Mom, why are we in a lock down?

[kidswarrior]

Communication is often all but impossible between the people trying to handle an incident and others affected by it. There's just a whole lot going on, and often, all that the police department has done is notify the school authority (possibly not even the individual school!) about "an incident." The school authorities then decide what steps to take.

That said -- when possible and tactically appropriate, it's absolutely proper that the school know at least the broad scope of what's going on, and relay that information in an age appropriate manner to students and parents promptly.

You've obviously been there, done that. Very articulate and logical take on this type situation.

I remember awhile back getting the call to lock myself and the kids in our alt ed classroom. Info as you said was sketchy at first. Then, as we watched out front windows, saw SWAT--rifles in hand--filing along the ridgeline of the roof of an apartment building across the street. Obviously at that moment the entire police dept. was involved at some level and too busy to communciate further with the school. Turned out later that some knucklehead had cut a hole in the roof of a check cashing outlet around the corner and, caught in the act, refused to give up without a fight. (He later did, no one hurt, good ending). We got the all clear in a timely manner, and details later.

 

[Jonathan Randall]

Oh, man, Lisa! I am SO glad your children are all right!

Actually, more schools are going into "lockdown" type situations as neighborhoods and police are taking no chances anymore on crime spilling over into the schoolyard. Example; when I was in school, we were only locked down only once (they didn't call it that then) and that was when a fugitive was thought to have entered school grounds fleeing from a robbery (he hadn't). By the time my younger sister was in High School, they would keep children confined in classrooms, the library or the cafeteria even for an incident blocks away. Times have changed since you and I were kids!

OH, forgot to mention, in Florida once, we were confined to our elementary classroom when an alligator came into the yard! He was only at the far end (near the canal) and posed no real threat as it was a part of the yard out of bounds, but it was still exciting for us second graders.

 

[kidswarrior]

OH, forgot to mention, in Florida once, we were confined to our elementary classroom when an alligator came into the yard! He was only at the far end (near the canal) and posed no real threat as it was a part of the yard out of bounds, but it was still exciting for us second graders.

:boing1: :boing2: :boing1:

 

[Lisa]

Communication is often all but impossible between the people trying to handle an incident and others affected by it. There's just a whole lot going on, and often, all that the police department has done is notify the school authority (possibly not even the individual school!) about "an incident." The school authorities then decide what steps to take.

You are very right about what you wrote above. The police in a time of a serious incident aren't worried about long explanations, they are worried about keeping people safe.

That said -- when possible and tactically appropriate, it's absolutely proper that the school know at least the broad scope of what's going on, and relay that information in an age appropriate manner to students and parents promptly. I'm not certain that I consider a note sent home the next day "promptly", though I would suspect that anything that actually locked down a school probably was worth at least a comment on the evening news! (Hey... Some of the best "intelligence sources" out there are reporters simply covering the events!)

Since the incident occured at the end of the school day, there truly wasn't enough time to get a note created and sent home, especially when the school wasn't aware of the exact cause itself.

A note did get sent home yesterday, of course both my children left it in their lockers! :shrug:

They told me that there was really no explanation as of yet, just that the police called for the lock down.

Now, if ya want rumors, well I have PLENTY! LOL! Varying from a sniper on the highschool rooftop, the middle school rooftop, and the elementary school roof top. It depends who you talk to!

I will let you all know anything more when I hear it.

 

[shesulsa]

I spoke with my daughter about the lockdowns at her school and the level of info they're given and she also expressed frustration. She (13 going on 30) feels that she should have a general idea as to the happenings so she can make her own decision; i.e. if nuclear warfare has broken out, she wants to find her family ... if there's a sniper on the rooftop she knows staying put is her best bet ... etcetera.

I dunno, after that explanation, I think I'd rather her not know as she might make a decision in a real situation which could be fatal to her.

:idunno:

But I do think parents should be given the news.

 

[CuongNhuka]

Our school doesn't really have a lockdown procedure. According to the school code (or something) we're supposed to go to the catacombs (designed to be a shelter against the Ruskys). In reality, we just don't leave class until they say otherwise. And lock the doors. They never tell us why, and aren't supposed to. Why is beyond me and all forms of logical reason.

 

[Tez3]

Good grief! For once I was left (almost) speechless! I have never heard of lockdown in a school! Here it is entirely a thing that happens in prisons. My children are well beyond school age but when I take the children's MA class tomorrow I shall elicit some opinions from parents and post them up. I think I'm totally horrified but I do wonder what procedures we have in place apart from fire practices.

 

[Eternal Beginner]

My daughter had a scheduled lockdown drill at school today and one of the things that was stressed is that they did not want kids calling out of the school during a lockdown. For two reasons, A) they are supposed to stay absolutely quiet B) if there was a real situation they didn't want parents/guardians flocking to the school and maybe involving more people in a dangerous situation.

