HoCo: Joint taskforce on school safety

[2AHokie]

Have any other parents in Howard County received the emails about this?

Here's the text:

Dear Parents and Community Members,

In the wake of last week’s tragedy in Newtown, CT, this week was particularly challenging for communities across the country. Many members of our community have contacted the school system to share concerns and offer support.

This week, we established a Joint Task Force on School Safety in collaboration with the county government. The task force is chaired by Chief of Police William McMahon, HCPSS Executive Director of School Improvement and Administration William Ryan, and HCPSS Acting Chief of Operations and Finance Ken Roey. Members include representatives from county government, public safety, public health, the school system, parents and students. The task force will focus on three areas:

1) Physical security and security protocols in schools
2) Emergency response planning
3) Prevention

Please consider participating in the Community Forum that will be held by the newly established task force. At this forum, the task force will share its mission and solicit feedback on school safety. Please register in advance to attend. If unable to attend, input may also be provided through the registration form.

Community Forum - Location, Date & Time:
Wilde Lake High School Cafeteria
5460 Trumpeter Road
Columbia, MD
January 8, 2013
7-9 p.m.

I wish each and every one of you a joyous and rejuvenating holiday season. And I thank you for being a part of what makes this school system so great.

Sincerely,
Renee A. Foose, Ed.D.
Superintendent

Is there any comment we can add to this discussion that might be helpful for our rights? I haven't formulated anything that I've been completely satisfied with yet and wanted to see if anyone else had done any better.

 

[Boom Boom]

Have undisclosed CCW staff randomly through the school that make it impossible for a would-be criminal to know who is armed and ready to defend the children.

 

[TopTechAgent]

Have any other parents in Howard County received the emails about this?

Here's the text:


Is there any comment we can add to this discussion that might be helpful for our rights? I haven't formulated anything that I've been completely satisfied with yet and wanted to see if anyone else had done any better.

I plan on going to listen in and determine if there is any need to balance out the conversation if it goes anti 2A. I think we all need to be present at these meetings, especially in liberal areas, so the anti gunners know they can't forward their agenda easily.

 

[2AHokie]

I plan on going to listen in and determine if there is any need to balance out the conversation if it goes anti 2A. I think we all need to be present at these meetings, especially in liberal areas, so the anti gunners know they can't forward their agenda easily.

I agree and I think I will attend too, but I don't consider myself an effective public speaker.

I'm also concerned with adopting the right tone and message so that I'm an effective ambassador towards a group of people that probably know every little about guns aside from the propaganda they've seen on the evening news. The last thing I want to do is try to help and generate backlash instead.

 

[Boom Boom]

The best thing to do is relax and not try to recite something you memorized. Just speak from the heart. What helps is a simple reminder list of key points (one to three words each).

 

[miles71]

Would be great if Harford co did something........... Hear that echo

 

[Watdahec]

I live in glen burnie but work in columbia, wilde lake highschool is about 2 minutes from were i work. I might attend and hear what everyone has to say and maybe give or acquire some helpful inputs and hopefully i could voice out some knowledge at my sons school in glen burnie.

 

[pbharvey]

I'll probably go. I'm curious how the new plan will change from the existing plan that was created after the anthrax and DC sniper threats: Howard County Public School Systems Emergency Preparedness

I think planning is great but it's the implementation that concerns me. For example, the current plan for sheltering in place calls for

If incident warrants, tape is placed around doors, windows, and vents; and wet towels are placed at the bottom of doors.

Simple question: where are the towels?

Who has the ladder so the "vents" can be taped shut?

How about the huge ones in the gymnasium?

How do you tape a commercial air diffuser shut?

How much tape do you need to tape the doors, all the windows, and all the diffusers?

A plan that is difficult or impossible to implement is not effective.

 

[Mac3051]

With a daughter in Kindergarten the events that occurred causing this meeting hit me pretty hard; as I am sure they did the rest of the nation. That said I am going to try hard to go next Tuesday so as many pro 2A people can be present as possible.

