For the better part of a week, outdoor activities were off-limits for the 500 students at Town and Country Elementary. Classroom doors were locked. Students couldn't wait for parents at dismissal time in front of the school, but were released one by one from the cafeteria.

The restrictions, which school officials call a modified lockdown, followed a threat against a child. The mother reportedly feared the father would harm the child. The parents are estranged.

"We're going to err on the side of caution," schools spokeswoman Linda Cobbe said. "We would rather not inconvenience anyone, but if it's a question of inconveniencing some folks versus protecting a child's safety, we're going to protect the child's safety."

Town and Country Elementary first went into a modified lockdown last Wednesday. Students were kept inside and classroom doors kept locked. The school continued in this mode through the end of the week.

On Monday, officials allowed students to participate in some outside activities, but they went back into a lockdown Tuesday following a new threat. As of this morning, the school is allowing students outside for PE, but continues to control access to the campus.

Cobbe said lockdowns following threats against students happen once a month or less, but it's rare for one to last so long.

The threat appeared to lift Wednesday afternoon, after the father accused of making the threats was arrested.