School lockdown procedures in Middle Tennessee have come under some scrutiny this month, as principals have had very different reactions to threats on student safety. In some cases, parents have felt out of the loop or frustrated that administrators didn’t take threats more seriously.
That was the case at Cannon County High School. Last Wednesday evening, a mental health facility contacted police to report
a potential threat by a student in their care. Authorities came to the school the next morning when students arrived and ordered a brief lockdown.
But many parents were upset that school was in session at all. They shared their frustrations with the county sheriff and school principal that night at a school board meeting.
At Ooltewah High School, threats of a shooting were scrawled on the wall of the boys restroom announcing an attack on March 1. When the day came, Principal Jim Jarvis told parents in an email that classes would be held as normal.
Jarvis promised additional security, but for many, that wasn’t enough.
More than half of the students — over 800 — didn’t show up for school.
Although principals across the state are offered the same training, policies differ from district to district.
Goodlettsville Middle School and Hunters Lane High School in Nashville were
evacuated this week in response to threats received over phone calls and social media, which is in line with
Metro Nashville Public Schools emergency protocol.
Trellany Lane is the principal at Robert Churchwell Elementary, a Metro school which had five lockdowns last year. She says if a school receives a threat, even if it’s over social media, the principal is expected to take it seriously, no matter what.
Threats are treated with extra caution when they come from someone within the building, like a student. “That kind of ups the ante of the safety because they know the layout of the building, and they know the people of the building,” Lane says.
If the threat targets the building, then the school might evacuate, whereas if the threat is outside the building, or if there is a suspected intruder, then the school goes into lockdown.
Most of the time, the decision ultimately falls on the principal. Although it’s not her favorite part of the job, Lane says, safety is something she takes very seriously.
“If teachers don’t feel safe, it’s hard for them to teach. If students don’t feel safe, it’s hard for them to learn,” she says.
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