Parents of students in the West Geauga Schools district both defended and criticized the high school’s actions the morning of April 3, and urged officials to take student safety more seriously during the West Geauga Schools Board of Education meeting April 24.
Parents of students in the West Geauga Schools district both defended and criticized the high school’s actions the morning of April 3, and urged officials to take student safety more seriously during the West Geauga Schools Board of Education meeting April 24.
April Orloski, mother of student Casey Orloski — who reported finding a bullet in the bathroom April 3 that led to Brandon Michael Morrissette’s arrest and thwarted a potential school shooting — had a list of concerns brought up at a meeting for concerned residents and parents last week.
“Some of them were addressed and I thank you for that and the security initiatives. There does seem to be an all-around feeling that finding the bullet was minimized as being insignificant by the administration,” Orloski said. “Numerous times, we’ve heard the statement that they thought it could have been left behind at the pancake breakfast and we believe that shows they did not take it as a serious threat, initially.”
Residents heard an initial report that 500 to 1,000 people attended the pancake breakfast, Orloski said, adding she received a response saying there were numerous people in the school that day when she asked why her son was sent back to the classroom, which she believed minimized the threat.
“You also allowed all the students access to the hallways and their lockers in between periods and there was concern that the student could have had the gun in their locker. This put everyone in danger. Not only the students, but also the staff,” Orloski said, adding she received a second response saying the school did not want to induce panic.
“If you didn’t want to induce panic, why would we have sent the child who found the evidence back into the classroom who was clearly panicked?” Orloski said. “The students that were interviewed and that were in the bathroom that morning were also sent back to class and then told their friends what they were questioned about.”
Orloski said the parents knew the decision was the wrong thing to do while the educators and law enforcement officer did not.
“The administration did not protect any of the students between the time of when the bullet was found and when the gun and the ammunition were found an hour later. We got lucky. There were a number of unnecessary risks that were taken,” Orloski said. “I believe that it was actually Brandon Morrissette that protected everyone in that first period class because he didn’t act when he knew he was found out.”
Orloski said her confidence has been diminished due to the high school administration not acting in a safe and correct manner after discovering the bullet.
“It diminishes my confidence in them and their ability to protect our children. Some people may think that’s extreme, but I would like you all to ask yourself if that was your child, would you have sent them back into the classroom not knowing the student sitting next to them could be the one with the gun? Because in this case, it was,” Orloski said.
She said there was also a parent survey sent out and there appears to have been a miscommunication between the schools, teachers and students at the time the shelter-in-place protocol was enacted.
“Some of the middle-school students were texting their siblings at the high school asking what was happening and the high-schoolers had no idea what was going on,” Orloski said.
She said there seems to be no uniformity across all the schools as to how the situation was handled and reacted to.
“Numerous parents over the past few weeks since the incident have reported not seeing an officer at drop off or pick up. Especially at the elementary schools,” Orloski said, then moved to the topic of cell phone policy in the district.
“There isn’t a policy across the board for carrying cell phones and the parents would actually like their children to be able to have cell phones on them at all times for situations like this,” Orloski said. “Something else that was brought up was a student mentorship program for students that are possibly having issues (who) don’t feel comfortable talking to an adult or a teacher but that they would talk to somebody else — another student if they were having issues.”
A Call for Collaboration/Communication
Russell resident Katie Laurich said she is proud to be a West Geauga parent and has worked very closely with former administrators in the past.
“I’m here to advocate for clear and concise communication with parents and community members,” Laurich said. “Can we and should we know all the details about times like April 3? Absolutely not. Certain details are not for our purview. However, trusting and knowing what has been done in the past to create a secure present and what will be in place immediately following is necessary.”
Laurich said she would like to advocate for collaboration between the school board, administration and the community.
“There are many willing and able members happy to assist in research, communication and tactical pieces of moving forward that enable you to have access to the wide array of experience and backgrounds this community provides us all,” Laurich said, adding she considers the students part of the community.
Laurich said she spent some time talking to community members in the last couple of weeks and was shocked to learn there is no current and formal Alert Lockdown Inform Counter Evacuate training in the district.
“It’s upsetting to learn that not all teachers and staff are comfortable with all the various verbiages and processes around things like lockdown or shelter-in-place and vice versa,” Laurich said. “Likely because they’re not all continuously trained.”
Laurich echoed Orloski, saying she was disheartened by the process and protocols that followed the morning of April 3.
“Not just because it put Casey in an incredible danger but multiple students in the direct line — like feet, mere feet from the alleged shooter with only an administrator between them and his backpack in his own possession and only one law enforcement officer in the school at the time and that went on for more than an hour,” Laurich said. “There appears to be no outline process or protocol for moments like that.”
Laurich called for change before next school year.
“As educators and administrators, you should be well versed in a very documented contagion effect. We have two more months left,” she said. I additionally request that we be kept updated as things progress.”
Miscommunication a Problem
Resident Kayla Flowers said she has a background in crisis intervention and understands every situation is different and can’t be predicted.
“There are protocols to follow for certain categories of crisis situations and should be practiced and reviewed, at least annually,” Flowers said, adding she has been doing research on safety procedures and training for other school districts.
Flowers asked board members why nothing was mentioned about the middle school being in shelter-in-place nor any direction given to parents about what that means and what they should and shouldn’t do.
“I had to hear from my daughter from another kid’s phone that she was locked in the library and she was asking what I know. I’m grateful my daughter was able to do that and that she had the maturity to ask before assuming rumors were true, but I know this is not typical for this age group,” Flowers said. “Why weren’t the middle schoolers given more information the longer they were in lockdown? Those kids’ imaginations were running wild as they had access to technology to hear rumors and bits and pieces of truth. That was more adding to their trauma.”
Flowers questioned the school board on why the phone lines are always down.
“The middle school didn’t even get my message that my daughter would be in late that morning so they had her marked absent,” she said. “If something worst had happened, you would have not known that my daughter was in that building. What kind of actual training has been done with the district and first-responders together to make sure we have smooth coordination when a crisis situation occurs?”
Flowers said she is a volunteer with the Geauga County Local Outreach Supporting Survivors Team and received a text before parents were even notified of what was going on.
“The LOSS team had several people on standby to assist with support, so why was that not utilized rather than sending a bunch of traumatized teenagers home without knowing if they had support at home since most parents did not have time to leave work from phone call to dismissal?” Flowers said. “You put young drivers in cars not knowing how emotionally stable they were to drive.
“Why was Lindsay having recess outside during all of this, but Westwood students were told that they could not leave? They couldn’t go outside for recess,” Flowers continued. “It seems to me that Russell and Chesterland police departments do things differently. I’ve been told that we are 10 years behind other schools in our safety so no, we should not be the platinum model.”
School Response Was Exemplary
Resident Becki Gierman said expressed support and appreciation for Markwardt, the West Geauga administration, faculty, staff and local law enforcement for how they handled the events that transpired at the high school.
“I know from experience that folks that spend their days in a public education setting start their mornings thinking what will I do when ‘insert emergency here’ happens,” she said. “With all due respect, Mr. DelVecchio, no training technology or planning can fully prepare you when the threat is real. Every situation is unique.”
Gierman said the response by West Geauga leaders during the incident was exemplary and professional.
“Their decisions proved to be the best based on the information that they had at the time,” she said. “I appreciate the timely and transparent communication throughout the day and then the weeks that followed. My family and I are 100% satisfied with the actions of the administration during this incident and have the utmost faith and confidence that they are committed to do what’s best to keep our students, faculty, staff and volunteers safe while they’re at school.”
