Malden Police review school safety protocols for at presentation for parents

School officials stress safety and well-being of students, staff is top priority

By Steve Freker

The process of keeping students and staff members safe and protected is the top priority— every day— for the Malden Public Schools, Malden Police Department (MPD) and city of Malden.

Malden Superintendent of Schools Dr. Ligia Noriega-Murphy on Wednesday evening led a formal presentation which described the full collaboration between Malden Public Schools and MPD on safety planning and procedures that are in place at this time.

“The safety and well-being of our students and staff members is our highest priority,” the Superintendent told parents who attended the hour-long presentation Wednesday, which was held in the Jenkins Auditorium at Malden High School. and we are so grateful to have.

“We are so fortunate to have such a valuable partnership with the Malden Police Department to assist us with planning and implementation of safety protocols,” Supt. Noriega-Murphy added.

The Superintendent introduced Malden Police Chief Glenn Cronin, Malden Police Sgt. Rich Correale, who is in charge of MPD Special Operations Unit and Ptl, Rich Doherty, who works closely with Sgt. Correale, all of whom were in attendance for the presentation.

Also on hand for the event were a number of Malden Public Schools central administration officials, including Assistant Superintendents Emily Pena and Ellen Kelleher-Rojas and several Malden school principals, including Van Huynh (Salemwood K-8), Dr. Kariann Murphy (Beebe K-8) and Adam Weldai (Forestdale K-8).

Chief Cronin and Sgt. Correale both addressed those in attendance. “We are in contact on a daily basis with the Malden Public Schools and both short-term and long-term planning in safety issues and protocols are ongoing.

“We work with school and city to make sure our students and staff and the facilities where the education takes place are all safe and aware of what we have in place,” Chief Cronin said.

Chief Cronin also explained that three full-time school resource officers work closely in and with the schools and both he and Supt. Noriega-Murphy agreed that this is still another valuable resource being employed for student and staff safety.

Sgt. Rob O’Brien is a school resource officer and the facilitator overseeing the program overall, Chief Cronin said, and the other two officers are Ptls. Katelyn Centore and Connor Cloherty.

“Our main goal is for the school resource officers to build and keep positive and meaningful relationships with students and staff members,” Chief Cronin said. “We want them to become members of the school community and provide any assistance they can give.”