PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — During recent school lockdowns in Palm Beach County School District, parents have rushed to the school in an attempt to get more information.
However, School District Chief of Police Sarah Mooney said doing so might not change the speed of communication.
"I understand, I'm a parent, I get it, you want to know what's going on, I'm concerned, I'm scared," Mooney said. "But the reality of it is, our guys are going to be focused on going in dealing with whatever the potential threat is, then after the fact we'll come out and communicate."
The topic of communication prompted a lengthy discussion at last Wednesday's school board meeting.
"You all know, because most of you are parents, when you're worried about your child, a minute is an hour," Director Of Communications and Engagement Claudia Shea said at Wednesday's board meeting. "So, we have a system in place where we update our parents at least every 20 minutes."
Based on the district's communication policy, parents can expect:
- "Timely" notification to families
- Aiming for updates every 20 minutes
- Notified via email, text or call
To make sure parents receive alerts, a registration form needs to be filled out at the beginning of the school year.
Questions about alerts are on page 2 of those forms, which are available in eight languages.
Parents must keep that information up-to-date.
Palm Beach County School District 1 Board Member Barbara McQuinn noted in the most recent discussion that it is not against school policy to come to the school in these situations.
However, Mooney has a message for parents who do.
"If you're planning to come anyway, just be prepared to be kept out of the scene. And if you start causing problems on the outside of the scene, that just takes resources away from what the people inside are trying to do," Mooney said. "We will get the information to the parents. There's no problem with sharing what happened or how it happened, but we just don't know instantly."