AUBURN, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) –The superintendent of the Auburn City School District is complimenting his students and staff on how they handled a lockdown at Auburn High School on Monday.
He writes to NewsChannel 9:
“The one thing that I would like to stress is that the staff and students did an amazing job… I never want to go through one of those again, but I am proud of how well our staff and students performed.”
Jeffrey Pirozzolo, Auburn Enlarged City School District Superintendent
No gun was found, but the Auburn Police Chief is grateful for the student who shared concerns there many be one on school grounds.
He says it took his officers only 16 minutes between getting the call and determining there was no gun.
Everything that went well didn’t prevent the 90-minute lockdown from rumors spreading and causing panic among parents.
“Everybody’s anxieties are really high,” said Jaclyn Schildkraut, a national expert on mass shootings. “The thought of a firearm in a school right now is putting people on different levels.”
Those anxieties manifested in social media posts by parents, many who showed up at the school and slowed down the lockdown from ending.
In the event a lockdown happens again, parents are advised to follow some of how teachers are trained.
“If you stay calm, the kids stay calm… If parents, as hard as it is, reassure them, ‘you’re safe, I’m going to get updated information,’ I think that can be really helpful,” Schildkraut said.
The Facebook posts referenced a live video stream from a student inside a locked-down classroom. People debated if it was or wasn’t appropriate.
“We do not encourage our students to be using their phones at any point, but that is very hard for us to control. I know that they are going to text especially to let loved ones know that they are safe,” Pirozzolo wrote.
“I think it is adding panic and I would encourage people to stay off of their phones when they’re immediately in a lockdown, because you don’t know if it’s a threat and you want to stay vigilant,” Schildkraut said.
“I think we also have to acknowledge the burden that we’ve put on kids today,” Schildkraut added.
She thinks they’re trying to get the attention of adult leaders who they hope do more to keep them safe at school.