Anonymous wrote:Is APS response coordinated by the police though? Because if that’s the case it really is contingent in the police to provide direction. Have they ever done an active shooter drill - not the students but the police and the admin at schools?

Williamsburg was notified of some kind of risk/threat, because they came outside shortly after 2:45 (the same time Discovery got the call to lock down) to end after-school intramural sports that were happening outside. Kids who were not part of official WMS after-school activities were told to leave the premises and apparently were not given the option of returning to the building until it was deemed safe. Despite feeling that there was a need to clear the outdoor areas, WMS apparently did nothing to secure the safety of people still inside then building. This would tend to indicate they believed whatever threat might exist was outside the building, in which case it is inexcusable not to ensure the safety of students who were outside on school grounds at the time.

Is APS response coordinated by the police though? Because if that’s the case it really is contingent in the police to provide direction. Have they ever done an active shooter drill - not the students but the police and the admin at schools?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is a very cavalier attitude on the part of some posters here that I truly hope is based solely in the fact that this appears to have been a hoax. Had there been an actual threat, things could have turned out very differently. Hopefully we will never have occasion to find out, but the sentiment that we should be wholly unconcerned with the lack of consistency in APS’s safety protocols is surprising to me (especially when the school that seems to have taken the most relaxed approach is one with a reputation for poor communication and management).

Two different schools responding differently when one has dismissed for the day and one has not does not indicate a lack of consistency in safety protocols. My WMS kid walked all the way home before Discovery even went into lockdown.

There. Were. Still. Students. Inside. Williamsburg.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is a very cavalier attitude on the part of some posters here that I truly hope is based solely in the fact that this appears to have been a hoax. Had there been an actual threat, things could have turned out very differently. Hopefully we will never have occasion to find out, but the sentiment that we should be wholly unconcerned with the lack of consistency in APS’s safety protocols is surprising to me (especially when the school that seems to have taken the most relaxed approach is one with a reputation for poor communication and management).

Two different schools responding differently when one has dismissed for the day and one has not does not indicate a lack of consistency in safety protocols. My WMS kid walked all the way home before Discovery even went into lockdown.

My WMS kid was in the gym for the wrestling match getting texts that Discovery next door was on lockdown and was sufficiently freaked out since they were not. Remember, these are adolescent minds not adults and no one knew at the time how real the threat was. Our kid and their friends were afraid to leave WMS after the event since siblings next door were locked down.

Anonymous wrote:There is a very cavalier attitude on the part of some posters here that I truly hope is based solely in the fact that this appears to have been a hoax. Had there been an actual threat, things could have turned out very differently. Hopefully we will never have occasion to find out, but the sentiment that we should be wholly unconcerned with the lack of consistency in APS’s safety protocols is surprising to me (especially when the school that seems to have taken the most relaxed approach is one with a reputation for poor communication and management).

Two different schools responding differently when one has dismissed for the day and one has not does not indicate a lack of consistency in safety protocols. My WMS kid walked all the way home before Discovery even went into lockdown.

There is a very cavalier attitude on the part of some posters here that I truly hope is based solely in the fact that this appears to have been a hoax. Had there been an actual threat, things could have turned out very differently. Hopefully we will never have occasion to find out, but the sentiment that we should be wholly unconcerned with the lack of consistency in APS’s safety protocols is surprising to me (especially when the school that seems to have taken the most relaxed approach is one with a reputation for poor communication and management).

Anonymous wrote:

First, there were still students in the building for after-school activities. If shelter in place was warranted for the school 100 feet away, it was warranted for people still at Williamsburg. Second, if there was cause for concern about the safety of students out on the field, they all should have at least been given the option of coming into the building rather than being told to leave the premises. If there were kids there who weren’t Williamsburg students, I don’t know how much authority the school would have had over them, but telling Williamsburg students they had to leave the premises rather than at least giving them an option to shelter inside was irresponsible. Some of those students live inside what had been cordoned off for the Yorktown response so just going home wasn’t a feasible option at the moment. Williamsburg did not care.

And if there truly was not threat in the community to warrant sheltering in place, then APS should re-evaluate why Discovery was ordered to do so, putting lots of young children through trauma.

Perhaps the field was cleared as part of the Discovery lockdown (which definitely seemed to be OTT).

We live inside the cordoned off area. My WMS student and friends who also live in the cordoned off area got home just fine. Many of the police in the area were joking and shooting the breeze with parents who had come to pick up their kids. People were walking dogs, it was a beautiful day, and the kids walking were safe as can be.

