Did Fallsmead class run out of school and into community during Wootton Shooting?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For god’s sake people, no one is blaming the teacher.

The issue is whatever was announced/communicated led to a group of kids running away from safety and into danger.

As MCPS parents, I think we should all be invested in learning from what happens this week so that we don’t make the same mistakes. The next time can be worse.

Is it central staff posting on here??? They seem so quick to divert and say don’t blame ppl. No one is assigning blame. We want to know what can be learned from this and how we can improve.

And on that same note, don’t even get me started on the giant mess that was reunification.

I'm assuming her classroom wasn't safe to handle bullets. All the new buildings should have bulletproof glass and safety measures to lock down the doors quickly and easily to block an intruder. And, older schools should be retrofitted.

I went to Fallsmead years ago. The school building is designed so that all of the classrooms have windows and exterior doors that go directly out to the playground or outside in front of the school in addition to the interior doors inside the school.

There are houses directly across the street that you could run into in 30 seconds from the school (assuming you knew a person would be home to let you in).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Running is not a bad idea.

When they're sheltering due to a threat in the community it is.

It's like running outside for a tornado.

Someone freaked out inappropriately. Probably either the teacher or principal.

They may not have been able to secure the classroom if they just have basic locks and lots of windows - they said some of the classrooms are outdoors so a shooter could easily get it. It was a judgment call and the kids and teacher are all safe and that's important.

If there was a threat in the school, then yes, that would be understandable. But the threat was in the community. Going out into the community is the worst thing to do in that situation.

Some have claimed the school suggested the threat was in the school. If they did that, then that was a serious mistake and we should find out why that happened. But, if they called for a shelter in place, then it suggests the teacher was not properly trained.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't think you can fault the teacher for this. Seems like the information chain was flawed.

I suspect the teacher isn't at fault here, but that would depend on what information was communicated to her. If it is true that they made it sound like there was an active shooter at the school, then absolutely it wasn't her fault. But we don't know if that is true.

The teacher isn’t at fault. Public school teachers have protection like a Good Samaritan law. Private school teachers are the ones that would get in trouble

This isn't a situation addressed by Good Samaritan laws.

Teachers, public and private, generally wouldn't be found personally liable if they're acting in the scope of their jobs. Public school teachers have more protection, often being covered by some form of sovereign immunity.

Though, in this particular case, a teacher could have a problem if they took the class out during a shelter-in-place, as they would be acting outside the scope of their job by disregarding school policies. Would they ultimately be found personally liable if a child was injured? Probably not, but they're have some exposure.

Regardless, the real question here isn't a matter of legal liability. It is just understanding where the mistake was made so that we can learn from it and do better next time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Running is not a bad idea.

When they're sheltering due to a threat in the community it is.

It's like running outside for a tornado.

Someone freaked out inappropriately. Probably either the teacher or principal.

They may not have been able to secure the classroom if they just have basic locks and lots of windows - they said some of the classrooms are outdoors so a shooter could easily get it. It was a judgment call and the kids and teacher are all safe and that's important.

If there was a threat in the school, then yes, that would be understandable. But the threat was in the community. Going out into the community is the worst thing to do in that situation.

Some have claimed the school suggested the threat was in the school. If they did that, then that was a serious mistake and we should find out why that happened. But, if they called for a shelter in place, then it suggests the teacher was not properly trained.

Thank you! Finally someone who gets it! No one is saying running isn’t a good idea during an active shooter situation. We’re saying running into danger where there is a shooter at large somewhere in the community… that seems to be a bad idea right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't think you can fault the teacher for this. Seems like the information chain was flawed.

I suspect the teacher isn't at fault here, but that would depend on what information was communicated to her. If it is true that they made it sound like there was an active shooter at the school, then absolutely it wasn't her fault. But we don't know if that is true.

The teacher isn’t at fault. Public school teachers have protection like a Good Samaritan law. Private school teachers are the ones that would get in trouble

This isn't a situation addressed by Good Samaritan laws.

Teachers, public and private, generally wouldn't be found personally liable if they're acting in the scope of their jobs. Public school teachers have more protection, often being covered by some form of sovereign immunity.

Though, in this particular case, a teacher could have a problem if they took the class out during a shelter-in-place, as they would be acting outside the scope of their job by disregarding school policies. Would they ultimately be found personally liable if a child was injured? Probably not, but they're have some exposure.

Regardless, the real question here isn't a matter of legal liability. It is just understanding where the mistake was made so that we can learn from it and do better next time.

+1

No one is suing.
Just simply asking what can we learn from this and how can we improve?
But if MCPS won’t even address this then I guess we’ll just pretend the response was perfect and MCPS doesn’t need to learn anything

[Anonymous]

(Parent of one of said 4th graders). We can debate the actions of the teacher all day - but even more egregious in my opinion is that the school's principal lack of communication. The parents who sheltered children contacted as many parents as they could to notify them that their children were safe. The principal contacted parents 24 hours later after several angry emails were sent to her. An email to the school community was sent 48 hours later and contained many inaccuracies. She continues avoid accountability and shifts blame. This is a gross failure of leadership.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:(Parent of one of said 4th graders). We can debate the actions of the teacher all day - but even more egregious in my opinion is that the school's principal lack of communication. The parents who sheltered children contacted as many parents as they could to notify them that their children were safe. The principal contacted parents 24 hours later after several angry emails were sent to her. An email to the school community was sent 48 hours later and contained many inaccuracies. She continues avoid accountability and shifts blame. This is a gross failure of leadership.