From what I gathered from the info that was sent home on the lockdown is that, if possible, the children will be notified what the danger is if they don't think it will cause mass hysteria and some children trying to escape or if they actually have verifiable, reliable information from a reputable source such as the police. It has happened in my son's school where there was a lockdown and some kids called out, got parents worried, parents called news sources and the school phone lines got tied up with calls. Turned out it was a lockdown drill and the kids that called out hadn't were not there the day it was announced and didn't realise it was a drill.

Scary that kids have to worry about lockdowns, but I would rather they be prepared than at risk if a situation develops. From my understanding, a lot of these issues and the need for "lockdowns" is parent custody issues. They need to lock down schools if a "prohibited" parent is trying to access a student and the easiest way to make sure the one student is safe is if they can easily and quickly ascertain where said student is and make sure that they can control a situation before it escalates.

 

[Kacey]

My daughter had a scheduled lockdown drill at school today and one of the things that was stressed is that they did not want kids calling out of the school during a lockdown. For two reasons, A) they are supposed to stay absolutely quiet B) if there was a real situation they didn't want parents/guardians flocking to the school and maybe involving more people in a dangerous situation.

These are two very good points. To address B first: we had a bomb scare at our middle school a couple of years ago (someone called the registrar and claimed there was a bomb in the school - nothing was ever found, thankfully). The call came in before school started, so as kids arrived, we put them on the track (far enough from the building, and a contained area, because the track is around the football field; the whole area is fenced). So many kids called their parents - and so quickly - that the second emergency squad called in to investigate (to help the first squad) couldn't get into the parking lot... and since we couldn't get into the building to check who had the right to pick kids up, we couldn't let them leave anyway. Had there really been a bomb, the parents would have been the most likely to be injured, as the parking lot is much closer to the school than the track.

Then to address A - if there is an intruder in the school, the interior doors are locked, the kids are moved to a wall not visible from the door (all doors have windows), and kept as silent as possible. We have had full lockdown drills, in which the SWAT team moves through the building, checking doors to make sure they're locked, calling through the door that everything is clear and we should come out (exiting lockdown requires a key phrase be broadcast over the school intercom), etc. In a real emergency, the last thing you want is a cell phone to ring - in fact, turning off all cell phones (or at least the ring) was recently added to the list of actions to take in a lockdown. The idea is to make it difficult to tell which rooms actually have kids and staff in them - hard to do when someone's cell phone suddenly rings, or they start talking.

 

[Jonathan Randall]

These are two very good points. To address B first: we had a bomb scare at our middle school a couple of years ago (someone called the registrar and claimed there was a bomb in the school - nothing was ever found, thankfully). The call came in before school started, so as kids arrived, we put them on the track (far enough from the building, and a contained area, because the track is around the football field; the whole area is fenced). So many kids called their parents - and so quickly - that the second emergency squad called in to investigate (to help the first squad) couldn't get into the parking lot... and since we couldn't get into the building to check who had the right to pick kids up, we couldn't let them leave anyway. Had there really been a bomb, the parents would have been the most likely to be injured, as the parking lot is much closer to the school than the track.

I understand your point and it is definitely a valid one. OTOH, I can't really blame Lisa's daughter for text messaging her mother in this case. Remember, Canada doesn't have near the level of school violence that we have in the U.S. and it probably wasn't adequately reinforced with the children that they were not to use their cells.

 

[Carol]

And the lockdown here, the child text messaged her dad.

I can understand needing to be quiet but I have no issues with a child text-messaging their parents telling them they are in a lockdown.

 

[Kacey]

I understand your point and it is definitely a valid one. OTOH, I can't really blame Lisa's daughter for text messaging her mother in this case. Remember, Canada doesn't have near the level of school violence that we have in the U.S. and it probably wasn't adequately reinforced with the children that they were not to use their cells.

True... although I still stand by my original reason. Parents flocking to the school could create a greater hazard than already exists - and while I understand parents being concerned, if you were the child, how would you feel if your text message drew your parent into danger, however unintentionally?

And the lockdown here, the child text messaged her dad.

I can understand needing to be quiet but I have no issues with a child text-messaging their parents telling them they are in a lockdown.

See above - I do have a concern with it, because it can (and in my experience, has) pull parents into a potential danger they need not be exposed to, and thereby increase the potential risk(s) to the students.

 

[shesulsa]

I think it's understandable that a girl who has never been in a lockdown would text her parents if she never even knew what a lockdown was.

I'm amazed that the district did not brief the children on the first day of school what a lockdown was, what the rules were, why, etcetera.

 

[Jonathan Randall]

I think it's understandable that a girl who has never been in a lockdown would text her parents if she never even knew what a lockdown was.

