Safety Issues in DCPS and Reporting to Parents - What's the Tone from the Top?

[Anonymous]

Are any of you aware of safety issues in DCPS schools where the police are called and school officials either do not tell parents, mislead parents or deny the incident(s)? I'm wondering whether this is school-specific or city-wide / tone from the top. Also, are you aware that if you take issue with a school official about safety and want to dialogue with DCPS Central, Central will simply forward your concern to the very same official you are inquiring about and will take no other action?

Let's hear about tone from the top!

[Anonymous]

Depending on the incident, I don't know that I necessarily need to be told anytime the police are called to my child's school.

If a 4th-grader falls off a piece of playground equipment and they call 911 and an officer and ambulance show up, as the parent of a 1st-grader, do I need to know that?

If an angry parent shows up, the police are called, but the parent never gains access to the school and the kids inside are unaware of the event, do I need to know that?

I tend to think that, unless an incident actually puts MY child at risk, I'm not entitled to know all the details.

[Anonymous]

The question is what happens in a school when there is a safety issue, e.g. guns, knives, fights, etc.

If the police come, don't you want to know why? Don't you want to know what is the environment where DC is spending the day and whether it's safe? Some schools in upper NW actually inform parents when there's a cruiser out front and why. But that seems to be the exception. Why wouldn't a parent want to know what's being done to make the school safe?

[Anonymous]

In our DCPS, there was a suspicious package outside the school last week. Police were called. The school sent out a robocall to inform the parents. I assume they same procedure for all other safety issues that affect the whole school.

[Anonymous]

Yes. If police are called to the school (not ambulance) I would like to know. Thankfully my kids attend Murch where we got a robocall and a clarifying e-mail as follow up.

[Anonymous]

At the Cluster here on Capitol Hill, there's silence and outright denial. I guess we have lower standards than Murch and upper NW.