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Educators say it takes community to help heal By JIM DAVIS and JULIE SWENSEN Medford schools' faculty and staff will get memos at work today asking that they be extra sensitive and to ensure that counselors are available for kids who need to talk about Tuesday's killings in Littleton, Colo. Meanwhile, Ashland teachers are being asked to help kids have a "good, healthy day at school." Saddened by another shooting in another school, local district superintendents said the problem of violence stretches beyond their walls -- and it's up to everyone to fix it. "It's symptomatic of a sick society," Central Point schools Superintendent Mike McClain said. Ashland schools Superintendent John Daggett agreed, saying that communities must work together to heal what causes tragedies such as Tuesday's carnage. "We as a culture have a very serious problem and we need to bond together and work together," Daggett said. "It's a long-term commitment." When something like the Colorado shooting happens, some students may think the resulting media attention glorifies the event, Medford schools Superintendent Steve Wisely said. "We want to make sure our kids don't look at it in that light," said Wisely. He said Tuesday night he plans to send a memo throughout the Medford schools today stressing that teachers be sensitive to students' needs. Daggett said that society needs to make "healthy people" by getting people involved and invested in communities. For instance, he pointed to examples in Ashland schools such as students working to pay for a backpacking trip and a partnership between residents and students to build the city's skateboard park. He said principals at his schools probably won't talk with students about Tuesday's killings. "I think we need to focus on having a good, healthy day at school," Daggett said. McClain said that officials cannot absolutely make schools safe. But he said his district has taken measures to heighten security in the past couple of years. Crater High has two security officers on campus, and officers and administrators all have two-way radios. The district also is applying for a federal grant to put a police officer in the schools. He also said that adding metal detectors as a preventive measure isn't feasible: some of the schools in his district have as many as 100 doors to the outside. Daggett added: "If we ever think barbed wire, concertina wire, metal detectors and surveillance cameras will solve this, then we're in really big trouble." Medford police Lt. Tim George said police meet regularly with school officials and are able to get information quickly about troubled students. "It's every community's nightmare what happened in the Denver area today," George said. "I think the lesson that can be learned initially is that you have to be vigilant to any problem or potential problem and take any step that you can to prevent it." Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA