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Educators speak out about an incident at the high school

Imagine hearing about a student bringing a gun into a high school. THIS HAPPENED LAST WEEK HERE AT APPLETON HIGH SCHOOL IN HARFORD COUNTY. AND NOW WE HEAR FROM THE HOWARD COUNTY EDUCATION ASSOCIATION WHO SAY THE EDUCATORS HERE DIDN'T KNOW WHAT WAS HAPPENING AND ARE CHARGING IT A MIS COMMUNICATION. IT'S A BIG TOPIC OF DISCUSSION RIGHT NOW. SAFETY INSIDE SCHOOLS. THE BIGGEST thing we are concerned about is the lack of communication with staff and the community, especially timely communication, and especially in this day and age, safety is of the utmost importance. Last week at Appleton High School, Howard County police said they charged a student who brought a knife into the classroom after a social media threat. School officials say in the post that a student was holding a gun. One involved a student with a weapon and the other involved a threat. And then seemingly almost like a choice. If you will, should I go to this school or that school? And apparently there was communication about this at the other school, but not at Appleton. BENJAMIN SCHMIDT, PRESIDENT OF THE UNION FOR HOWARD COUNTY EDUCATORS, SAYS APPLETON TEACHERS ARE ANGRY BECAUSE THEY FEARED ABOUT THE SCENE AND INCIDENT AFTER THE POLICE CAME TO THE SCHOOL AND THERE WAS NEVER A LOCKDOWN. We are concerned about why no lockdown or even a modified lockdown has been declared. 11 NEWS RECEIVED THIS MESSAGE THAT WAS SENT TO THE APPLETON HIGH SCHOOL COMMUNITY AFTER THE STUDENT WAS CHARGED. THE LETTER INFORMS THE COMMUNITY that a student posted a post on social media in which he is holding a gun and making a threat, but does not indicate that the student was at school with one knife was caught. 11 NEWS asked CPS why the gun wasn't brought up. A SPEAKER SAYS THEY DO NOT PUBLICLY SHARE DETAILS AND RESULTS OF POLICE INVESTIGATIONS, PARTICULARLY IF THEY INVOLVE MINORS. IT'S ALARMING TO LEARN THAT THIS HOWARD COUNTY TEACHER, WHO REMAINS ANONYMOUS, SAYS SHE'S AFRAID OF THE CLASSROOM, ESPECIALLY AFTER THIS INCIDENT. I think it would be great to have open lines of communication within the school building and then within the community. So that rumors don't spread. AND WE ASKED WHY A LOCKDOWN WAS NOT ACTIVATED. We actually received the response from the Howard County Police Department, who tells us that school administrators were able to locate this student quickly after learning about this

'They're upset': Howard County educators speak out after incident at Atholton High School

The president of the Howard County Education Association told 11 News teachers feel they were not properly informed about the threat of a student inside a school with a gun

An incident at a Howard County high school has led some educators to speak out about how the school handled the situation. “We just had a meeting (this week) with some of the staff there about this and some other issues, and they are upset and concerned,” said Benjamin Schmitt, president of the Howard County Education Association, the union that represents educators. “I don't know all the facts, but it sounds like this particular incident involved two different posts, one of which showed the student with a gun,” Howard County police confirmed to 11 News They were called to Atholton High School on September 24th following a threat posted on social media. Police said a student was charged after he was excluded from class by school management. The student had a knife with him, police said. Schmitt said educators in the building did not learn about the incident or the social media post until after the student was charged. “The biggest thing we're concerned about is the lack of communication with staff in the community, especially timely communication, and especially in this day and age, safety is of the utmost importance,” Schmitt told 11 News. “We are worried why no lockdown or even a modified lockdown was imposed. However, I must compliment and thank the Howard County Police Department for their quick work in protecting our staff and students, because without them, who knows what would have happened. When 11 News asked why a lockdown was not initiated, Howard County police said, “He was immediately located by school administrators and the School Resource Officer when they learned of the post.” 11 News obtained the letter, which was sent by the School was sent to the community after the student was removed from the building: This message is to inform you that the school administration has been made aware of a student who posted a picture of a gun on social media that appeared to be a poses a threat to our school. Administration was able to identify the author of the post as an HCPSS student. Administration immediately notified the Howard County Police Department, the HCPSS Division of Schools and the HCPSS Office of Security, Emergency Preparedness and Response. Through collaboration between HCPSS staff and police, it was determined that there is no current credible threat to the school. As always, appropriate consequences will be assigned in accordance with the law, HCPSS policies and the Student Code of Conduct where warranted. It took several days for 11 News to receive a response from HCPSS asking why the knife found on the student was not addressed in the school's letter to the community. An HCPSS spokesperson told 11 News, “The school's community message referenced the social media post to reassure families that there was no threat to the school, as confirmed by HCPD. HCPD later shared with you what the subsequent police response discovered and the resulting actions, but we do not publicly share details and findings of police investigations, particularly when they relate to minors, I will continue to contact HCPD if “I think a lot of teachers are concerned about their level of safety in the workplace,” said a Howard County teacher who requested anonymity after learning of the incident. “It’s scary to learn. There are so many things happening around the school and we have so many people and so much traffic coming in and out. You want to feel like you're safe and protected, and you want to feel like that's a priority for the school system.” “They're upset, but they're more scared than anything,” Schmitt said. “As far as I know, this is not the first incident. “I don't know anything about this particular student, but this is not the first incident involving violence or a weapon.” Schmitt said the union is in the process of arranging meetings with central office management.

COLUMBIA, Md. –

An incident at a Howard County high school has led some educators to speak out about how the school handled the situation.

“We just had a meeting (this week) with some of the staff there about this and some other issues, and they are upset and concerned,” said Benjamin Schmitt, president of the Howard County Education Association, the union that represents educators. “I don't know all the facts, but it sounds like this particular incident involved two different posts, one of which showed the student with a gun.”

Howard County Police confirmed to 11 News that they were called to Atholton High School on September 24th following a threat posted on social media. Police said a student was charged after he was excluded from class by school management. The student had a knife with him, police said.

Schmitt said educators in the building did not learn about the incident or the social media post until after the student was charged.

“The biggest thing we're concerned about is the lack of communication with staff in the community, especially timely communication, and especially in this day and age, safety is of the utmost importance,” Schmitt told 11 News. “We are worried why no lockdown or even a modified lockdown was imposed. However, I must compliment and thank the Howard County Police Department for their quick work in protecting our staff and students, because without them, who knows what would have happened.

When 11 News asked why a lockdown was not initiated, Howard County Police said, “He was immediately located by the school administration and School Resource Officer when they learned of the location.”

11 News obtained the letter the school sent to the community after the student was removed from the building:

The purpose of this message is to inform you that school administrators have been made aware of a student who posted a picture of a gun on social media that posed a perceived threat to our school. Administration was able to identify the author of the post as an HCPSS student.

Administration immediately notified the Howard County Police Department, the HCPSS Division of Schools and the HCPSS Office of Security, Emergency Preparedness and Response. Through collaboration between HCPSS staff and police, it was determined that there is no current credible threat to the school. As always, applicable consequences will be assigned in accordance with the law, HCPSS policies and the Student Code of Conduct, where warranted.

It took several days for 11 News to receive a response from HCPSS asking why the knife found on the student was not mentioned in the school's letter to the community. A spokesperson for HCPSS told 11 News:

“The school’s community message referenced the social media post to reassure families that there was no threat to the school, as confirmed by HCPD. HCPD later shared with you what the subsequent police response found and what action resulted, but we do not share it publicly.” I will continue to defer to HCPD with details and findings from police investigations, particularly as they relate to minors for details of their findings and investigations.

“Given what's happening across the country, I think a lot of teachers are concerned about their level of safety in the workplace,” said a Howard County teacher who requested anonymity after learning of the incident. “It’s scary to learn. There are so many things happening around the school and we have so many people and so much traffic coming in and out. You want to believe that you are safe and protected, and you want to feel like that is a priority for the school system.

“They’re upset, but they’re more scared than anything,” Schmitt said. “As far as I know, this is not the first incident. I don’t know anything about this particular student, but this is not the first incident involving violence or a weapon.”

Schmitt said the union is trying to set up meetings with headquarters management.

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