Update: FCPS to Conduct Internal Review over Bomb Threat Response

Update 10:28 a.m. Tuesday—Fairfax County Public Schools spokesperson John Torre said FCPS plans to complete an “internal review of the response on our end” regarding Friday’s bomb threat at Annandale High School, but there will be no official statement released.

“We understand the concerns expressed and we apologize for any undue anxiety and hardship created on parents,” said Torre.

Fairfax County police responded to a call about a bomb threat around 4:30 a.m. on Friday, March 30, but several parents complained that FCPS did not notify them until more than four hours after police arrived on the scene.

Torre confirmed that FCPS does have a policy for emergency situations such as a bomb threat, but explained that officials did not expect the investigation to last as long as it did.

“I think there was not a sense of precisely how long this event was going to go on,” said Torre. “It was unexpected that this thing was going to drag into the mid-morning hours, which led to the delayed response.”

According to Torre, students were already on the buses when they were transported to neighboring schools.

“There are procedures in place to communicate information to parents in the community when an event like this occurs. Each situation is unique. In this case, our concern was to get students to a secure and safe location. They were already on the buses. They weren’t allowed into the school. There was a limited number of places where they could be gathered. So the decision was made on site to keep the kids on the buses,” said Torre.

The Keep in Touch system responses are intended to be instaneous, but Torre said he believes there was no lengthy lag time when the alerts were sent out.

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Original Story - Monday, April 2, 2012

Annandale Parents Frustrated About Delayed Notifications Following Annandale Bomb Threat

Frustrated parents of (AHS) students and students attending nearby schools have been very vocal in their criticism of Fairfax County Public Schools' (FCPS) alleged delayed communication efforts to parents during at AHS.

FCPS still has not issued an official statement about Friday’s events and has not returned repeated calls from Annandale Patch; however, spokesperson John Torre told WTOP on Friday that an official statement will be issued. All FCPS students are currently on Spring Break from today, Monday, April 2 through Monday, April 9.

The Fairfax County Police Department responded to a call about a bomb threat around 4:30 a.m. Friday, March 30, but many parents were not notified of the situation until after 9 a.m.—more than four hours after police arrived on the scene.

Many students had already called their parents to tell them about the situation, but some parents reported hearing first about the bomb threat through the news long before hearing from FCPS.

A robocall shortly after 9 a.m. told parents that students were bused to Annandale Terrace and Braddock Elementary Schools and Poe Middle School.

Not all students reported to AHS in time to board the buses. Police turned away students who walked to the school and were not on the grounds when the buses were dispatched when they approached the police barricades. One student told Annandale Patch editor Sherell Williams on the scene that he walked home only to return an hour later and be turned away again. seeing students in as well. 

Parents were also upset at the number of students seen walking down Heritage Drive and in neighborhoods while faculty members stood on Heritage Drive or in the shopping center waiting for the all-clear.

Emergency Procedures Plan

According to the FCPS emergency announcements section of their website, FCPS updates their website, Keep in Touch e-mail notification system, and channel 21, among other methods, with information during emergency situations. However, an Annandale Patch user commented at 10:16 a.m. that there was no mention of the situation on channel 21. Buses were delayed for more than an hour in picking up students for middle schools and elementary schools in the area.

“Parents have been led to believe that news would be communicated through the TV station as well as the FCPS website. This affects close to 20 schools in the area and parents weren't notified by e-mail until 5 hours after the threat was made. What good is all the emergency preparedness if no one follows the procedures?” said user .

In some situations, the bus delays left some elementary school students waiting for more than an hour for their bus to arrive. Twitter user @BreathingCosbys tweeted to Annandale Patch: “Six year olds at the bus stop at 8:10, [FCPS] tells parents the bus isn't coming at 9:45. Too long.”

In addition to the confusion about where AHS students were sent, it was also unclear Friday morning if AHS was closed for the day.

School administrator Dean Morehead told Patch just after 9 a.m. that AHS would re-open, but it’s unclear whether that message was communicated to parents through KIT or other means. By that point, several students had gone home, parents and students told Patch.

KITS and Other Communications Throughout the Morning

sent an alert to parents at 8:37 a.m. on Friday explaining that “Due to an incident at Annandale High School this morning the buses will be arriving late,” and “Unfortunately, we do not have an approximate arrival time”, but the first Keep in Touch (KIT) alert from AHS principal Vincent Randazzo was sent at 9:03 a.m. and read as follows:

Dear Parents & Guardians,

The current situation at Annandale High School this morning is that students are not being allowed into the building while police investigate a reported bomb threat. Annandale students are being held on school buses, at Annandale Terrace Elementary, Poe Middle School and at Braddock Elementary. All are safe and away from any potential danger. We are waiting for police to advise us as to when we will be allowed into the building.

Vincent Randazzo
Principal, Annandale High School

Another FCPS KIT alert at 9:44 a.m. elaborated on the impact the investigation had on bus transportation for all 18 schools in the Annandale pyramid:

Because some of the buses that serve these schools are those that also serve Annandale High School first in the mornings, several buses are also impacted. Schools are open and students are welcome when they are able to arrive, either by parent transportation or once the buses can be cleared to transport them. The list of elementary schools [and other schools - Patch] impacted by these delays include: Annandale Terrace, Bren Mar Park, Columbia, Holmes, North Springfield, Weyanoke, Braddock, Beech Tree, Belvedere, Bryant, Camelot, Canterbury Woods, Fairhill, Little Run, Parklawn, Pine Spring, Sleepy Hollow, Poe.

Fairfax County sent out an alert through Community Emergency Alert Network (CEAN) at 10:33 a.m. informing residents that “students at Annandale High School are now being escorted into the school cafeteria and gymnasium while police finish their sweep of the building” and that “the school will conduct a regular school day as soon as the situation is cleared by Fairfax County Police.”

Another KIT alert from Randazzo was sent five minutes later at 10:38 a.m.:

Annandale High School students are being allowed to return to their classrooms.  Normal operations at the school should resume shortly. Staff and students were not allowed into the building while police investigated a bomb threat that was called in earlier this morning. 

Vincent Randazzo

Principal, Annandale High School

A Fairfax County CEAN alert also beat the FCPS alert letting parents know that the situation was all clear. The following was sent at 11 a.m.:

Annandale High School has now reopened and students are being allowed back into their classrooms. The school will conduct a regular school day.

Annandale Patch was given the all-clear by FCPD at 10:22 a.m. The FCPS KIT alert for the all clear was sent at 11:57 a.m., more than 90 minutes later.

Normal operations have resumed at Annandale High School.  Students were allowed to return to their classrooms by mid-morning.   Staff and students were not allowed into the building earlier this morning while police investigated a bomb threat.  

Annandale High School feeder school buses have resumed normal operations.

E-mail communications weren’t the only slow notifications. Annandale Patch Editor Sherell Williams received a robocall at 9:03 a.m., 9:45 a.m., 10:39 a.m. and 11:58 a.m. about the situation on Friday.

Overall, parents expected more from FCPS and are still waiting for answers about why parents were notified late and not informed about the whereabouts of their children.

"As a parent, I should have heard from FCPS first," Bernita Lee told Patch on Friday. "Someone should have called me. The automated messages came too late. I'm extremely frustrated,” said Lee.