Admin handled shooter threat well

“For instance, … the understanding of what shelter-in-place was as opposed to lockdown, people were confused about that.”

Verde commends the Palo Alto High School administration for its handling of the April 25 shooter threat, which led to an hour-long shelter-in-place. However, communication between administration, teachers and students on- and off-campus should be more clear going forward.

The shelter-in-place was announced through a schoolwide announcement soon after the discovery of the shooter threat posted on a classroom door, and teachers were instructed to close their classroom windows and doors and continue teaching.

According to senior Vedanth Padmanabhan, while communication from Paly was limited, they successfully implemented the shelter-in-place without prompting a disruptive, panicked response from students.

“Admins’ primary job is to protect you, not to make you not worry,” Padmanabhan said. “As a student, I think that knowing too much can harm you more than knowing too little, because if students knew too much, they might be tempted to leave school or disobey the lockdown.”

History and Social Sciences teacher Mary Sano agrees that the shelter-in-place itself was sufficient to keep students safe without disrupting the learning environment within each classroom.

“At the moment, it seemed like answers did not come immediately because there were so many things to consider,” Sano said. “In hindsight I think it [the shelter-in-place] was the best possible situation given this unprecedented situation.”

However, Sano said that communication between administrators and teachers could be improved. “I think that communication [wise] there were things that could have been clearer,” Sano said.

George Pinckney, the Palo Alto Unified School District Public Information Officer, said a lockdown drill that occurred March 10th may have led teachers to confuse the difference between a shelter-in-place and a lockdown and that administration is actively working to improve communication for future situations.

“The lockdown drill was practiced in early March at Palo Alto High School, but we’re trying to make sure teachers understand the differences in the shelter in place, which is where you continue what you’re doing,” Pinckney said. “We have also discussed making second and possibly third announcements to clarify because in some cases, students were acw2wtive within the classes so they may have been discussing class work or class projects.”

Students who were in classrooms without speakers — such as P.E. or dance — were less informed of the threat. To prevent future situations similar to this, Pinckney said that the district will improve the quality and number of speakers throughout the school.

“Our safety preparedness officer Mr. (Mike) Jacobs has already started revisiting and updating speakers around the campus on the outside baseball field as well as near the small gym,” Pinckney said. “We will also focus on making sure the announcements are made more than once if we have to use another shelter in place.”

Safety of staff and students should be the No. 1 priority, and Verde commends administrative attempts to improve communication.

Sano said she shares this sentiment. “There are things [general protocols] in place, which is why things worked,” Sano said. “But we can always make things better.”

We agree. v