DPS superintendent Anthony Lewis speaks to students, faculty and families about the recent string of lockdowns in the Riverside Media Center on Oct. 15. Photo by Daniel Weiner.
In response to a string of recent lockdowns, district leaders answered an array of questions from Riverside students, faculty and families during an Oct. 15 town hall.
Principal Gloria Woods-Weeks described the event as “an opportunity for our school community to engage in constructive dialogue, hear information, and discuss questions about our safety procedures and communication” in an email to Riverside families sent on Oct. 12.
The event opened with Woods-Weeks reassuring the crowd that filled Riverside’s media center.
“We want to maintain that all of our students and staff are safe at all times,” she said.
Then superintendent Anthony Lewis acknowledged the disruptions the lockdowns are causing.
“It’s preventing us from providing a world class education to our scholars,” Lewis said. “So, absolutely, we want this to stop.”
Riverside students, faculty and parents asked questions and shared comments about bells and how truly safe students and teachers are during and after lockdowns.
“If I hear an announcement after 9:35 AM my mind automatically goes to ‘Oh my God, are we gonna go on lockdown?’” said Junior Illy Boudwin.
Some students expressed concern about the way law enforcement checked their classrooms.
“He came in through the door, didn’t announce who he was, and he had his gun out,” junior Asher Dewey said.
RHS staff members also shared frustration about how frequently the lockdowns occur.
“What you’re asking us to do is come to work tomorrow, and it might happen again?” one Riverside staff member asked.
There were also questions about See Something, Say Something, the anonymous reporting system DPS uses. Some community members called for the system to be confidential rather than anonymous, but North Carolina has laws in place that prevent this.
District leaders acknowledged that the tips are likely coming from the same person and said they are working with the State and Federal Bureau of Investigation to identify who it is.
“They’re already taking the VPNs into consideration,” said DPS Director of Safety and Security Mclloyd Bynum when asked if DPS could track the likely singular person that is calling in all the lockdowns.
Bynum and DPS leaders tried to make sure people knew that students would be safe even though lockdowns could return, and that the perpetrator would be tracked down and caught, no matter their location or position.
If a perpetrator is identified, the district plans to take legal action.
“The student could be facing 10 or more felony charges, 20 felony charges,” said Bynum
In the short term, Riverside plans to implement a different bell to signal lockdowns.
There are also plans to replace some lockdowns with holds which function as lockdowns where classes still continue.
Bynum said the decision to put a school on lockdown is based on police thresholds.
“The threshold is if they deem it a threat to the school,” he said. “So if they’re saying, a gun is in the school then definitely.”
If there is a safety concern but law enforcement does not have evidence that suggests a weapon is on campus, the school can be placed on a hold instead.
“We’ve been seeing if we can kind of use holds if we can verify the information as false,” said Bynum.
District leaders could not guarantee that the lockdowns would end and reiterated that students’ safety remains their top priority.
“If keeping the kids safe [means doing] a lockdown for 30 seconds, then that’s what we’re gonna do,” said Bynum.
