Cal High received a call about a bomb threat on Feb. 22. After the threat was received, the school went into a secure campus and ultimately transitioned into a lockdown.
As the lockdown was happening, emails and messages were sent to teachers and parents updating them about the situation at hand. The email explained the reason for the initial secure campus and why the campus decided to go into a lockdown.
But the problem is that students were not given any direct updates from administrators about what was happening, even after they were dismissed from campus.
No emails were sent to students at all. The only information communicated to students were the announcements of the secure campus and lockdown over the loudspeaker.
Principal Demetrius Ball said during a press conference with The Californian the next day that in these situations, teachers are supposed to relay the information to students.
But for a lot of students, that wasn’t the case.
Many teachers did not inform students what was happening, leaving most with no knowledge of the situation. Some teachers only gave students bits and pieces of information.
Because of this lack of communication, administrators need to directly communicate with students.
Sending a mass email with basic information about an incident like the bomb threat could serve to help both students and the faculty.
For students, it may provide peace of mind. Directly being told what’s going on, being in the loop, and knowing what’s happening can really help students stay calm during situations like this.
For administrators, this might reduce the number of people asking questions and spreading rumors, which is beneficial, especially during a lockdown.
As this threat was happening, misinformation spread rapidly. The last thing administrators need to be concerned with at a time like this is misinformation, especially if it gets back to parents or posted on social media.
When something like this happens, the number one concern is everyone’s safety, not necessarily getting everyone informed. But as a result, some students are left in the dark.
It is necessary to have some sort of protocol ensuring information is communicated to everyone, especially students.
We cannot always prevent situations like this bomb threat, but we can do our best to make sure everyone is safe. The best way to do that is by making sure everyone is informed.