How do you know they're inaccuracies?

[Anonymous]

Because I am a parent of one of the 4th graders who ran from the building.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Unfortunately, this is true. I have friends whose 4th graders are a part of this group of kids who ran out. I do want to note that the teacher did run out with them and stayed with the kids.

I get the situation was crazy, and I’m not in any of those people’s shoes. I’m not trying to accuse anyone. But this shouldn’t be covered up…it should be learned from.

Clearly this wasn’t the right protocol…

Actually leaving the scene of a school shooting if you can get out from a back door or window or the like makes more sense then just being sitting ducks. I applaud that teacher. There is research that promotes this strategy based off of real past shootings , sadly. I do understand that this isn’t perhaps MCPS policy but if I was a teacher thinking that I was responsible for the lives of innocent children and I had a way to get them away from the person trying to kill them, out of a classroom window or back door and run to another location and wait there with the all I would. These are children’s lives. Thankgod there was no shooter at the school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Running is not a bad idea.

When they're sheltering due to a threat in the community it is.

It's like running outside for a tornado.

Someone freaked out inappropriately. Probably either the teacher or principal.

They may not have been able to secure the classroom if they just have basic locks and lots of windows - they said some of the classrooms are outdoors so a shooter could easily get it. It was a judgment call and the kids and teacher are all safe and that's important.

If there was a threat in the school, then yes, that would be understandable. But the threat was in the community. Going out into the community is the worst thing to do in that situation.

Some have claimed the school suggested the threat was in the school. If they did that, then that was a serious mistake and we should find out why that happened. But, if they called for a shelter in place, then it suggests the teacher was not properly trained.

Thank you! Finally someone who gets it! No one is saying running isn’t a good idea during an active shooter situation. We’re saying running into danger where there is a shooter at large somewhere in the community… that seems to be a bad idea right?

Clearly the teacher thought the shooter was at her own school. So that is the issue at hand. Why was there any miscommunication or possibility of misunderstanding.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Because I am a parent of one of the 4th graders who ran from the building.

And? Are you saying the information conflicts with what you heard from the teacher or your child? Or is it inherently incompatible with something you observed? You're being so vague I really don't understand what you're claiming.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Running is not a bad idea.

When they're sheltering due to a threat in the community it is.

It's like running outside for a tornado.

Someone freaked out inappropriately. Probably either the teacher or principal.

They may not have been able to secure the classroom if they just have basic locks and lots of windows - they said some of the classrooms are outdoors so a shooter could easily get it. It was a judgment call and the kids and teacher are all safe and that's important.

If there was a threat in the school, then yes, that would be understandable. But the threat was in the community. Going out into the community is the worst thing to do in that situation.

Some have claimed the school suggested the threat was in the school. If they did that, then that was a serious mistake and we should find out why that happened. But, if they called for a shelter in place, then it suggests the teacher was not properly trained.

Thank you! Finally someone who gets it! No one is saying running isn’t a good idea during an active shooter situation. We’re saying running into danger where there is a shooter at large somewhere in the community… that seems to be a bad idea right?

Clearly the teacher thought the shooter was at her own school. So that is the issue at hand. Why was there any miscommunication or possibility of misunderstanding.

Shouldn't one of the families with older elementary kids there know if the school called a lockdown versus a shelter-in-place?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m sorry…I’m still not over the fact that I’m learning all of this from DCUM…

Were your children involved? Are you a Fallsmead parent?

MCPS can certainly learn from something without broadcasting each mistake they are learning from to people who were not directly involved.

Both can be true.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unfortunately, this is true. I have friends whose 4th graders are a part of this group of kids who ran out. I do want to note that the teacher did run out with them and stayed with the kids.

I get the situation was crazy, and I’m not in any of those people’s shoes. I’m not trying to accuse anyone. But this shouldn’t be covered up…it should be learned from.

Clearly this wasn’t the right protocol…

Actually leaving the scene of a school shooting if you can get out from a back door or window or the like makes more sense then just being sitting ducks. I applaud that teacher. There is research that promotes this strategy based off of real past shootings , sadly. I do understand that this isn’t perhaps MCPS policy but if I was a teacher thinking that I was responsible for the lives of innocent children and I had a way to get them away from the person trying to kill them, out of a classroom window or back door and run to another location and wait there with the all I would. These are children’s lives. Thankgod there was no shooter at the school.

This wasn't the scene of a school shooting. That's why people are concerned about how and why this happened.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m sorry…I’m still not over the fact that I’m learning all of this from DCUM…

Were your children involved? Are you a Fallsmead parent?

MCPS can certainly learn from something without broadcasting each mistake they are learning from to people who were not directly involved.

Both can be true.

They theoretically can, but accountability is an important principle here, too.