No shooter lockdown drills in DD’s school

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are new to FCPS and DD reports they have not had a single lockdown drill at her school all year. Is this normal? I’m pissed.

What? I would be happy - its not going to help and will just instill fear in the child.

Exactly.

Drills are just security theater that makes the bad worse. Better for the school to stay alert and beef up security, leaving students out of it.

[Anonymous]

I hate that my 6 yo had to participate in the lock down drill and said 6 yo was really upset when they found out there would be another one this year. The teacher did the best they could to make it not traumatic but 6yo came home talking about how the teacher might have to push a chair up against the door to stop a bad person from getting in while the class escaped out the windows and ran as fast as they could away from the school. Or if the bad person was outside the windows or in their room, they would hide all 26 of them in their in-class bathroom which "would be so yucky". Teach teachers how to respond and what to direct their students to do but the kids don't need to be part of this. Or, you know, do something about the ridiculous amount of assault weapons in our country but I know that's not going to happen anytime soon.

[Anonymous]

Why don't you contact the administration and ask them about it instead of whining here?

[Anonymous]

Lockdown drills are unnecessary. The teachers should have their own separate training on what to do and then perhaps show a video in class for kids what to do if they are for example in the bathroom when lockdown starts - if they are outside of classroom, they are pretty much on their own, just so you know. They need to run, nobody is allowed to open the doors once they are locked. tell you kid to hide in the classroom, teachers say no hiding during lockdown, but if the real thing happened, I’m sure they would all hide.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I hate that my 6 yo had to participate in the lock down drill and said 6 yo was really upset when they found out there would be another one this year. The teacher did the best they could to make it not traumatic but 6yo came home talking about how the teacher might have to push a chair up against the door to stop a bad person from getting in while the class escaped out the windows and ran as fast as they could away from the school. Or if the bad person was outside the windows or in their room, they would hide all 26 of them in their in-class bathroom which "would be so yucky". Teach teachers how to respond and what to direct their students to do but the kids don't need to be part of this. Or, you know, do something about the ridiculous amount of assault weapons in our country but I know that's not going to happen anytime soon.

That is not FCPS policy during lock down, that was probably the teacher’s own thinking. It’s good though that she is being realistic and tells them actual working plan unlike FCPS. FCPS plan is basically to sit and wait quietly

[Anonymous]

We have a bank in our neighborhood that has been robbed a bunch of times. The school has been locked down because of a possible armed gunman at least 3 times. Thankfully, my child sees the lockdown drills as a defense against bank robbers. He is 10, fifth grade, so I am not sure if he understands the possibility of someone shooting up a school for any reason.

We have also been able to explain that many time bank robbers are not actually armed but that they tell the Teller that they are in order to get the money. The threat is pretty limited and the school does what it does to be safe.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They don't call them lockdown drills.

My DD reports it's for a "suspicious person" and she (THANK GOD) still doesn't realize why they do these drills. I realize the days of that being true are numbered but I am holding on to it.

In my kid’s DCPS K class last year they called them “intruder drills” and it was in case someone who isn’t supposed to gets in the school. No mention of shooting but it was still terrifying for the kids.