School officials here just aren't thinking

[Annie G]

http://www.journalstandard.com/highlight/x767231630/School-safety-drill-sparks-controversy-in-Orangeville

 

A nearby junior/senior high school participated in a drill where a man armed with a gun walked in, waved it around, fired a few rounds, and demanded to know where a particular student was. The kids totally freaked out.

The kid in question fled the school property, other kids tried calling their parents- who an hour earlier had received an automated call saying there was a drill and not to answer any calls their kids might make. Kids were in classrooms, praying, thinking they might die.

The teachers knew it was a drill but were told not to tell students, and from what I've heard, none of them did. I realize that staff and students need to be prepared, but this went a bit too far.

 

And I'm not just picking on school officials- I'm disappointed in local law enforcement, too.

[Snickerdoodle]

:blink:

[Impish]

State law requires schools to conduct annual law enforcement drills pertaining to incidents of shootings, suspicious persons, bomb threats, or hazardous materials. On Monday afternoon, Orangeville teachers received an e-mail that students would convene for a debriefing assembly today about the drill.

 

You can do the above without terrorizing the student body. That's just nuts, imo. The student whose name was used had to be located after, b/c they fled...gee, who could have predicted THAT?! Anyone with two brain cells to rub together.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

Fwiw when our base had a shooter drill it was announced in the base paper, via email and on Facebook the week before.

They should not have used a students name without his knowing and being briefed on the scenario.

 

The one time I was involved in a scenario designed to train you to face the fear of such an event there were signed consent forms and an hour long prebrief and a two hour small group debrief.

 

Sounds like what the school did was poorly conceived.

[unsinkable]

http://www.journalstandard.com/highlight/x767231630/School-safety-drill-sparks-controversy-in-Orangeville

 

A nearby junior/senior high school participated in a drill where a man armed with a gun walked in, waved it around, fired a few rounds, and demanded to know where a particular student was. The kids totally freaked out.

The kid in question fled the school property, other kids tried calling their parents- who an hour earlier had received an automated call saying there was a drill and not to answer any calls their kids might make. Kids were in classrooms, praying, thinking they might die.

The teachers knew it was a drill but were told not to tell students, and from what I've heard, none of them did. I realize that staff and students need to be prepared, but this went a bit too far.

 

And I'm not just picking on school officials- I'm disappointed in local law enforcement, too.

 

In*f-ing*sane.

 

No other words right now.

[Down_the_Rabbit_Hole]

...and what if the child who ran for his life was injured off school grounds? Whould they say, oops, we need to work on this? Causing a child to fear for his life is unacceptable no matter the reason.

[momofkhm]

Fwiw when our base had a shooter drill it was announced in the base paper, via email and on Facebook the week before.

They should not have used a students name without his knowing and being briefed on the scenario.

 

The one time I was involved in a scenario designed to train you to face the fear of such an event there were signed consent forms and an hour long prebrief and a two hour small group debrief.

 

Sounds like what the school did was poorly conceived.

 

:iagree:

 

They should have used a name that doesn't correspond to an actual student. And doesn't it make as much sense to tell the kids it's drill so they can go through it time and time again so if the worst happens and a real shooter comes they know what to do by heart, like fire drills.

 

And did they never read "The Boy who Cried Wolf"? Will these students believe it if a real shooter comes??? Or the semi-current saying "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me."

[*Lulu*]

:banghead:

 

If I were a parent in that district I would be LIVID. I would also be dedicating my life to removing the higher ups that okayed that stupidity.

[Brown4girls]

That's crazy. Did no one think of the consequences? Students could have been physically injured as well as emotionally scarred.

[Princess Peach]

That. Is. Nuts.

 

My DH is a high school teacher and they have lockdown drills. They just have to go into an inner office and stay quiet (basically hide).

 

I'll have to tell him about this later. He probably won't believe it.

[In The Great White North]

a drill where a man armed with a gun walked in, waved it around, fired a few rounds, and demanded to know where a particular student was.

 

Real rounds = real emergency!

 

Fire drill = exit the building but there's no fire

Tornado drill = get away from windows, but there's no tornado

Bomb Scare drill = exit the building, call in the dogs, but no bomb

 

Someone missed the pattern here. :glare:

 

Were these guys taking lessons from the slavery scenarios?

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

:banghead:

 

If I were a parent in that district I would be LIVID. I would also be dedicating my life to removing the higher ups that okayed that stupidity.

