Yesterday started out just like any other Thursday. I got up at 5am, got ready for my internship and headed over to the high school around 6:45am. Little did I know I would spend nearly 3 hours in a locked down situation at school. We were conducting instant application day with our seniors and local colleges when the principal came through, pulled the counselors in an office and told us we would be going into lockdown in the next few minutes due to possible weapons on campus. One of the counselors went back to alert the admissions reps and the rest of us stayed with the students to make sure they stayed calm when the announcement was made. I don't even know if I had any feelings at that point....I think it was just shock that took over and then making sure the students were safe became my top priority.
We spent the next few hours talking with the students, each other, and the college reps. We checked the websites of local TV stations to see what was being reported because we didn't know much of what was happening in the school. Our offices face the front of the building, so we were watching the cops pulling in throughout the day and all the live trucks setting up at the McDonald's on the corner (they closed the street in front of the school). We also saw a student being taken away in handcuffs and a lot of canine units coming into the school. Unfortunately, because we really didn't know what was going on, we had to rely on what we were observing outside of the building.
It was incredibly interesting to be in the office with about 22 seniors over that period of time. They started the day all sitting in their chairs and facing forward, with little pockets of students chatting and hanging out together. About half way through, we noticed that they started creating more of a circle and people started moving their chairs in to be a part of the conversation. One student and I were talking about how she was excited because she had never talked to some of these other students and now she feels she made some new friends. It was so incredibly uplifting to watch these students make connections over the 3 hour period. Overall, our group of students were fantastic throughout this experience. They shared their feelings and frustrations with their school, not only with each other, but also with us. Hearing the stories that some of these kids have and the things that they have seen just blew my mind. Their resiliency is amazing and powerful. After a while of letting them chat, we brought our some sandwiches, chips, and sodas (we had a lot of food because of the college reps) because many of the students missed their lunch and then one of the counselors got out a bunch of Kush (sp?) balls and they played some games to pass the time.
Throughout the day, I started receiving text messages and calls from friends, as well as Alex, just trying to find out if I was safe and what was happening. I have to say, I never at any point felt unsafe in the office with the students and other counselors. I never felt uneasy at all. Maybe it was because we had the college reps and a bunch of seniors that really kept my mind off what was happening. Regardless, I found it interesting that fear never entered my being.
Finally, after almost 3 hours, the students were systematically released from the building, the college reps had a police escort to their cars, and there was a big sigh of relief in the building.....that was followed by anger. In the counseling office, we threw a Motown CD in the radio and started dancing just to release some of the anxiety over what just happened. We then went to a schoolwide meeting with the principal, superintendent, chief of police, and other detectives, where we found out that they did find a .22 caliber, semi-automatic hand gun that was loaded with 2 rounds of amo. This gun was found in the cafeteria.....which is right across the hall from the counseling suite. I think that is when my emotions welled up and I felt my eyes begin to tear. The reality of the danger was overwhelming. The "What If's" began to swirl around in my head and started taking me over the edge. There was an audible gasp from all when this was announced. As we left the meeting, I (jokingly) told my site supervisor I was going to start looking at suburban placements to which she replied NO! We need people like you here! Needless to say, I'm still hoping to work in an urban school because the joy I get from the kids who need and want the support, far outweighs the challenges placed on the school by those who don't have a desire to learn.
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