Schools around the country are grappling with how to react in the wake of Feb. 14’s school shooting in Parkland, Florida. One teacher shared an incident at her school that showed just how tense the climate of some schools are now.
Lacey Garner, a teacher based in Atlanta, took to Facebook to share what happened when a fire alarm went off at her school on Wednesday. There were no planned drills, so many thought they were be set up for an attack, much like confessed shooter Nikolas Cruz did in Parkland.
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“Our first thought wasn’t to exit the building, but to wonder if this was the start to a very dark afternoon,” Garner wrote. “For 30-60 seconds after the alarm started, the hallways were dead. Not one teacher instantly thought to abide by ‘fire drill’ procedures.”
However, this fear was not only expressed by teachers. Students at her school were terrified that they were in the midst of a mass shooter scenario.
“I had high school students begging me not to take them outside because ‘what if it was a setup for a shooting?’” she wrote. “Sixteen year old students began to tear up as I told them we were going to leave the class and walk outside. ‘I don’t want to die.’ I held hands of students and held them behind me as we walked out of the school, all the while repeating in my head, ‘please don’t let this be it…please don’t let this be it.’ Aloud, I promised kids they were going to be okay.”
Luckily that was not the case, and students went back indoors. Then the alarm went off again and students went into another panic. Garner said “some ran for classrooms” and “others ran for doors.”
Everyone who later learn that it was simply dust in an fire alarm that caused the situation. However, the entire ordeal served as an example of how students and teachers are feeling about school safety at the moment.
Garner ended her note with a plea for change.
“We are doing our best,” she wrote. “Every teacher I know would die trying to save your children. But we could use some help. If we are willing to give our life, could you give us your voice? Demand change. Fix this s—.”