I am glad to hear it was fine for your kids. We ended up with a couple of kids at our house for a few hours (we live right near Williamsburg) because they weren’t sure it was okay to cross into it (their parents weren’t home at the time), and were generally freaked out about walking that way.

First, there were still students in the building for after-school activities. If shelter in place was warranted for the school 100 feet away, it was warranted for people still at Williamsburg. Second, if there was cause for concern about the safety of students out on the field, they all should have at least been given the option of coming into the building rather than being told to leave the premises. If there were kids there who weren’t Williamsburg students, I don’t know how much authority the school would have had over them, but telling Williamsburg students they had to leave the premises rather than at least giving them an option to shelter inside was irresponsible. Some of those students live inside what had been cordoned off for the Yorktown response so just going home wasn’t a feasible option at the moment. Williamsburg did not care.

And if there truly was not threat in the community to warrant sheltering in place, then APS should re-evaluate why Discovery was ordered to do so, putting lots of young children through trauma.

Perhaps the field was cleared as part of the Discovery lockdown (which definitely seemed to be OTT).

We live inside the cordoned off area. My WMS student and friends who also live in the cordoned off area got home just fine. Many of the police in the area were joking and shooting the breeze with parents who had come to pick up their kids. People were walking dogs, it was a beautiful day, and the kids walking were safe as can be.

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Anonymous wrote:Discovery elementary went on lockdown but never told parents. Apparently Williamsburg right next-door never went on lockdown. WMS Kids were walking home (past discovery) while discovery was on lockdown. Makes no sense.

APS shitshow.

They weren’t on lockdown. They were on secure the school- very different. Class continues as normal when in secure the school, they just don’t let people in and out. Obviously they decided that the threat was removed enough that WMS could dismiss as normal.

An awful lot of WMS parents were pretty upset that they just released students to roam the neighborhood while evacuating Yorktown and putting Discovery in lock-down.

Yorktown wasn’t evacuated when WMS let out, it was under lockdown with a massive security presence keeping pedestrians far away. WMS students were likely much safer today than they are on the average school day.

Friends of mine with kids at Yorktown got texts from their kids that they were being evacuated right before Williamsburg released. And if there was definitely no threat, why lock down Discovery? Obviously nothing happened in the end, but you can’t blame Williamsburg parents for being upset at the time that their kids were released while Yorktown was in lockdown, people were at least preparing to evacuate, and no one knew what the eff was going on.

Also, WMS wrestling and other after school events continued while DES next door was on lockdown.

WMS cancelled their outdoor intramurals and forced kids playing football on the field after school to leave grounds because of what was happening at Yorktown. If it was not safe for my kid to be on the soccer field, it was not safe enough for them to walk home alone. WMS always manages to handle everything in the worst way possible.

According to the post earlier in the thread, Discovery received the call from APS to lock down at 2:45. That was after WMS had dismissed for the day, and explains why they didn’t lock down during the school day but cleared the grounds later. But sure, blame the school administration.

And of course, in the face of concern about a threat our in the neighborhood, the right call was to tell kids to go wander the neighborhood rather than bringing them into the building until it was confirmed safe. WMS didn’t care about those kids’ safety, they just didn’t want anything to happen on their property.

There was never a “threat out in the neighborhood.” Get a grip.

There was enough of a concern that Discovery was locked down.

Which was a total over reaction, evidenced by the fact that the lockdown was lifted hours before YHS received the all clear.

Regardless, there was an uncoordinated response. If there was enough threat to lock down one school. The school sitting yards away should also be how old is the same threat profile. Emergency mgt 101.

+1. Having different schools on the same property taking completely opposite response approaches indicates a failure by APS to have consistent and comprehensive policies that are actually followed by the schools. I don’t know where in the process things broke down, but the way this was handled definitely indicates a breakdown. Fortunately nothing bad happened in this instance, but this should be a big red flag to APS that they need to fix things before something worse happens.

How do you lock down a school that has released for the day?

First, there were still students in the building for after-school activities. If shelter in place was warranted for the school 100 feet away, it was warranted for people still at Williamsburg. Second, if there was cause for concern about the safety of students out on the field, they all should have at least been given the option of coming into the building rather than being told to leave the premises. If there were kids there who weren’t Williamsburg students, I don’t know how much authority the school would have had over them, but telling Williamsburg students they had to leave the premises rather than at least giving them an option to shelter inside was irresponsible. Some of those students live inside what had been cordoned off for the Yorktown response so just going home wasn’t a feasible option at the moment. Williamsburg did not care.

