We were
watching the Oscars last night, my husband and I hoping that the last joke Seth
McFarlane said flew right over our dear daughter’s heads, when all of our
phones started ringing at the same time.
 |
| Courtesy: abclocal.go.com |
These messages are met with glee on the part
of the kids and since I’m a work at home Mom, I am able to roll with it much
easier than my working Mom friends.
What
startled us was the reason behind this closing: a manhunt was happening right then for a man who worked at one of the counties schools and had
access to said schools. According to the
news, this man was involved in a domestic violence issue.
I applaud
the district for putting safety first. In light of all that has happened in and
around public schools of late, I say it was an excellent call, but it raised a
deeper question for us as parents.
What type of background checks are being
done for employees in supporting positions such as this man who was a maintenance
worker?
I honestly do not know what criteria
are in place. But I mean to find out. I am a bit embarrassed that I don’t know. I just assumed that these workers were
asked to go through the same screening process as teachers, staff and even
volunteers.
For example, I am a tier 3 volunteer in our school district which
means I have been finger printed and had a background check completed; therefore
I am able to go on field trips and volunteer for activities that put me in
direct contact with children.
I hope in my
search I do find out that all workers entering our schools have had to pass
this same level of security, if not more.
We spoke with our girls at length about safety at schools and let them know we felt comfortable sending them to school because our district did go the extra mile to ensure our schools were as safe as possible.
Thankfully this dialog ran long ( much like the Oscars) and we had stopped watching the show to talk. This saved our kids from hearing any of the song Seth McFarlane entertained the audience with next. You know the one about female body parts? So not kid friendly.
By the end
of the Oscars, when my kids had been fast asleep for some time, our local news reported
that the manhunt had ended. The man safely in custody and that schools would
remain closed.
Good. I am very thankful that this story has a happy
ending.
So has your school ever been shut down for
something like this? Do you know what your school districts security policies
are?
Please share
your thoughts on this.
Holy cow! That's really eye-opening. I know our church has people checked that work with the children, and sometimes that's not enough.
ReplyDeleteThings will be even more different in the next ten years. Glad your situation turned out well.
Hi Donna,
ReplyDeleteYes, we are all very thankful as well. I have been assured that full background checks are conducted on all staff, so I feel better.
Our school system acted quickly and in the best interest of the community.
Thanks for stopping by!
That's scary stuff. My husband is a teacher so these school shootings or just threats of violence always hit home extra hard. I'm glad they caught the guy and your kiddos missed that ridiculous song. Did you see Charlize Theron almost at the point of tears when they mentioned seeing her parts? It was so uncomfortable.
ReplyDeleteHi Kelly,
ReplyDeleteIt was scary stuff and I am so thankful our school system reacted the way they did and it turned out to be fine.
I can only imagine how you must feel sending your hubby off to school daily in light of recent events. I pray he works in a safe environment.
Oh my goodness, yes! I saw Charlene Theron's face. Poor lady. Can you imagine how Kate Winslet would have reacted if she were in attendance? Yikes!
Thanks for stopping by busy lady.
OMGosh that's so scary, but glad the school district took it seriously and closed the schools.
ReplyDeleteWow! Well it is great that they closed the school and took a proactive stance.
ReplyDeleteAnd that song on the Oscars was so tasteless. Can you even imagine them doing that back in the Clark Gable days? I hardly watched it after that. People have no class anymore!
Whoa! Very scary, but great that they put the kids safety first!
ReplyDeleteI don't think I have ever heard of that happening--but I am very glad that they did close school until they caught the guy. I'm surprised they don't do checks on maintenance people like they do on teachers!!
ReplyDeleteHi Danielle,
ReplyDeleteWe are were thankful too. I haven't heard one parent or staff member not be happy the school system closed.
Thanks for stopping by. I will visit you soon.
Hi Christy,
ReplyDeleteWe are thankful the school closed and this situation ended well.
Oh my goodness, I could not agree with you more on the lack of class that seems to be so pervasive in our society!
I tell my girls: classy, not trashy, that is the way we do things around here.
Thanks so much for stopping by and spending time commenting!
Have a great day.
Hi Michele,
ReplyDeleteIt was the first time we'd ever heard of a school system closing all schools too, but it was unique in that this man had keys to several schools.
I did learn that a very thorough background check is ran on ALL staff, so that made me feel much better about the over-all safety of our schools.
Have a great day!
Hi Michele,
ReplyDeleteIt was the first time we'd ever heard of a school system closing all schools too, but it was unique in that this man had keys to several schools.
I did learn that a very thorough background check is ran on ALL staff, so that made me feel much better about the over-all safety of our schools.
Have a great day!
Hi Michele,
ReplyDeleteIt was the first time we'd ever heard of a school system closing all schools too, but it was unique in that this man had keys to several schools.
I did learn that a very thorough background check is ran on ALL staff, so that made me feel much better about the over-all safety of our schools.
Have a great day!