No one wants a school shooting. In the wake of several prominent ones, our local school district now has not just a locked door at all times to enter the buildings, but holding tanks from the outside perimeter and an interior locked door. There is a full time police officer at both the middle and high schools. And there are lock downs. Lots of them.
Indeed on back to back days, the following message was sent from the district, first for the high school, then for the middle school:
This morning, for a brief period of time, Quaker Valley Middle School [/High School] was placed on administrative lockdown. This type of lockdown is directed by the building administration to control movement in the hallways and keep the halls clear so assistance can be provided to a student or staff member. We are pleased to report the lockdown was performed as practiced and disruption was minimal. We thank the students, faculty and staff for their cooperation.
-Quaker Valley News & Information email(s)
Yesterday my high schooler, at the end of obviously a very gossipy chain, had said the incident was from a child having a “bad trip on LSD.” If only QV students were so bold.
Back to back cover your asses, information-free messages like this provoked the Gods of gossip enough that the administration felt like sending out another, more patronizing, message:
Dear Parents:
-A message signed by the Middle School Principal and District Superintendent, Jan 24 2020
There is misinformation being communicated about today’s administrative lockdown at Quaker Valley Middle School. We would like to reiterate there was no threat, there were no weapons, and students were never in harm’s way. Any other storylines are false.
The lockdown was a non-threatening event and it was communicated as such over the school’s PA system. Please know, the safety of our students and staff is paramount. We thank the students, faculty and staff for their cooperation.
Of course, if there was no threat of any kind, why is there a lockdown? Why is there a message about a lockdown? “Reiterate”?
With each of these messages – ever so cryptic, urgent, and finicky, the schools reveal themselves as primarily a day care center.
We’re now into second order kabuki theatre about security in a world that is going to ever be insecure, but is in fact more secure nearly daily. We’re just not going to be as academically competitive in that world.
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