I'm amazed that the district did not brief the children on the first day of school what a lockdown was, what the rules were, why, etcetera.

That's my take on the situation, as well. I do understand and respect Kacey's points.

 

[Carol]

That's my take on the situation, as well. I do understand and respect Kacey's points.

Same here, and I respect that Kacey is a teacher and that she and her students live under the decisions that are made every day.

But, I have a serious issue with the concept.

If I had kids, they would be my kids. I would have a huge issue with my child being told not to tell their parents about something that is going on at the school, and I would have a equally huge issue with my district insisting that I can't be trusted with such information. Thats just my thoughts though. :asian:

 

[Lisa]

The lock down caused the other schools and school districts to do "lock down" practices with their students and I think that is a good idea. I think, just as fire drills are practiced, so should lock down drills. I just wish it wasn't after the fact.

As for my daughter text messaging me. Yes, Kacey has very good points. When my daughter told me about it I was suppose to be going to get her from school. Instead I kept myself at home, out of harms way and more importantly, out of the police's way. The police had more then enough to handle due to the fact that parents had already started to congregate around the school due to the fact that it was home time, not out of fear for their child.

The confusion for my daughter was they were told that they were in a lock down situation. I believe she would have been more comfortable if they had explained that it was not an "inside" problem, but a problem in the neighbourhood. See, she didn't understand that if it was in the school she would be sitting up against the wall in absolute silence. Instead they tried to continue with their afternoon. She just didn't know the difference between the two.

 

[MJS]

My daughter had a scheduled lockdown drill at school today and one of the things that was stressed is that they did not want kids calling out of the school during a lockdown. For two reasons, A) they are supposed to stay absolutely quiet B) if there was a real situation they didn't want parents/guardians flocking to the school and maybe involving more people in a dangerous situation.

From what I gathered from the info that was sent home on the lockdown is that, if possible, the children will be notified what the danger is if they don't think it will cause mass hysteria and some children trying to escape or if they actually have verifiable, reliable information from a reputable source such as the police. It has happened in my son's school where there was a lockdown and some kids called out, got parents worried, parents called news sources and the school phone lines got tied up with calls. Turned out it was a lockdown drill and the kids that called out hadn't were not there the day it was announced and didn't realise it was a drill.

Scary that kids have to worry about lockdowns, but I would rather they be prepared than at risk if a situation develops. From my understanding, a lot of these issues and the need for "lockdowns" is parent custody issues. They need to lock down schools if a "prohibited" parent is trying to access a student and the easiest way to make sure the one student is safe is if they can easily and quickly ascertain where said student is and make sure that they can control a situation before it escalates.

IMO, I think that this is a great idea! Much like a fire drill, it will hopefully prepare the students and staff for the procedure and hopefully things will run smooth in the event a real situation takes place.

Mike

 

[Lisa]

IMO, I think that this is a great idea! Much like a fire drill, it will hopefully prepare the students and staff for the procedure and hopefully things will run smooth in the event a real situation takes place.

Mike

I agree that it is a great idea. I just wish it would be a regular part of school not because it happened somewhere and they are all scrambling to make sure they have their bases covered.

Every year they do fire drills and bus evacuation procedures. I think they need to add this one to the list and explain to the students the difference beween a class room lock down and a general lock down of the school. At least by the time the kids are in middle school and above.

 

[Jade Tigress]

My daughter had a scheduled lockdown drill at school today and one of the things that was stressed is that they did not want kids calling out of the school during a lockdown.

I agree and understand that making calls in a situation like this would be a problem. However, when I read that Lisa's daughter texted her I thought "brilliant!" What a smart girl, keeping quiet yet contacting her mom for both her personal need in her fear, and to keep mom in the loop. I hope to God if my daughter is ever in that situation she will have the presence of mind to text me. For herself and for me. Kudos to your daughter Lisa.

 

[Kacey]

I will also add that we do have lockdown drills, along with fire drills and tornado drills - so when we do go on lockdown, it's not completely foreign to the kids, which helps immensely. These drills are district-wide (and, I assume, occur across the Denver Metro area; Columbine HS is only about 30 miles from here), and kids are as familiar with lockdown drills as they are with fire and tornado drills. They know we (the teachers) will tell them what is going on as soon as we are informed - in the meantime, sit down against the wall and be quiet - the same rules they have for tornado drills, except we don't lock the door (although it is closed) and the lights stay on for tornado drills.

When we've had real lockdowns (usually Level 1 - the building is locked but things inside go on as usual - the full lockdown, Level 3, has never happened except in drills), an announcement is made about the cause as soon as it's over (sooner, in some cases, depending on the cause), and a letter goes home to the parents that night, and I think that that is very important. If that's not happening in your school, then it's something the parents need to make known is a priority.