PA system: “We are in a secure school. Please clear the hallways and lock your doors. I repeat, we are in a secure school.”
Email: “If you see [student name] please contact me in the main office right away.”
Email: “Photo”
25 minutes pass
PA system: “We are still in a secure school. Please remain in your classrooms when the bell sounds.”
50 minutes pass
PA system: “The secure school has ended.”
Email: “We will be having a stand up meeting at 3:35 in the auditorium.”
Person: “First, I want to say that under a difficult circumstance, we got to the best possible outcome because so many people came together to do the right things. Even the students in question cooperated with the police.”
Person: “Police entered the classroom and made an arrest. Afterward, social workers were available for students in the classroom.”
Person: “The police recovered a replica gun and a knife from the student.”
Person: “The police also recovered a knife and a replica gun from a second student.”
Person: “The students involved will not be returning to school.”
Person: “Ever?”
Person: “Well, I don’t want to tell you something that might not be true, but they will not return any time soon.”
Person: “An email will be sent home to parents.”
Person: “Social workers will be available at the school tomorrow.”
Email: “Thanks again for all that you did today in support of students and colleagues.”
Persistence and Pedagogy 
OMG, Amanda. I am so, so sorry. Thank goodness the outcome was positive, but it must have been terrifying. This is such a crazy world. I don’t know what else to say. I’m so sorry.
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Thanks – in some ways, it wasn’t terrifying at all because we really didn’t know what was happening. It was kind of surreal. The teacher in the classroom where this all went down is very young (literally half my age!) and did a great job, though she is taking tomorrow off. One of the students wasn’t even in her class; she’d brought them in from the hallway!
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Oh, Amanda. I’m sorry you all went through that. Sending you a hug.
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So sorry this happened.
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I echo what Molly said. We had a lockdown drill this week which seems to cause me more anxiety than the kids. I would not have handle this situation well. Or maybe I would. It sounds impossible. I wonder how many times a disaster has been “handled “ and we are none the wiser.
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Oh wow, that’s a scary day for all of you. I’m sorry you had to deal with it, and keep dealing with it now. The what-ifs could be scarier than the actual events since you didn’t know what was happening.
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My kids came home reporting that they had a fire drill today. Rose said, “but there will never be a real fire, right mom.” I wish it were that easy to just assure these kids that drills are drills, that they won’t ever need them. I’m sorry your community went through this today and will likely continue to deal with the aftermath for sometime.
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I’m so sorry your school community went through this today. The format with which you decided to write about it leaves all the emotions between the lines.
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Thank you for noticing. That was my goal
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Oh so sorry you and your school went through this. Your writing puts us right in the room with you. I taught in elementary but when through this a few times with parents who came in anger with guns. Keeping kids safe and engaged during these times is difficult. Hope you can all breath easier now!
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My heart breaks to read this. And my heart breaks to know that this level of trauma and fear is what has become normal and commonplace when it should be ANYTHING but normal.
And oh! I can only imagine how very LONG that 50 minutes between announcements felt. What a scary, difficult day for you all. And the way you chose to tell it through a transcript made it seem less personal, more perfunctory – which seems to me like a wise survival tool…
Here’s wishing you some measure of peace and healing.
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Held my breath through this post, breathed a sigh of relief at the outcome. It’s good to know that procedures can work in these situations. I’m just glad you and your school members are okay.
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These are the absolute worst! My daughter (in a 7-12 school) has had 2 this year. It’s a horrible feeling to get a text from the school saying they are in a “hold and secure”.
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Amanda,
This is an all too familiar event in American schools, and I’m so sorry it’s your reality, too. Grateful the guns were not real. Sad for the students w/ them and for all in your school community. Relieved the event ended w/out any e getting injured. Sending peace and light your way.
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Just reading this in the morning. I imagine it was hard to sleep last night. Good luck today. I know this is going to be very hard going forward. We’ve all heard some of those words, but when it’s real, and it continues through the bell, well that’s so different. Wishing you strength today.
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I hope sharing a partial transcript brings a measure of relief and release. I’m so sorry to hear that you and your students and colleagues went through this. Holding you in my thoughts.
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Oh, hell, friend. I am so very sorry. Eff all of this! I am glad things unfolded as well as they possibly could have, but.
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Holy s**t, I am really behind on writing (2 days), but, wow. The way you wrote this through the announcements was really powerful. I think because it removes any emotion from a precarious and scary situation, which many people (staff and students included) might have done while this was happening. I hope all involved are ok.
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I am SO FAR BEHIND on commenting. And now my mother-in-law is here for Easter, and… I may never catch up. What was most interesting, to me, about the secure the school incident is that most of us were, in fact, pretty calm throughout since we had no idea what was happening. And everyone is ok – if you count suspended/ expelled to a “Safe School” as ok.
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