Well, that was exciting

[ghost_light]

I got up early this morning to go do a school visit. I get to the school, remind the teacher how she knows me (we did a show together about 7 years ago), talk about why I was scheduled when I was and then she explains that the kids are still frantically working on final scenes today. She proposes that I go wait in her classroom, she'll finish up some things, bring the kids to me and I'll have a few minutes to talk to them before their next class.

No worries. I set my stuff down, grab a section of newspaper from the recycle bin and pull out a chair. Then the voice comes over the school intercom:

"____ High is having a lock down. Please begin lock down procedures. This is a lock down drill. No, excuse me. This is a lock down. Please begin lock down procedures."

Okay. Worries.

I poke my head out into the hall and tell the teacher next door "I'm just a visitor and -"

"Close your door, pull down the shade, lock the door and turn out the lights! NOW!"

I, of course, can't figure out how to lock the door. Plus the window shade won't stay all the way down. So I spend the next 10 or 15 minutes standing at one side of the door where I can kind of see down the hall at an angle listening to the faint echo of walkie-talkies in the distance.

Finally, they announcing that the lock down is over and it was, truly, not a drill. There was a report of a weapon outside, so APD had to come search the building.

At this point the teacher comes back. She takes one look at me and her eyes get really big. It seems she has always told the kids that they would go hide in the orchestra pit in case of an honest-to-God lock down. So she got all of them down there, closed the door and THEN remembered I was upstairs.

I get to go back to the school on Thursday to talk to the kids.

Comments

[bulldog-ak.livejournal.com]

What a terrible position to be put into! You might want to drop a letter with the principal or VP about it. They need to have procedures for guests. In my opinion, the teacher next door should have taken care of you rather than bark orders you had no way of following.

[ghost-light.livejournal.com]

It was less barking that it was that she seemed honestly freaked out. I was a little surprised that she didn't tell me to come bunker in her class, but it may be against some policy. Or maybe she thought I was the one with students in there.

[bulldog-ak.livejournal.com]

Letting strangers into the classroom, even with a vistors' badge, is a no-no during lockdown. She did the right thing, but I feel bad you were put into that situation.

[sionainn.livejournal.com]

Yes, it's a horrible position to be put into and yes there should be procedures for guests. But on the other hand, it's the teacher's job to worry about the kids, not other adults.

In my humble opinion, the teacher did a fine job getting the kids to safety.


(Not like me when I was doing the preschool teacher thing and had all the kids lined up to go inside and a gigantic bull moose passed through the playground behind me not 4 feet from where I was standing and I had an "OH SHIT!" flight reaction. Not 3 nanoseconds later I had another "OH SHIT!" reaction and went back outside to get the kids. *snort* In my defense, it really was a case of run inside, pivot turn, run back outside and grab defenseless cute kids, go back inside and slam door).

[bulldog-ak.livejournal.com]

I agree with what the teacher did. We had enough real lockdowns at Ptarmigan where I was suspicious of everyone I didn't recognize. I wouldn't have let them in my classroom either.

One day, when I was restraining the kid who was on KILL mode at Ptarmigan, the school went into lockdown and the visitors I could see at the end of the hallway were stuck there since all doors were then locked. I was never so happy to see the cops in my life.

LOL We had that happen, except some of the kids ran TOWARD the moose to harrass it. I am SO glad I don't work there any more.

[vonandmoggy.livejournal.com]

Eep!! I'm glad everything turned out all right in the end...I would've been terrified!!