Confusion over Forest Hill shooting shows need for schools to plan ahead | Opinion

Parents have a right to know what’s happening at their child’s school. From curriculum to teachers to logistics and safety concerns, transparency is vital, and protocols for emergencies are a must. Public schools are not an island; they must function together with the community,

This became apparent Oct, 11 following the deadly shooting of Yolanda Gibbs, a cafeteria employee at David K. Sellars Elementary School. Sellars is in the Fort Worth school district and the city of Forest Hill, whose police responded to a call before school started and found a woman with gunshot wounds in the school’s back parking lot.

Gibbs, 56, was killed by a man she was dating, police said, and he was later found dead. She loved kids and had worked at the school for 30 years. At a vigil Thursday night, friends and family shared what they loved about her, saying she was cheerful, smiled often and had a generous spirit. Her death is tragic.

What unfolded next demonstrates that districts and police need firm protocols for violence on or near campuses that include guidelines for canceling classes and sending clear information for families to know what’s happening and how schools are responding.

Parents complained that they received conflicting communications from teachers and the school’s principal, Delain Sandifer. Teachers told parents via Class Dojo, the app the district uses to facilitate communication, that classes would be canceled that day. But district officials say that Sandifer never canceled school.

Parents in the district received word at 7:29 am that “The school is open today and we will observe regular school hours. More details will be provided when they are available to me.”

Sandifer then released another, lengthier message to parents one hour later that read: “Safety is the top priority on our campus, and it is our commitment to communicate with you when a situation impacting our students and staff takes place at our school.” After explaining that a staff member died, the message continued.

“Emergency personnel may be on site, but there is no threat or danger to our school community,” it read. “We always collaborate with our safety and security team and the local police department to ensure the safety of our campus.”

Finally, at 3:31 pm that day, the school released another message that explained the situation again, in a bit more detail, and it emphasized “that the incident did not pose a threat to our school community.”

Parents expressed to the Star-Telegram in original reports that they were frustrated with the lack of coherent messaging. In a statement to the Editorial Board, district officials said that “we promptly communicated in both English and Spanish via email and phone calls as soon as we received confirmed information from the Forest Hill police chief. We ensured that our front office staff and District office personnel were equipped with the necessary information to share with parents early in the morning of October 11.”

They added: “It’s important to note that some details cannot be shared during an active investigation and some information is not the District’s to share, but the police department’s. Sometimes, we have to wait on police or other parties to gather what information we can share.”

Their statement goes on to explain that keeping the school open ensured students would have a safe place to stay, “especially considering the number of students who walk to school.”

It’s worth noting that Forest Hill recently canceled a contract to provide school resource officers to Fort Worth schools. The district noted that it has asked the City Council to reconsider.

We understand that in emergencies, especially issues that occur just before a school day begins, are complicated and there are many moving parts that need to communicate together and also to parents and the community. But this is why there must be firm protocols and procedures in place for administrations to rely on, so that when emergencies arise, communications can be clear. It’s also important that teachers, while trying to communicate to students and parents, don’t overstep their boundaries and communicate on behalf of their school.

Since the Uvalde school shooting, we have seen firsthand the importance of safety, communication and vigilance. Parents deserve to know what’s happening at their kids’ schools when it happens and to see a streamlined process of communications when emergencies arise. The tragedy at Sellars Elementary shows just how fluid emergencies can be and how important it is for everyone to communicate effectively.

This story was originally published October 21, 2023 at 5:28 AM.