 

:iagree:

[Princess Peach]

Honestly, they could have a lawsuit on their hands, with that student whose name was used and consequently fled the building. (Even typing that out, I am having a hard time processing that a group of school and law enforcement officials got together and thought that was a good idea!)

[the4Rs]

To clarify- it wasn't a real gun but a cap gun.

 

However, this whole thing is terrible!!! I'd be so angry as a parent especially if my child was the child named. Can you imagine the terror he felt wondering if the psycho was coming after him.

 

I understand they were testing preparedness and that school shootings are a real danger. I do believe they need to teach and drill but there had to be a better way.

 

*shaking head in disgust*

 

Edited to add: When they drill for tornado preparedness they don't set up a mock tornado to tear apart half the school. When they drill for fire evacuations, they don't actually set the school on fire. So why when it is a school shooter drill, would they use a real person with what looked like a real gun to come in and enact a whole scenario???!! Perhaps they could have been as effective to just announce over P.A. system the code for school shooter and test the teachers and administrators capacity to get the kids where they need to go without actually needing a real live person to scare the daylights out of people.

Edited May 11, 2011 by the4Rs

[lionfamily1999]

As a parent, I would have answered the phone. But then, I took my dc out of ps, so I guess my refusal to bow to the ps authority is already obvious.

 

This is disturbing. I am with Unsinkable, Un*f*ing believable.

[radiobrain]

Reason # 3459 to remove my children from anything run by such boneheads.

[happypamama]

Wow. Uh, gee, glad it was a cap gun -- small consolation there. This was very poorly conceived.

 

Once again, children (or teens in this case) aren't treated as being worthy of respect. They told the parents that it was a drill, so that they wouldn't answer their children's calls (which is garbage -- if some guy was shooting a gun around my children's school, I'd sure as heck want to hear from my child!), which does show some respect for the parents, not wanting them to freak out. But nobody cares that the kids were freaked out?? And we wonder why we can't get kids to respect authority/adults?

 

I especially feel for the child whose name was used -- smart kid, to flee! (Though, really, what did they think the kid would do -- walk up to the gunman and shake his hand??)

[lionfamily1999]

Wow. Uh, gee, glad it was a cap gun -- small consolation there. This was very poorly conceived.

 

Once again, children (or teens in this case) aren't treated as being worthy of respect. They told the parents that it was a drill, so that they wouldn't answer their children's calls (which is garbage -- if some guy was shooting a gun around my children's school, I'd sure as heck want to hear from my child!), which does show some respect for the parents, not wanting them to freak out. But nobody cares that the kids were freaked out?? And we wonder why we can't get kids to respect authority/adults?

 

I especially feel for the child whose name was used -- smart kid, to flee! (Though, really, what did they think the kid would do -- walk up to the gunman and shake his hand??)

Another example of how hsers can't give a ps education... If I ran around my house with a gun (fake or not) and started screaming for one of the kids... I'm guessing the "drill" excuse would not go over well. It's abuse if I do it. Strangers in authority though? Their golden ;)

[unsinkable]

Another example of how hsers can't give a ps education... If I ran around my house with a gun (fake or not) and started screaming for one of the kids... I'm guessing the "drill" excuse would not go over well. It's abuse if I do it. Strangers in authority though? Their golden ;)

 

indeed

[Murphy101]

As a parent, I would have answered the phone. But then, I took my dc out of ps, so I guess my refusal to bow to the ps authority is already obvious.

 

This is disturbing. I am with Unsinkable, Un*f*ing believable.

 

:iagree:Yeah that sums my POV too.

[kitten18]

http://www.journalstandard.com/highlight/x767231630/School-safety-drill-sparks-controversy-in-Orangeville

 

A nearby junior/senior high school participated in a drill where a man armed with a gun walked in, waved it around, fired a few rounds, and demanded to know where a particular student was. The kids totally freaked out.

The kid in question fled the school property, other kids tried calling their parents- who an hour earlier had received an automated call saying there was a drill and not to answer any calls their kids might make. Kids were in classrooms, praying, thinking they might die.

The teachers knew it was a drill but were told not to tell students, and from what I've heard, none of them did. I realize that staff and students need to be prepared, but this went a bit too far.

 

And I'm not just picking on school officials- I'm disappointed in local law enforcement, too.

:001_huh::svengo::willy_nilly::blink::scared:

 

Speechless.

