I think they handled it well- someone reported that a student brought a gun to school, police investigated, it was a false report, end of story.

I could see if there was an actual shooting going on and it was alerted immediately- that would be an issue. As of now, it's a non-issue.

Anonymous wrote:I don’t think doing this in the moment makes any sense. Some parents would panic and try to come pick up their kids possibly endangering others to do so. Parents calling and pressing the doorbell in a lockdown would take staffs focus off keeping kids safe. No one should be coming in/out in a lockdown besides police/school security.

I see both sides of this issue.

How long did this lockdown last?

I could see chaos if parents were notified as soon as it started--before police and first responders were able to form a response. However, once a response is staged, I would think parents should be notified. Kids are already making phone calls and news media would be on site. Parents need to know. Those who work in the city might want to head home.

FWIW, I went to a school that had many bomb threats (many years ago). I doubt anyone was ever notified except for the police and fire dept.

Anonymous wrote:Oh. Sorry. South Lakes, Hughes, and Terraset were on lockdown today as the police investigated a report of a person on school grounds with a gun. FCPS did not send updates timely (maybe after 1 hour). Kids were texting parents, parents were calling schools (no answer), it was chaotic. FCPS needs an immediate alert policy, IMO.

So kids were breaking procedure and further endangering themselves, their teachers and their peers, by using up the network. Sorry, but with 4 lockdown drills a year, they know not to do this.

As someone who has a child at South Lakes, I thought the situation was handled well by FCPS and FCPD.

Wow OP everything isn’t about you.

Op you sound like an idiot. For all the reasons described by PPs but also because you think posting on DCUM is the right way to address your concerns with FCPS. Contact the school system if you have a message for them.

Yeah, sending out an alert while a situation is unfolding and information may be changing by the minute would be NOT helpful. The last thing any school would need is parents bombarding the school with calls and visits.

You don’t have a right to know while something is happening. Hate to be harsh, but that is the reality. Your need to know everything doesn’t trump kids’ safety. The focus is on keeping kids safe in the moment, not updating texts.

As for text alerts being sent out centrally—where do you think they would be getting the information?
Principal: “Hold on everyone. I have to call Gatehouse and let them know what to tell parents because they want to send out a text alert that would easily result in parents showing up at school and causing chaos.”