LEWISTON – As required by law, the School Committee was presented Monday night with a new comprehensive plan for personnel in the event of school emergencies such as bomb threats or intruders.

After a review, the committee unanimously approved the plan.

If there were a hostage situation, school staff would immediately report the situation, move students to a safe area, lock doors and windows, account for all students, wait for instructions, and hold all students in place until otherwise instructed.

Visitors in the building who have not signed in are not considered an immediate crisis, but the potential for violence means staff should act. They should greet the visitor, offer help and ask them to report to the main office to sign in and get a guest pass, the report states.

When there’s an intruder in a school, a staff person is to take two other staff members with them, let the administration know, make contact with the intruder, then use hand signals to others. A hand signal with one finger pointed up means everything is OK, while a closed fist means the intruder has a weapon and to call 911.

While passing out copies of the plan to committee members, Superintendent Leon Levesque explained some protocols won’t be made public so certain strategies aren’t known and students are protected. For instance, some steps on what to do during bomb threats were not detailed.

“We need to be cautious on what we release,” Levesque said.

But in general most information is being shared so the public knows there are procedures in place to protect students and staff if a crisis arises.

In addition to the plan, key members of school staff have had emergency training, Director of Human Resources Tom Jarvis said. Those staffers now have a common language with police and fire departments, so that they can work with experts during emergencies.

Committee members were also told that new security entrances and procedures are in place in all of Lewiston’s schools. All have single entrances, and people coming and going are monitored.

Also, teachers now have identification cards that have microchips used as door keys, Jarvis said. That’s a safer system than old metal keys, which could be tough to keep track of. If a new card is lost, it can be deprogrammed so it no longer works.

New technology coming within the next 12 months will allow police during emergencies to have access to security software, including cameras, operable lenses and motion sensors, committee members were told.

Weighted grades approved

In other business, the committee unanimously approved a student grading plan that includes weighted grades for advanced placement classes at the high school.

Beginning in fall 2008, students taking AP courses will be given higher grades to reflect the rigor of the classes, as recommended by Lewiston High School Principal Gus LeBlanc.

Student grades for AP courses will be 2.5 points higher. An old AP grade of 80 or 91 next year will be 82.5 and 93.5, LeBlanc said.

“We were hesitant to go hog wild into weighted grades, but the majority of AP classes are difficult and more demanding,” he said. AP classes often are tougher than even early college courses at area colleges, LeBlanc said. The change will recognize that rigor and encourage students to accept the challenge, he said.