Remember last Wednesday, May 26, 2010, when the temperature reached over 90 degrees?
Its a day that many Frost Middle School students will remember too.
According to a letter sent home to parents by Joey Jones, the school principal since 2002, the school received a bomb threat at 11 am, evacuated the students to the nearby athletic fields, and reentered the building at 1:35 pm. Students were left outside, because officials in charge thought there was not enough time to walk to the designated shelter-in-place location, Wootton High School.
BombThreatFollow-up5 27 10 %283%29[1]
For those of you unfamiliar with the geography of the Wootton Schools, the two schools are adjacent to each other. And its all downhill from Frost to Wootton, as any family with a sled can tell you - its a great place to hang out when schools are closed due to snow. Frost MS's established emergency evacuation plan, as shared with parents and the community, has Frost MS students evacuating to Wootton HS.
But not this time.
For some reason, the students and staff were kept outside and not sent over to Wootton.
For some other unknown reason, the kids were left on the fields without access to water or bathrooms. Twenty four students were treated for dehydration - two percent of the student population, not an insignificant number.
Maybe Dr. Jones has never walked between the two schools.
Parents want to know. Why were the students kept out in the heat, with no water, for over 2 hours?
Someone in charge of the plan needs to rethink the plan, or else someone in charge of the plan needs to be replaced. I'd suggest both.
And given the proximity of Frost and Wootton, and the conveniently located Giant where many Wootton families shop, other schools may want to examine their emergency evacuation plans too.
After all, if a school as green and as flush with resources both in physical and financial assets can't safely evacuate its premises, what guarantees do we have that other school emergency plans in Montgomery County Maryland public schools have plans that work when needed?
Weather May 26 2010
Let's nominate them for the "First Runner Up" for the "WHAT WERE THEY THINKING" Award!
ReplyDeleteONE BLISTERING SUNBURN in childhood or adolescences more than DOUBLES a person's chances of getting melanoma (a deadly skin cancer) later in life. http://www.skincancer.org/Facts-about-Sunburn-and-Skin-Cancer.html
ReplyDeleteWere these kids all sitting in the shade?
Oh for God's sake. This is a classic example of how we pamper our children. It is also shows how children are not used to being outside instead of inside their air-conditioned houses. If they can't stay outside for two hours without passing out then we are in a lot more trouble than I thought.
ReplyDelete@ 9:47 Exhibit A of the mentality of the school system. This anonymous commenter has claimed to have been a school system employee. At the time when these students were fainting they were supposed to be in classrooms. Superintendent Weast would like them to spend more time in classrooms - he would like year round schooling. According to the logic of 9:47 that will create a weaker generation of teenagers because they will spend their time in year round school and be unable to function in the outdoors.
ReplyDeleteSuch a lame excuse for the irresponsible act of an adult in charge of 1,300 students.
If a teenager was in charge of students and caused 24 of them to faint they would have been removed from their position of responsibility. But in MCPS the adults did their "best" and it was the "bomb squad's fault".
Since you have chosen to identify me as a MCPS employee I have chosen to answer your reply. I had nothing to say about year round schools. I noted that whining about causing students to stand outside in sunny weather is ridiculous. Look around when schools let out. Count how many obese students you see. Then drive around the neighborhoods and count how many pickup ball games you see or how many children are playing in their yards. You will see very few. We might as well turn the playgrounds and ball fields into Victory Gardens because they get no use.
ReplyDeleteI have no knowledge of what the "bomb squad" did or didn't do. But I'd bet that this forum would have been filled with complaints had an explosive device been found in the school while students sat their desks.
Who made the decision to keep the Frost kids outside? Was it the Frost principal or the Wootton principal?
ReplyDeleteSo this is what happens on a 90 degree day. What if this was a cold day in the winter? Would the kids be kept outside without their coats?
Given the proximity of the schools, MCPS needs to take steps to ensure this doesn't happen again.
ince you have chosen to identify me as a MCPS employee I have chosen to answer your reply. I had nothing to say about year round schools. I noted that whining about causing students to stand outside in sunny weather is ridiculous. Look around when schools let out.
ReplyDelete~~~~
You identified yourself as a MCPS employee which is very sad. Because you believe that it is acceptable to abuse children. Let's hope you aren't in any way connected with any school system or in any way supervising children.
The students weren't "standing around."
If a parent left a child outside for 3 hours on a 90+ degree day in the full sun without food or water and FORCED the child to SIT in one place that would be child abuse.
But when MCPS staff do it is is acceptable?
Just curious, if a bomb threat had been called in and there was actually a bomb and they did not go outside, what would the reaction be then?
ReplyDeleteI have read a number of accounts from 6th grades. I don't know any that would embellish do you?
Once the police have been called with a bomb threat, then they have to give an all clear before student can return into the building.
Why are teachers getting crucified? Aren't they responsible for following directions?
I agree, some boneheaded decisions were made once students were evacuated. Clear lack of communication and good decision making is clear. But some people just look for reasons to point out what is wrong with everything.
@ 10:07 - Reading would help you answer your own questions.
ReplyDeleteThe plan for the school was that in the event of an evacuation Frost students could walk across the field to Wootton High School. The two schools are back to back. They share fields.
When this incident happened, Wootton High School's administration refused to allow the Frost students to use their gym. Why? Where was Superintendent Jerry Weast to take control of this situation and deal with the Wootton refusal to allow the students a safe evacuation?
Not a single article has said that any teachers were in charge of this evacuation.
Students were injured as a result of the failure of the school administrators to keep them safe. Dehydration, heat exhaustion and fainting are not imagined conditions. The rescue squad treated real injuries, not made up ones.
Just as they treated the Frost principal when he fainted at the parent conference the next week, the Montgomery Count rescue crews were needed to handle real medical emergencies.
MCPS is an award winning NATIONAL LEADER in emergency preparedness. School systems across the country are told to emulate the MCPS planning process. All MCPS schools have plans and back up plans for all types of emergencies, including evacuations.
Is that recognition deserved or just PR?
@ Janis
ReplyDeleteWhen this incident happened, Wootton High School's administration refused to allow the Frost students to use their gym. Why? Where was Superintendent Jerry Weast to take control of this situation and deal with the Wootton refusal to allow the students a safe evacuation?
Then why do you allow the Frost principal to be berated on this site. If he wanted to move the students and was denied doesn't he deserve your support? Your statement makes it seem as though he wanted to move the students but was denied. What's the truth?
Not a single article has said that any teachers were in charge of this evacuation.
True but a bunch of your posters have placed the blame on teachers for not doing more. What should a teacher do in this situation? Please give realistic suggestions.
Clearly people screwed up. I would not argue that. I just don't think you have done, nor have other posters, done a good job of identifying who those people are; the use of school administrators is too broad. Please be specific.
I was out there
ReplyDeleteim an eighth grader,
there was no food no water
pure anarchy
kids attempted rioting to get water
some 6th and 7th graders got "bathroom breaks" down at wootton where as 8th graders were not allowed.
atleast 7 kids threw-up from dehydration!
and they were the only ones allowed in the shade!!
i reccommend a new principle (one that will make plans if this is to happen again)
also the next day was the Simmulated Congressional Hearing: any one was allowed in at that point. This is a safety hazard by allowing the one who sent the threat to reenter the next day and have a chance to kill us the kids!
Mrs. Bank and Mr. McKee headed the operation and kept us "under-control" while not informing us of any information about what was going on!!!