Lockdown: the South Central musical
For forty minutes today, I was terrified. Well, scratch that - not quite terrified, but worried at least. At around 2 p.m. today a nervous B.M.S principal announced over the PA system that we were under lockdown. All staff and faculty were to get inside immediately and lock the doors.
Lucky for us, the kids had been gone (most of them, except those in the after-school program) for almost an hour, but a lockdown usually means guns and violence and who knew which kids (if any) would be roaming around on the grounds.
We were in the middle of a professional development session on summarizing strategies (ie how to teach my children to read), and tried to continue like business as usual. It was difficult for me to concentrate with the random sirens that sounded close to the school and to the frequent sounds of helicopters flying over.
While we discussed the text we were examining, I asked one of the veteran teachers if this happened frequently.
"No, this is the first time since I've been here."
A rush of relief (even though I still didn't have details) flooded through me. That is, until the other veteran history teacher chimed in:
"No, this is like the fourth or fifth."
Well, then.
Finally, the principal came in and explained that a man had been shot two blocks away from the school. He had made his way onto campus to find help, thus setting off the alert and putting the lockdown into effect. The police had set up a perimeter around the school, and we were to stay in the room until further notice.
To top it off, we were supposed to be holding an Open House for all parents starting at 4 p.m., and the district hadn't decided to let us cancel it.
Oh yeah, what a great way to welcome parents:
"Don't mind the crime tape - it's a new investment strategy we're trying. The school doesn't feel enough like a prison, what with it's bars and self-locking doors. Oh, and the blood? It's a biology experiment."
Thankfully, around 3 p.m. they cancelled it (and asked us to vacate the premises 25 minutes later). I've never heard teachers whoop in the halls of a middle school like children. I've never seen teachers dance with joy and giddiness in the hallways of a school.
Wow, what a stereotypical, yet atypical, day in South Central.
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