After lockdown, Fort Dodge parents and school discuss communication
By Andrew Mollenbeck
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FORT DODGE, Iowa (KCCI) — Fort Dodge Middle School went into lockdown Wednesday in response to a student’s threat, and though the immediate danger turned out not to be real, the subsequent frustration about communication was for some parents.
The school reported the threat at 2:08 p.m. It already had a school resource officer on duty, and 10 minutes later a total of 18 law enforcement officers arrived.
An email to middle school families went out at 2:33 p.m., announcing a “lockdown due to a situation at the school.”
It further advised parents not to go to the school.
The message did not say what triggered the lockdown, and it was that kind of detail parents were anxious to learn.
“The information they did provide us, it was very vague,” said Leah Hovey, the parent of a sixth-grade student.
“We want something to tell us that whatever’s going on, our kids are indeed safe,” she said.
The school district says it put out a second update about 20 minutes after the first. It also notified other schools in the district.
“We’re very careful that until that information is confirmed that we don’t share it,” said Denise Schares, the interim superintendent. “And again, safety being the number one priority that we hold. So our efforts really are keeping students and staff safe.”
Fort Dodge police say they have drilled for school lockdowns the last six years, but Wednesday’s was the first ever at the middle school.
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