The Safety Mom Chronicles

Warning of School Threat Spread By Text - Help or Hystera?

There was an article on the cover of USA Today this morning about the power of text messaging in spreading rumors about potential school violence.  Apparently in the past several months many schools have seen wide spread absenteeism after students had used text messages to spread warnings about potential campus shooters, bomb threats and the like. 

As the article states, in nine out of ten times, these threats are unfounded but do you really want to take the chance of being that tenth one?  Schools are trying to respond rapidly when they learn of these texting waves by holding assemblies and sending automated phone messages to parents to assure them of the school's safety.  But once these text messages take off it's hard to control and schools are seeing, at times, two-thirds of their student body absent on a particular day in which violence has been threatened.  The article quoted a security expert who noted that "Mom finds out about it faster than the superintendent, the school board or even the building principal."

While this can be a problem I'm not sure it really bothers me.  Unfortunately we have seen too many times where a school has not acted quickly enough when they have learned of a planned attack.  As a Mom I want to be the one to make the decision whether to send my child to school if there is a threat of violence.   In this day and age with so many campus shootings it's difficult to predict what will happen.  Too often we hear friends of a gunman say that they had heard rumors something was going to happen.  While we can't live in a state of fear or overreact, I want to be the one to decide what I think is credible and whether I feel it's safe for my child to go to school. 

How do you feel?  Do you think the wave of texting is helping moms or causing hysteria?  What would you do if you learned of a threat that has occurred at your child's school?

Who's Picking Up Your Child at School?

My daughter Kelsey started kindergarten this week.  She loved everything about it except taking the bus home after school. Unfortunately we're the last house on the bus run so she was by herself which was a little frightening for her.  Of course I told her I'd pick her up from school instead.  It turns out that this was frightening for me!  What I realized is that, while teachers are outside monitorning that someone is actually picking up my daughter, they are not concerned who it is.  I merely drive my car up to the "pick-up" circle, roll down my window and tell the teacher that I'm picking up Kelsey.  Unfortunately anyone could do this!  Thinking that perhaps I was missing something, I checked the school handbook with all of the rules and regulations.  Unfortunately, nothing about "pick-up protocol" was included.  What if there was a restraining order against one parent?  How about a disgruntled ex-nanny or babysitter?  I'm curious to find out from you about your elementary school's protocol regarding pick-up -- or lack thereof...