April Johnson was confused and worried when her daughter, Jasmine, texted her on Wednesday from her second period class at Apalachee High.
“We’re on hard lockdown and people are out banging on the lockers,” the message said.
After a few more texts, 17-year-old Jasmine told her mom there was an active shooter at the school. But then Jasmine’s text messages stopped. And April’s heart almost stopped too.
Text exchanges like the one between Jasmine and her mom were commonplace at the school on Wednesday, after four people were shot at the Barrow County school. Screenshots of those messages students sent to their families began circulating on social media and in news coverage, each more chilling than the last: “There’s a shooter.” “I’m scared.” “I love you.”
The scene called into question a recent push by many Georgia schools and others across the nation to keep students from accessing their cellphones during the school day.
Schools in Marietta, Atlanta, DeKalb County and Liberty County began using Yondr cellphone pouches for this purpose this year. Students lock their phones in pouches that they carry with them during the school day, but can only unlock them with a magnetic device that teachers or administrators carry or at a wall-mounted station. It’s meant to restrict access during instructional time — but could also restrict access during an emergency.
”I have two kids (at Apalachee High) and my first thought was, ‘Did something happen to them? Are they ok?’ because she stopped texting me, so it scared me,” April Johnson said through tears outside the school on Thursday.
“Mom!” Jasmine said in response to her tears. She pulled her into an emotional embrace.
”It scared me,” Johnson said. “I didn’t know what was going on.” Her mom tried to call, but could not reach Jasmine. She thinks so many people were trying to use cellphones that the system was overloaded. Johnson rushed to the school and finally found her children, Jasmine and Gavin, on the football field.
In Barrow County, the cellphone policy is left up to each individual school.
“Imagine if this was 25, 30 years ago and we didn’t know immediately what happened to him,” said Becky van der Walt, whose 11th grade son, Henry, was at the school on Wednesday. “The fear would have been double, triple, quadruple what we’re feeling now.”
Henry first texted her at 10:23 a.m. on Wednesday; she got her first message from the school at 10:45 a.m.
Credit: Courtesy: van der Walt family
Credit: Courtesy: van der Walt family
It’s the scenario every parent dreads. It is what made some metro Atlanta parents hesitant when they considered whether the cellphone pouches would be a good idea — even as many agree they are a distraction during the school day.
In an effort to assuage those fears, every teacher in Marietta City Schools has access to the magnet that unlocks the pouches. The small school system in Cobb County ordered the pouches for its middle schools this year.
“We are the only school district in Georgia and one of the few across the country to have adopted that approach,” said Superintendent Grant Rivera in an emailed statement. “Part of that was so that phones could be unlocked at the end of the day, and the other part was to give students access to their phones in an emergency.”
However, Rivera went on, “in the event of an active shooter, their focus will be on locking doors and not unlocking phones.”
Despite often feeling like a source of comfort, Rivera said cellphones can pose a safety risk during an emergency.
“First responders and other safety experts tell us that children should not be on their phones during emergencies so they can fully follow adult instructions,” Rivera said. “Our goal is to ensure phone access when it’s safe, but safety always comes first.”
In DeKalb County, 10 schools began testing out the pouches this week. Emergency access is something the district is evaluating with its pilot program, spokesman Donald Porter said Thursday.
“While at least 20 locking stations are at each school, DCSD is considering expanding these stations to be available in every classroom,” he said in a statement. “This decision and others will be made after receiving substantial feedback from the pilot schools.”
And in Atlanta Public Schools, a district spokesman said the pouches are going “extremely well” at Midtown High.
“Pouches would be unlocked quickly once students are in a safe location should the building need to be evacuated,” said Seth Coleman. “Teachers and administrators can unlock phones in seconds in the event of an emergency.”
Van der Walt understands why some school systems have made the decision to ban cellphones in the classroom, but said Wednesday would have been harder if she hadn’t been able to get in touch with her son.
“It did provide a sense of peace being able to talk to him immediately,” she said.
