By ZACH PATBERG
ASBURY PARK PRESS

Wanting to be at the forefront of security improvements after a large student brawl in November, the local school district hosted a regional workshop Wednesday at which educators and law enforcement officials discussed a new wave of emergency response approaches.

The meeting, organized by Executive Ocean County Schools Superintendent Bruce Greenfield, set out to bring recent state guidelines for reacting to and preventing school crises — such as a student shooting or melee — to the local level, according to several officials who attended.

That the meeting was held just two months after 150 Lakewood students were involved in an unprecedented fight Nov. 12 at the high school is coincidence, officials said, although Lakewood Assistant Schools Superintendent William Andersen said the district sought to host the function in order to show "we are trying to act rather than react."

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/20080124/NEWS/801240607/1001/newsfront

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