If I'm there you’ll see me either wearing my MSI shirt or hat (if I can find the hat) or both!

As others said; I'm not going there to rally or cause a scene or even speak; but instead to listen. Our Principal seems very well put together and simply (so far) has requested a locking front door, buzzer, and CCTV system which all seem fairly reasonable if you ask me.

 

[SKIP]

If I'm there you’ll see me either wearing my MSI shirt or hat (if I can find the hat) or both!

Bad Idea.

 

[Mac3051]

Bad Idea.

Could you elaborate a tad?

 

[pbharvey]

Bad Idea.

+1

I'm not sure why anyone would want to wear anything relative to shooting at a meeting like this. I don't even see a correlation between the meeting and anything related to shooting sports or 2A rights other than the normal group of people who will want to blame the massacre on the guns rather than the gunner.

The meeting is now closed by the way but you can still submit comments.
They sent out a Tweet saying there was going to be a second meeting on January 14th but there's nothing on the website yet.


REGISTRATION IS CLOSED - Joint Task Force on School Safety - Community Forum

http://hcpss.org/aboutus/safety.shtml

 

[Mac3051]

Thanks pb you actually make a great point. I think it my hurry to defend "us" I may have been blinded by the fact that there is no reason to go in expecting a fight either.

The discussions aren't about concealed carry anyway - so you're right; it's a bad idea.

Standing down...

 

[2AHokie]

+1

I'm not sure why anyone would want to wear anything relative to shooting at a meeting like this. I don't even see a correlation between the meeting and anything related to shooting sports or 2A rights other than the normal group of people who will want to blame the massacre on the guns rather than the gunner.

The meeting is now closed by the way but you can still submit comments.
They sent out a Tweet saying there was going to be a second meeting on January 14th but there's nothing on the website yet.


REGISTRATION IS CLOSED - Joint Task Force on School Safety - Community Forum

http://hcpss.org/aboutus/safety.shtml

I see the correlation quite clearly. Gun-free zones do not work. Schools are gun-free zones. Any rational or logical plan to make schools safer should acknowledge this fact and recommend steps to make it a thing of the past.

I started the thread to see what the consensus is on pointing this inconvenient truth out at the meeting. It sounds like most don't want to rock the boat by speaking and I'm now convinced that this is the best course of action, as long as the 2A isn't overly demonized at the meeting.

 

[SKIP]

Could you elaborate a tad?

All we need is a bunch of pro 2nd ammendment showing up at a town meeting dressed in camo, Kill them all and let God sort them out shirts. Dress appropriate for such discussions. Public perception is everything.

 

[MDFF2008]

Don't dress the stereotype. Suits and ties.

Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk 2

 

[pbharvey]

I see the correlation quite clearly. Gun-free zones do not work. Schools are gun-free zones. Any rational or logical plan to make schools safer should acknowledge this fact and recommend steps to make it a thing of the past.

I started the thread to see what the consensus is on pointing this inconvenient truth out at the meeting. It sounds like most don't want to rock the boat by speaking and I'm now convinced that this is the best course of action, as long as the 2A isn't overly demonized at the meeting.

If CCW was truly legal in the Free State then I could see us making an argument to change schools from gun-free zones. Unfortunately, the entire state is, for all intents and purposes, a gun-free zone.

Thanks a lot for starting the thread though; its nice to see some like minded HoCo folks concerned and involved.

 

[hvymax]

Dress well, grow a set and speak up. If you sit silently or don't show up then you are no help.

 

[mwelliott]

Did anyone other than myself go to this last night? I left feeling quite unimpressed. I'm not sure what I was expecting but a couple minutes of some "yay, we are all working together" then breaking into groups to "brainstorm" what is working and what needs improvement in the 3 keys areas of the taskforce seemed like a exercise to placate those who wanted to be involved.

Not sure what else can be done but I would very much like to see who was picked to be on the task force from the pool of parents. It seems the task force was chosen before the announcement of these open meetings.

 

[Maverick0313]

I am a HOCO resident...just did jury duty....I received nothing on this.