[bbmom]

Crazy-I just can't believe the bad judgment. I feel so bad for those kids, especially the one the "shooter" asked for. I hope the district has to pay for counseling for any of those kids who need it. As a parent I would have texted my kid when I got the automated call and warned them it was a drill.

[Murphy101]

Another example of how hsers can't give a ps education... If I ran around my house with a gun (fake or not) and started screaming for one of the kids... I'm guessing the "drill" excuse would not go over well. It's abuse if I do it. Strangers in authority though? Their golden ;)

 

:glare: Indeed.

[MBM]

I'd be calling my lawyer. Unbelievable. What idiots.

[In the Rain]

Another example of how hsers can't give a ps education... If I ran around my house with a gun (fake or not) and started screaming for one of the kids... I'm guessing the "drill" excuse would not go over well. It's abuse if I do it. Strangers in authority though? Their golden ;)

 

:lol:

[Mimm]

Wow. That's just insane. I can't even imagine how that sounded good on paper.

[arghmatey]

Oh my word. Stupidity has no limits. I'm not shocked. I'm not amazed. I'm afraid.

[Mrs Mungo]

Oh my gosh, how ridiculous!

 

Training involves telling people what to do in the event of X. A *drill* involves practicing the training in a controlled environment.

[mmasmommy]

Holy cow! I can't believe that with the number of adults who had to be "in the know" not a single one suggested this might not be the best idea. :001_huh:

[LibraryLover]

That happened in IL? I woudl have guessed FL.

 

Or Germany. ;)

 

www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=germany%20or%20florida

[kchara]

Asinine. And these are supposedly educated professionals. :glare:

[unsinkable]

From the article:

 

Student Flees

 

Otto did confirm that the student who the “intruder†was searching for, fled school grounds and had to be located and brought back to school.

 

“We found there are some areas to work on, some things were not done according to our plan,†Otto said. He added that this type of security drill will not be practiced in the near future. After the drill, classes resumed.

 

State law requires schools to conduct annual law enforcement drills pertaining to incidents of shootings, suspicious persons, bomb threats, or hazardous materials. On Monday afternoon, Orangeville teachers received an e-mail that students would convene for a debriefing assembly today about the drill.

 

A. Good for that student. I am impressed that he/she was resourceful enough to get out to safety and not stupid enough to go along with the plan...which probably would have been to hide in a classroom.

 

2. (:D) Should the first sentence be: 'the student for whom the "intruder" was searching'?

[NanceXToo]

That falls under the realm of unethical psychological experiments in my opinion. Disgusting.

[RanchGirl]

 

If I were a parent in that district I would be LIVID. I would also be dedicating my life to removing the higher ups that okayed that stupidity.

 

:iagree: In addition to terrifying and traumatizing the children, they have now given kids a reason to ignore potential danger in the future -- 'oh, it's probably another asinine drill.' So no good is going to come from this at all.

 

The parents agreed not to answer their phones? Surely they heard the voice mails, received texts, etc.?? Nobody marched down to the school to remove their children from this situation?

 

The teachers knew and they all went along with it? Law enforcement said hey no problem, we'll ignore the 911 calls from the kids' cell phones? I just can't believe not one adult said hey this might not be a good idea.

 

I would not be sending my child back to that school to be under the authority of such a bunch of buffoons.

[delaney]

One more reason to put in my bean dip-thanks for the ingredient :scared:

[lionfamily1999]

That happened in IL? I woudl have guessed FL.

 

Or Germany. ;)

 

www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=germany%20or%20florida

:lol: Don & Mike

From the article:

 

Student Flees

 

Otto did confirm that the student who the “intruder†was searching for, fled school grounds and had to be located and brought back to school.

 

“We found there are some areas to work on, some things were not done according to our plan,†Otto said. He added that this type of security drill will not be practiced in the near future. After the drill, classes resumed.

 

State law requires schools to conduct annual law enforcement drills pertaining to incidents of shootings, suspicious persons, bomb threats, or hazardous materials. On Monday afternoon, Orangeville teachers received an e-mail that students would convene for a debriefing assembly today about the drill.

 

A. Good for that student. I am impressed that he/she was resourceful enough to get out to safety and not stupid enough to go along with the plan...which probably would have been to hide in a classroom.

 

2. (:D) Should the first sentence be: 'the student for whom the "intruder" was searching'?

