Many parents of Cranston schoolchildren were upset to find out that Bain Middle School activated lockdown procedures on Wednesday after a report of a suspicious person in the area.
It wasn't just the fact that there was a lockdown that was upsetting — many said they were troubled to learn about it via a breaking news alert here on Cranston Patch and not through the schools directly.
"I think the Cranston Police and school dept are being irresponsible for not informing all Parents of All Cranston students of what, where and why the lockdown was happening," said Elizabeth Tuttle on our Facebook Page. "For children with PTSD and anxiety disorders this sort of thing throws children Into a tailspin. Parents need to be prepared when children come home from school to be able to properly handle these situations."
"It's so scary for us parents to not know specifically what's going on when we are anxiously waiting for them to come home from school," said Maria Cardona.
Parent Julia Turner said she found out about the lockdown via the Patch and din't get notification from the school until 1:16 p.m. — hours after the Bain lockdown was initiated.
"Most of us parents have text messaging set up to text us when there is a school closing due to in-climate weather. Why wasn't this text messaging used to notify parents that our children's school is on lock down?" Turner asked. "I think there needs to be a heck of allot more communication with parents in emergencies such as this instead of sending out a letter after the fact."
The letter sent home to Bain students from Principal Jenny Chan-Remka told parents that the lockdown was ordered due to the suspicious person report in the neighborhood. (Letter is attached to this article.)
"I am proud of the staff and students who followed our lock down procedures as instructed. Our lockdown procedures were developed with the assistance of local police and fire officials. While no environment is absolutely risk free, we take safety seriously at Hugh B. Bain Middle School and practice our emergency procedures several times each year," she wrote.
Police continue to investigate the suspicious person report and said they'll release more information if they identify or find the person who was reportedly in the area when 911 was called.
School officials clearly were trying to balance student safety with the need to notify parents. The question is — at what point does notifying parents of such an event cause more concern and worry than necessary? Or should parents be notified instantly, even if the situation is under control and all students are safe and sound? A rush of worried parents coming to the school after an alert poses safety issues of its own. But parents finding out after the fact, or through local media, causes fear and frustration too.
So what do you think? Should the district have approached the issue differently?