And if there truly was not threat in the community to warrant sheltering in place, then APS should re-evaluate why Discovery was ordered to do so, putting lots of young children through trauma.

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Discovery elementary went on lockdown but never told parents. Apparently Williamsburg right next-door never went on lockdown. WMS Kids were walking home (past discovery) while discovery was on lockdown. Makes no sense.

APS shitshow.

They weren’t on lockdown. They were on secure the school- very different. Class continues as normal when in secure the school, they just don’t let people in and out. Obviously they decided that the threat was removed enough that WMS could dismiss as normal.

An awful lot of WMS parents were pretty upset that they just released students to roam the neighborhood while evacuating Yorktown and putting Discovery in lock-down.

Yorktown wasn’t evacuated when WMS let out, it was under lockdown with a massive security presence keeping pedestrians far away. WMS students were likely much safer today than they are on the average school day.

Friends of mine with kids at Yorktown got texts from their kids that they were being evacuated right before Williamsburg released. And if there was definitely no threat, why lock down Discovery? Obviously nothing happened in the end, but you can’t blame Williamsburg parents for being upset at the time that their kids were released while Yorktown was in lockdown, people were at least preparing to evacuate, and no one knew what the eff was going on.

Also, WMS wrestling and other after school events continued while DES next door was on lockdown.

WMS cancelled their outdoor intramurals and forced kids playing football on the field after school to leave grounds because of what was happening at Yorktown. If it was not safe for my kid to be on the soccer field, it was not safe enough for them to walk home alone. WMS always manages to handle everything in the worst way possible.

According to the post earlier in the thread, Discovery received the call from APS to lock down at 2:45. That was after WMS had dismissed for the day, and explains why they didn’t lock down during the school day but cleared the grounds later. But sure, blame the school administration.

And of course, in the face of concern about a threat our in the neighborhood, the right call was to tell kids to go wander the neighborhood rather than bringing them into the building until it was confirmed safe. WMS didn’t care about those kids’ safety, they just didn’t want anything to happen on their property.

There was never a “threat out in the neighborhood.” Get a grip.

There was enough of a concern that Discovery was locked down.

Which was a total over reaction, evidenced by the fact that the lockdown was lifted hours before YHS received the all clear.

Regardless, there was an uncoordinated response. If there was enough threat to lock down one school. The school sitting yards away should also be how old is the same threat profile. Emergency mgt 101.

+1. Having different schools on the same property taking completely opposite response approaches indicates a failure by APS to have consistent and comprehensive policies that are actually followed by the schools. I don’t know where in the process things broke down, but the way this was handled definitely indicates a breakdown. Fortunately nothing bad happened in this instance, but this should be a big red flag to APS that they need to fix things before something worse happens.

How do you lock down a school that has released for the day?

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:While Yorktown was locked down, the pro-forced child masking organization (formerly the pro-closed school organization) Smart Restart was Tweeting this out. One of the leaders of the Arlington Education Association (teachers union) is high up in the organization too.

Disgusting

I mean. They're not wrong. Priorities are messed. up.

Agreed - I cannot believe people care more about damn masks than they do about guns. Seriously? My kid doesn't give a shit about wearing a mask, but she called me on her way home from school (she attends Swanson) freaked out about this. You know how I consoled her? By telling her there wasn't an "active shooter" - do you understand how messed up that is? That phrase left my mouth and I had to consider it CONSOLATION?? JFC, I can't believe what we have come to.

And to add - thank you, teachers, for everything that you do. I hope you know that many of us out here appreciate you.

I care about both. My young kid is really struggling with masks And very happy it looks like they will be coming off soon. I also have been very active in advocating for gun control and am heart broken about school. The cartoon is is offensive because it’s politicizing. It’s assuming you can’t possibly care about both issues because duh we all know good liberals are pro mask and anti gun. I agree with the poster that said the cartoon is disgusting.

I find it very off putting too, and it an insight into how they view people who disagree with them.

Apparently people are just intent on being offended. The cartoon is merely putting things into perspective. Parents are equating trauma from mask mandates for public health safety in a pandemic to the trauma of a lockdown situation due to a threat or active shooter in a school building. The danger and the fear and trauma of wearing a mask in school doesn't even compare to the danger and fear and trauma of locking down and hiding from a potential shooter threat! The kids in the cartoon understand the ridiculousness of that. The cartoon isn't politicizing anything - actual adults already politicized masks long ago, and gun control and safety has been political beyond the decades since school and mass shootings.

Stupid cartoons like this one shouldn’t be used by any group that wants to be taken seriously by intelligent people.

