Mi Nguyen
This editorial represents the opinions of 14 out of 14 Outlook editors.
On May 22, the public address system declared that Aragon was in a lockdown. Students ran into the nearest classrooms, where some silently hid, while others continued learning behind locked doors. The incident, caused by an altercation between students, was later de-escalated to a secure campus, totaling around 86 minutes. No official notification about the ongoing emergency was sent out to the community for over an hour, while a ParentSquare message explaining the incident was only sent three days later.
Aragon’s communication during the incident fell short, with insufficient announcements both during and after the incident along with outdated PA systems in the music rooms, gym and office spaces.
“I did not know there was any lockdown initially, until a flood of students started coming into my class, and I’m like, ‘What’s going on?’” said music teacher Kevin Gallagher. “They said, ‘It’s a lockdown’ … Apparently, an announcement had happened over the PA system, but I had no idea because … we’ve had a hard time hearing any announcements for years.”
While Gallagher has since been notified by the San Mateo Union High School District that his classroom will receive updates and administration is working on addressing this issue, that it went several years without being fixed is troubling. According to Assistant Principal Andrew Hartig, the PA systems in these learning spaces have not been updated because the district had designated the new PA system only for “traditional” classrooms. The Outlook believes urgent updates to the PA systems in these spaces, including the music rooms, gyms, main office and counseling centers are crucial.
Furthermore, the message sent three days after the incident denied that the school was ever in a lockdown situation, stating that it was only a secure campus event. However, many agree that the initial announcement over the PA system directed the school into a lockdown.
“I was walking to class, and me and my friend … hear, ‘This is not a drill. This is a lockdown,’” said junior Fiona Kilroy. “We freaked out … The teachers were all like, ‘get in the class, get in the class.’”
The Outlook believes Aragon should have acknowledged calling the situation a lockdown.
Although we understand some believe the lockdown should be left in the past, discussing this is necessary to avoid repeating the same mistakes in the future. As such, we propose increasing communication between the school and community immediately after emergency situations. Doing so will keep parents informed on emergencies, increasing trust in the school’s ability to protect students.
This school year, Aragon has already had one fire alarm on Aug. 19 and one shelter-in-place on Aug. 24. During the fire emergency, students were evacuated to the football field during the passing period and missed half of their FlexTime, but no communication was sent to parents to inform them of the cause of the emergency. Moreover, during the evacuation itself, students were confused about where to go and where teachers were located. Some were told by administrators to go to their second period teacher, while others were told by teachers to go to their fourth period.
The Outlook suggests increasing student awareness through emergency-specific presentations about where to go if the fire alarm rings during passing periods, brunch, lunch or FlexTime; this would have alleviated much of the confusion. The recent lockdown/barricade presentation on Sept. 14 is a strong step towards more awareness.
During the shelter-in-place five days later, Assistant Principal David Moore announced via the PA system that there was a medical emergency outside, which delayed lunch for a few minutes. The Outlook appreciates the transparency of this message, along with Principal Peter Alvarez sending an email soon after to inform the Aragon community of the reason for the event.
“We sent that communication because we [had] an event where students were held in class, even though it was for a very brief period,” Alvarez said. “I wanted to make sure that parents knew what that was for … The need to communicate differed between [the fire emergency and the shelter-in-place], and I wanted to be sensitive to how our community felt after the event that happened in May.”
However, the Outlook suggests informing the community any time students’ learning is unexpectedly disrupted. This increase in transparency promotes a healthier, more trustworthy environment where both students and families feel secure.
