Editor’s Note: This is the email Dr. Hile sent out today for the false alarm yesterday. We commend the communication. He owned what happened and was upfront and honest about what transpired. He also gave a plan on how they are going to address the issues. Take a minute and read his thoughts.
Dear Vermilion Parent and Guardian:
Let me first acknowledge that the false alarm that occurred at VHS yesterday was scary and traumatic for everyone involved, but especially so for our students, their parents and families, and our staff as well. Sometimes knowing exactly what happened, and what we learned from the experience that will make us better going forward is helpful in alleviating the anxiety associated with such an event.
First, let me make it clear that I was in the building and witnessed everything that happened after the alarm was activated, and thus have first-hand knowledge of everything that follows.
We have panic buttons in strategic locations that can be utilized in the event we would have an attacker try to enter the schools. These buttons are made easily accessible for designated employees to be able to use them quickly in an emergency. What we learned yesterday is that their locations make them susceptible to accidental touching, and that’s what happened yesterday, setting off the active shooter alarm. Initially, the employee was not aware that he/she had touched the alarm button and so didn’t know to initiate deactivation of the alarm. We already have plans for reorienting the panic buttons to eliminate the possibility of accidental activation and will make that happen asap.
There were two Vermilion PD officers in the high school when the alarm sounded, just a matter of feet from where the alarm was triggered. They, of course, responded immediately, seeking to find and address the threat. Once they determined that there was no threat, they notified the police department that it was a false alarm, which halted the police response, and that is why there was not a greater police presence at the high school after the alarm.
One of the things that induced some of the panic was that when we do an active shooter drill, we always announce it in advance so as not to panic everyone and to let them know we are just practicing. Obviously, that notification didn’t happen because there was no drill planned.
This also led to something else that induced panic. Because the administration knew no active shooter drill was planned, an announcement was made on the PA that “This is not a drill” because the individual did not know it was an inadvertent alarm and had no way of knowing or ascertaining that information from where they were located in the building. The training point here is that we never announce “This is not a drill” unless we are 100% sure it is a real attack. Without that statement, everyone will do as they have been trained when they hear the alarm but with less panic introduced into the event. Indeed, this is the most likely way a real event would play out; it is unlikely that anyone will be able to make a PA announcement at all.
The timing of this false alarm was unfortunate as well. As you may already be aware, last year we began constructing plans for student-parent reunification in the event that we would have an attack on our schools and students would have to evacuate. There has been a field trip planned since the beginning of the school year for all high school students on October 4th to walk to their reunification site at The Church of the Open Door. Students will be instructed that in the event that they have to evacuate the building, they are to go to the church, which is a short distance from VHS. Had this false alarm occurred after October 4th, students would have had that knowledge, and again there would have been less confusion.
I also want to state that the things we have done over the past two years around school safety and security has without a doubt enhanced our ability to keep everyone safer. What students and staff have learned about responding to an active shooter they will take with them everywhere they go, and since gun violence is omnipresent in our society, it will keep them safer everywhere. What happened yesterday at VHS is not the fault of the new 911 Inform system, but human error, and as you know, we will never be able to eliminate human error, but we can certainly work really hard to minimize it, and I assure you that is what we will always do.
I know there is nothing I can say here that reverses what happened yesterday, the very real fear and anxiety and trauma it caused for many, if not all, of you, especially with it coming on the heels of the recent school shooting in Georgia, but I do want you to know exactly what happened, that we have learned valuable lessons from it, and that we have already implemented that new learning.
David Hile, Ed.D.
Superintendent, Vermilion Local Schools
Phone: 440-204-1700
1250 Sanford St., Suite A
Vermilion, OH 44089
Our vision: Every adult helping every child succeed today, tomorrow, and beyond!