+1

I also believe that if APE had put out such a cartoon the response would be quite different.

And also so one of the most popular clubs at APS high schools is Rifle club. It amazes me that the same people who scream about how anti-gun they are have no problem sending their child off to target practice each week.

How interesting you assume they are the same people. You know what they say about assuming.

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Discovery elementary went on lockdown but never told parents. Apparently Williamsburg right next-door never went on lockdown. WMS Kids were walking home (past discovery) while discovery was on lockdown. Makes no sense.

APS shitshow.

They weren’t on lockdown. They were on secure the school- very different. Class continues as normal when in secure the school, they just don’t let people in and out. Obviously they decided that the threat was removed enough that WMS could dismiss as normal.

An awful lot of WMS parents were pretty upset that they just released students to roam the neighborhood while evacuating Yorktown and putting Discovery in lock-down.

Yorktown wasn’t evacuated when WMS let out, it was under lockdown with a massive security presence keeping pedestrians far away. WMS students were likely much safer today than they are on the average school day.

Friends of mine with kids at Yorktown got texts from their kids that they were being evacuated right before Williamsburg released. And if there was definitely no threat, why lock down Discovery? Obviously nothing happened in the end, but you can’t blame Williamsburg parents for being upset at the time that their kids were released while Yorktown was in lockdown, people were at least preparing to evacuate, and no one knew what the eff was going on.

Also, WMS wrestling and other after school events continued while DES next door was on lockdown.

WMS cancelled their outdoor intramurals and forced kids playing football on the field after school to leave grounds because of what was happening at Yorktown. If it was not safe for my kid to be on the soccer field, it was not safe enough for them to walk home alone. WMS always manages to handle everything in the worst way possible.

According to the post earlier in the thread, Discovery received the call from APS to lock down at 2:45. That was after WMS had dismissed for the day, and explains why they didn’t lock down during the school day but cleared the grounds later. But sure, blame the school administration.

And of course, in the face of concern about a threat our in the neighborhood, the right call was to tell kids to go wander the neighborhood rather than bringing them into the building until it was confirmed safe. WMS didn’t care about those kids’ safety, they just didn’t want anything to happen on their property.

There was never a “threat out in the neighborhood.” Get a grip.

There was enough of a concern that Discovery was locked down.

Which was a total over reaction, evidenced by the fact that the lockdown was lifted hours before YHS received the all clear.

Regardless, there was an uncoordinated response. If there was enough threat to lock down one school. The school sitting yards away should also be how old is the same threat profile. Emergency mgt 101.

+1. Having different schools on the same property taking completely opposite response approaches indicates a failure by APS to have consistent and comprehensive policies that are actually followed by the schools. I don’t know where in the process things broke down, but the way this was handled definitely indicates a breakdown. Fortunately nothing bad happened in this instance, but this should be a big red flag to APS that they need to fix things before something worse happens.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:While Yorktown was locked down, the pro-forced child masking organization (formerly the pro-closed school organization) Smart Restart was Tweeting this out. One of the leaders of the Arlington Education Association (teachers union) is high up in the organization too.

Disgusting

I mean. They're not wrong. Priorities are messed. up.

Agreed - I cannot believe people care more about damn masks than they do about guns. Seriously? My kid doesn't give a shit about wearing a mask, but she called me on her way home from school (she attends Swanson) freaked out about this. You know how I consoled her? By telling her there wasn't an "active shooter" - do you understand how messed up that is? That phrase left my mouth and I had to consider it CONSOLATION?? JFC, I can't believe what we have come to.

And to add - thank you, teachers, for everything that you do. I hope you know that many of us out here appreciate you.

I care about both. My young kid is really struggling with masks And very happy it looks like they will be coming off soon. I also have been very active in advocating for gun control and am heart broken about school. The cartoon is is offensive because it’s politicizing. It’s assuming you can’t possibly care about both issues because duh we all know good liberals are pro mask and anti gun. I agree with the poster that said the cartoon is disgusting.

I find it very off putting too, and it an insight into how they view people who disagree with them.

Apparently people are just intent on being offended. The cartoon is merely putting things into perspective. Parents are equating trauma from mask mandates for public health safety in a pandemic to the trauma of a lockdown situation due to a threat or active shooter in a school building. The danger and the fear and trauma of wearing a mask in school doesn't even compare to the danger and fear and trauma of locking down and hiding from a potential shooter threat! The kids in the cartoon understand the ridiculousness of that. The cartoon isn't politicizing anything - actual adults already politicized masks long ago, and gun control and safety has been political beyond the decades since school and mass shootings.

