By Angie Mozqueda
Last week, I wrote an article about the impact of cell phones on our youth, exploring whether they are harmful or helpful. In the article, I also discussed the potential harm and unnecessary panic that can result when students use their cell phones during an emergency situation. Unfortunately, we recently experienced a situation that was ultimately deemed unfounded by our local sheriff's office. However, due to various information shared by students and parents, there was a rush to conclusions, leading to significant problems online.
When using the term "online," I am indeed referring to Facebook, which tends to provoke a range of emotions and viewpoints among parents, ex-students, and even grandparents. As I considered writing an article to follow up on last week's discussions, it became evident that diverse perspectives were shared in the comments and posts.
Comments from both ends of the spectrum went something like this…. (I will not publish names just taking quotes and pasting them for reference)
“And this is why we are homeschooling”
“I EXPECT COMMUNICATION OVER THE PHONE. NOT ON FACEBOOK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
“Love how the lack of communication to parents during emergency situations still hasn't changed in the 2 years since I graduated. It's a small town, not that hard to keep parents informed when their child's safety is at risk ”
“None of this tells us WHY it happened, and WHAT it was. Form answers and non answers are NOT serving this community. Do better!”
“Why aren't parents contacted? Why do us parents have to rely on social media to give us little to none information on these situations.”
“I do think the school did right by going to a lock down when they felt it necessary but at some point I would like to know what's going on that's all.”
“Thank you, thank you, thank you School staff for following protocol and keeping our children safe! With three children in that school I'm grateful to know they are in such capable and caring hands!”
It seems that there was more frustration expressed than praise in this situation. Based on previous issues or frustrations, parents are extremely frustrated with the lack of communication. Specifically, parents were notified via Facebook posts after another parent had already been notified via text by their child that they were on lockdown. This raises some questions I have already asked in my previous article:
If there is a no-cellphone policy being enforced, why were some students texting and calling their parents? Did those messages and calls cause more panic than information? Did the incomplete information provided by students cause parents to become upset and even angry, leading them to call or go to the school? Doesn't this make parents feel disconnected and cause more tension in an already taut relationship between the school, the community/parents, and the students? An even more detailed question presented was shouldn't the school have been ahead of the chaos and issued some sort of alert to parents NOT via social media (some suggested an automated message or an email, an email was eventually issued and sent out at 1:40 pm incident occurred between 9-10 am hard to pinpoint with the information being provided) BEFORE a student did? Not in a way that would put the students in jeopardy but in a way that parents are hearing directly from the school before getting the bits and pieces from students.
Side note: our school has an emergency system they purchased approximately two years ago called Catapult… are we seeing the benefits of this system? Where do the parents and students fit into this system to build safety and communication? Is it being used? What are it’s benefits? According to Catapults website, (I have copied and pasted directly from their homepage what this system does):
Catapult Connect is a school communication system that lets you easily reach your school community members through a variety of communication channels. Send voice, email, text, social media, website, push notifications, announcement updates, and more in one integrated solution, right from your cell phone.
This information is for parents who don't attend school board meetings and may not know that our district has purchased a system for emergency communications. Additionally, there is now a section at the top of our school's website that allows for anonymous reporting. This means that if you ever need to report something to the school and don't want your identity known, you can do so anonymously.
What is the solution? Where do you start to mend what appears to be a broken and strained relationship? If you have parents with the stance that cell phones are indeed necessary BECAUSE OF situations like the one presented and others, maybe even school staff might feel like this is exactly WHY phones SHOULD NOT be allowed in the schools.
Fixing this relationship will take time and patience. Perhaps the school needs to hold firm on the no-cell-phone policy, even if it upsets some parents. Prioritizing safety is essential, and building trust with parents is crucial. It may be tough at first, but the ultimate goal is to create a strong, open, and honest relationship between the school and the community. It seems that both sides want to trust each other, but the confusion and conflicting information about cell phones make it difficult to find common ground. How can we mend this situation? What do parents, students, and community members need to heal and address not only the cell phone problem but also the communication breakdown that is ultimately affecting our youth? You decide.
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