:iagree: As to the part I blew up... does it seem like that statement is in response to the child getting away? Is part of their plan to make sure no child escapes? Or does he mean that the drill itself didn't go how they planned so they need to work on the drill, in which case doesn't that make the drill important in and of itself, not so much the protecting of the students? Or maybe I'm just reading this all wrong. It seems, imo, like their either saying they need to practice the drill so the drill itself can go well (not that there was a problem with not letting the kids in on the joke), or their saying part of the drill was to make sure that none of the students get out and away from the danger...

[unsinkable]

:lol: Don & Mike

:iagree: As to the part I blew up... does it seem like that statement is in response to the child getting away? Is part of their plan to make sure no child escapes? Or does he mean that the drill itself didn't go how they planned so they need to work on the drill, in which case doesn't that make the drill important in and of itself, not so much the protecting of the students? Or maybe I'm just reading this all wrong. It seems, imo, like their either saying they need to practice the drill so the drill itself can go well (not that there was a problem with not letting the kids in on the joke), or their saying part of the drill was to make sure that none of the students get out and away from the danger...

 

Nope, I'm with you. You could very well read it the way you described.

 

I'll never forget an interview I heard on the first day of school one year w/a local principal. He said, "We get some runners every year but we always catch 'em and bring 'em back." Then he chuckled. It was creepy as heck.

[Jennifer3141]

Holy cow. We are seriously getting more and more stupid. What the heck were the parents thinking???! Why wasn't there ONE parent down at the office having an utter hissy fit and pulling his/her child/ren out of that school???

 

This reminds me of the episode of 30 Rock where Jack decides unannounced fireworks in downtown Manhattan would be a GREAT idea.

Edited May 11, 2011 by Jennifer3141

[Caraway]

We witnessed the prep for a similar drill at a local hospital. And they used an ordinary object LABELED "gun". Like a stapler. Or a banana.

 

I can't imagine what they were thinking...

[Murphy101]

Holy cow. We are seriously getting more and more stupid. What the heck were the parents thinking???! Wy wasn't there ONE parent down at the office having an utter hissy fit and pulling his/her child/ren out of that school???

 

I know. I often say there are far too many stupid humans still about proving Darwin's theory wrong.

[cindergretta]

:willy_nilly::svengo::svengo::willy_nilly:

 

Oh. My. Lanta.

 

There are no words.

 

Gobasmacked doesn't even begin to describe it. :001_huh:

[Rhonda in TX]

A friend of mine is a school principal. They had to expel a student, who then turned up at the school with a gun. As soon as the office was notified, they started their procedure (previously drilled in typical fashion) and it all worked very well. Everyone (students and teachers) did what they were supposed to do. To feel that you have to go to the extremes of that school is just ridiculous.

 

(BTW, they were able to "talk down" the student with the gun and no one was hurt.)

[KidsHappen]

I am speechless. I can't even imagine what it is that they were trying to accomplish. :eek::confused::glare:

[SweetBean]

:blink:

[Parrothead]

Idiots.

 

Stupidity like that should win an award.

[catz]

Are you kidding me?! They don't set up an actual tornado or fire for those kind of drills. Those poor kids.

[Lovin Learnin]

:scared:

 

Honestly, any of those kids could suffer some sort of psychological distress due to this drill. I personally would have a hard time going back into the building, even after finding out it was just a drill. Your autonomic system does not wait 10 min to make sure this is a "real" threat before it puts you into panic mode. Those poor kids.

[Slartibartfast]

If I had received that phone call I would have showed up and taken my kid home.

 

State law requires schools to conduct annual law enforcement drills pertaining to incidents of shootings, suspicious persons, bomb threats, or hazardous materials. On Monday afternoon, Orangeville teachers received an e-mail that students would convene for a debriefing assembly today about the drill.

 

Huh....I don't recall a "hazardous materials" drill in school

Edited May 11, 2011 by Sis

[msjones]

My guess is that the teachers were not told the extent of the simulation. They probably got an ordinary email saying there would be a safety drill and such-and-such a time and to follow the district lockdown procedures.

 

Call me what you like, but I would be stunned if an entire school staff agreed to something of this nature. :confused:

 

I'm stunned that it took place at all, but I'm guessing the whole staff did not know the details of the plan.

 

...I hope I'm right....

[twoxcell]

:001_huh:What is the deal with the parents not answering their phones? Would they not answer in a real emergency?