Parents, teachers on social media debate security in the Hillsborough schools

[UPDATE: Speaking with reporters later in the day, Superintendent Jeff Eakins and security Chief John Newman said the active shooter training has been rolled out to administrators but only a small number of teachers. That will now change, with an accelerated schedule of training that should be complete by the end of the school year. In the meantime, Eakins is asking all principals to take a close look at their gates, locks and other "school hardening" features. He wants to get on top of any maintenance requests and also make sure staff is being vigilant when it comes to securing school perimeters and buzzing in visitors.] On social media, parents and teachers weighed in on the gun control debate while some questioned assurances that Hillsborough County School District leaders gave about the safety of their more than 200 campuses.For many, the venue was Facebook's Hillsborough County School Board Whistleblower, which tends to attract people who are dissatisfied with the state of things in the large district."There is no active shooter drill," Scott Hottenstein, a Barrington Middle School social studies teacher and candidate for School Board, posted. "Our school does not "buzz" people in, as others have already stated."Spoto High School English teacher Melissa Brown posted that "drills aren't taken seriously, especially by the students. Whatever drills or trainings we do have feel like checking off a box. Now would be a great time to have real conversations as a faculty about what procedures would be best for each school based on the layout and based on different situations."Spokeswoman Tanya Arja told The Tampa Bay Times that administrators are put through a national training called "Run, Hide and Fight." So far, she said, that effort has reached all principals and nearly all assistant principals. Teachers are being cycled through the training.But it has not reached everybody. Stowers Elementary fourth grade teacher Stacey Donvan Underwood wrote, again on the Whistleblower site: "We have never had an active shooter drill in any school I've worked in for the 20 years I've been in the county. And while teachers may have a once a year lockdown drill, and a once a year tornado drill, much much more is needed."When it was pointed out to Underwood that the schools do practice lockdowns, she wrote, "we lock our door and draw the shades. We don't tell students why we're doing what we're doing, and we don't practice at all about how to survive beyond that. We don't go into the classroom bathroom, under desks, out a different exit. We are told to continue teaching during this drill. This is not effective."Lara Applegarth, who teaches math at Turner-Bartels K-8 School, agreed. "Lockdown drills are not active shooter drills," she wrote. "In Pasco where my son goes, the sheriff's department has gone through the schools in real active shooter drills. Running through the school in search for a shooter. Kids hidden/barricaded, etc. NOTHING like our lockdowns."Brenda Merchant Roberts, a guidance counselor at Randall Middle School, disputed a statement by district spokeswoman Tanya Arja that the schools are secure, requiring someone to buzz in any visitor. "Totally false information," she wrote.Others took issue with the district's efforts in recent years to avoid suspending students out-of-school when they are disruptive."When a student is able to threaten a teacher with no real consequence, that school is not safe," Westchase Elementary music teacher Cyndi Burchfield wrote. "We have a long way to go in this district to be safe."Arja, who was working Thursday to gather information about school protocols to distribute to district families, acknowledged that not every campus is identical in layout, which leads to some variance in their security practices.Many others urged one another to support political candidates willing to push back against the firearms industry. Westchase parent and writer Chris Barrett, who often offers posts about his three daughters, shared this: A month ago Elf, a freshman, got into the car at the bus stop. Once safely out of view of her friends, she collapsed against me and sobbed. It wasn't mere crying. Her whole being was shaking and trembling. Elf told the story of sitting in her history class when a sound like gunshots exploded outside their classroom door. She saw bright flashes through the window and became terrified. "Dad, I thought I was going to die," she said. "My hands were shaking so much, I couldn't even text you and Mom to let you know what was going on." The entire class sat in absolute silence, fearing for their lives, their teacher paralyzed. They later learned what it was. A student at the school thought it would be funny to throw a handful of lit firecrackers down in the hallway. Even after they were assured there was no shooter, the class struggled to coax one of Elf's best friends out from under her desk, a girl who was visibly traumatized and distraught. The saddest part of this whole episode? As I held her, sobbing in my arms, I knew I couldn't honestly assure her that she would be safe at school. Because we live in the United States of America. Elf looked at this morning's paper, featuring another huge headline screaming that another 17 high school students had been massacred by a semiautomatic rifle. "I think the scariest thing," she said. "is that, no matter what anyone says, it can happen anywhere." But Elf is wrong. It's actually only happening in the United States. And it will keep happening in our country – affecting every one of our children – until our nation's and state's insane gun policies change the way YOU vote in elections.

Parents, teachers on social media debate security in the Hillsborough schools

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