While the nation recovers from what was a horrible tragedy in Newtown, Conn., area schools have been looking at the massacre with grievance and assessing their own school’s safety.

Should all schools have an armed law enforcement officer on duty at all times? Should principals and teachers carry weapons in an effort to defend their classrooms? How much security is too much? These questions must be swarming the minds of educators everywhere.

On a local level, we commend schools with younger students for taking the time and examining the level of safety precaution they exercise within their school walls. Although we like to think our elementary schools are free from danger, it’s events like these that make us rethink the safety of our youngest learners.

We must also ask the question of how much security is too much. Although the obvious answer seems to be to line our school walls with law enforcement, we need to remember that no child should grow up in a school that resembles a maximum-security fortress.

So this leaves the question, where’s the middle ground?

How can we keep our children safe while raising them in nurturing, welcoming environments? We are confident that our local educators will answer these questions with thoughtfulness and diligence.