Stupid cartoons like this one shouldn’t be used by any group that wants to be taken seriously by intelligent people.

+1

I also believe that if APE had put out such a cartoon the response would be quite different.

And also so one of the most popular clubs at APS high schools is Rifle club. It amazes me that the same people who scream about how anti-gun they are have no problem sending their child off to target practice each week.

I'm in Smart Restart and I think the post was ill-timed. Not while our kids were still hiding under desks. I also agree that APE would have been crucified had they posted a similar cartoon, particularly at that time. I agree with the message underlying the cartoon, but it shouldn't have been posted when it was.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:While Yorktown was locked down, the pro-forced child masking organization (formerly the pro-closed school organization) Smart Restart was Tweeting this out. One of the leaders of the Arlington Education Association (teachers union) is high up in the organization too.

Disgusting

I mean. They're not wrong. Priorities are messed. up.

Agreed - I cannot believe people care more about damn masks than they do about guns. Seriously? My kid doesn't give a shit about wearing a mask, but she called me on her way home from school (she attends Swanson) freaked out about this. You know how I consoled her? By telling her there wasn't an "active shooter" - do you understand how messed up that is? That phrase left my mouth and I had to consider it CONSOLATION?? JFC, I can't believe what we have come to.

And to add - thank you, teachers, for everything that you do. I hope you know that many of us out here appreciate you.

I care about both. My young kid is really struggling with masks And very happy it looks like they will be coming off soon. I also have been very active in advocating for gun control and am heart broken about school. The cartoon is is offensive because it’s politicizing. It’s assuming you can’t possibly care about both issues because duh we all know good liberals are pro mask and anti gun. I agree with the poster that said the cartoon is disgusting.

I find it very off putting too, and it an insight into how they view people who disagree with them.

Apparently people are just intent on being offended. The cartoon is merely putting things into perspective. Parents are equating trauma from mask mandates for public health safety in a pandemic to the trauma of a lockdown situation due to a threat or active shooter in a school building. The danger and the fear and trauma of wearing a mask in school doesn't even compare to the danger and fear and trauma of locking down and hiding from a potential shooter threat! The kids in the cartoon understand the ridiculousness of that. The cartoon isn't politicizing anything - actual adults already politicized masks long ago, and gun control and safety has been political beyond the decades since school and mass shootings.

Stupid cartoons like this one shouldn’t be used by any group that wants to be taken seriously by intelligent people.

+1

I also believe that if APE had put out such a cartoon the response would be quite different.

And also so one of the most popular clubs at APS high schools is Rifle club. It amazes me that the same people who scream about how anti-gun they are have no problem sending their child off to target practice each week.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:While Yorktown was locked down, the pro-forced child masking organization (formerly the pro-closed school organization) Smart Restart was Tweeting this out. One of the leaders of the Arlington Education Association (teachers union) is high up in the organization too.

Disgusting

I mean. They're not wrong. Priorities are messed. up.

Agreed - I cannot believe people care more about damn masks than they do about guns. Seriously? My kid doesn't give a shit about wearing a mask, but she called me on her way home from school (she attends Swanson) freaked out about this. You know how I consoled her? By telling her there wasn't an "active shooter" - do you understand how messed up that is? That phrase left my mouth and I had to consider it CONSOLATION?? JFC, I can't believe what we have come to.

And to add - thank you, teachers, for everything that you do. I hope you know that many of us out here appreciate you.

I care about both. My young kid is really struggling with masks And very happy it looks like they will be coming off soon. I also have been very active in advocating for gun control and am heart broken about school. The cartoon is is offensive because it’s politicizing. It’s assuming you can’t possibly care about both issues because duh we all know good liberals are pro mask and anti gun. I agree with the poster that said the cartoon is disgusting.

I find it very off putting too, and it an insight into how they view people who disagree with them.

Apparently people are just intent on being offended. The cartoon is merely putting things into perspective. Parents are equating trauma from mask mandates for public health safety in a pandemic to the trauma of a lockdown situation due to a threat or active shooter in a school building. The danger and the fear and trauma of wearing a mask in school doesn't even compare to the danger and fear and trauma of locking down and hiding from a potential shooter threat! The kids in the cartoon understand the ridiculousness of that. The cartoon isn't politicizing anything - actual adults already politicized masks long ago, and gun control and safety has been political beyond the decades since school and mass shootings.

Stupid cartoons like this one shouldn’t be used by any group that wants to be taken seriously by intelligent people.