be some holes in the security system. She said she has not run up against any budget obstacles that might block her efforts to make the kids safer.

Over the weekend, she also talked to Boothbay Harbor Police Chief Bob Hasch, to get his expert opinion. She said she is thankful he assigned of one of his policemen, veteran school officer Larry Brown, to be a frequent visitor to the Boothbay Harbor schools. 

Brown walks the halls talking to kids. Other police officers drive through the schools parking lots on a regular basis. It is not uncommon to see a Boothbay Harbor police cruiser parked at the edge of the school driveway.

In addition, King said she tries to keep track of family situations, like bitter divorces that can trigger intense custody issues. She talks to Hasch and lets him know of potential problems. He returns the favor.

As she watched the terrible events of the weekend, events that chronicled the loss of 20 children and six teachers, she said she believes that the Newtown school did everything they could to ensure safety of the kids. “That principal did everything right, they had a buzzer system (to open the door) but the guy shot his way in,” she said.  

The Sandy Hook principal, Dawn Hochsprung, 47, was slain as she tried to stop the shooter, police said.

As the word filtered out that the Sandy Hook shooter had some mental issues, King said she reflected on the ways she, her staff, administrators and other education specialists try to work with children who have behavioral issues. 

She outlined the district’s support system, beginning with teachers and social workers and how they try to work with kids with special needs at school, and at home. 

It is a complex dance between parents and their children, and, admittedly, it takes a special effort on the part of the staff and administration to cope with these troubling situations. 

King said she knows it is not a perfect system, and everyone involved understands that, but they continue to work and try to get help for the kids and their families. 

Like our national, regional and local political leaders, school administrators, teachers, parents and law enforcement professionals, King has been shaken by the Sandy Hook slayings.

And she said she is determined to step up her efforts to keep her kids – our kids – safe. Her efforts are contained in a simple plan to move forward.  

“What can I learn? What can I do better?”

Associate editor of the Newtown Bee newspaper John Voket said anyone who wants to help the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting can find donation information www.nsbonline.com.