Initiate Lockdown! Initiate Lockdown!

I've been subbing in a special education classroom fairly long term, and will be through the end of May. This classroom has one other teacher and an aide. So there are 3 adults.

10:58 a.m. - The students are at their specials classes (art, music, etc.). The other teacher is in a meeting, and the aide is with one of the students, leaving me alone in the classroom reading a book. The PA system pings and I hear "Initiate Lockdown! Initiate Lockdown!" Having been at this school before during a Lockdown drill, I know the...erm...drill. I turn off the lights, close the blinds, and head to the door to lock it, only to find that there's no key.

10:59 a.m. - The classroom phone rings and it's the other teacher who tells me that she's got the key, I should try and find another classroom and duck into it before that teacher locks the door. Once doors are locked, teachers are not to open it for ANYONE...not a student, other teacher, janitor...no one....except for an Administrator or Police Officer, and then only after they give the "Safeword." I dash out into the hallway and find at least 6 of the closest rooms are empty...they're all on a field trip....and the other classrooms are already locked. So I head back to the room I'm assigned to, close the door and go to the corner of the room that's not easily visible from the door or windows. Since the door is unlocked, I duck under the teacher's desk in that corner and settle in.

11:00 a.m - 1:00 p.m. - No Announcements are made. No sounds in the hallway. Outside, the muffled sound of a helicopter circling. In my mind I'm thinking "Oh crud, something's going down...." My legs are cramping up from being curled under the desk. So I stretch out. Every random sound in the hallway (muffled thumpings, the sounds of footsteps) I pull myself back in under the desk and hope that it's an Administrator.

1:00 p.m. - The PA system bings. The Administrator gives the "Safeword" and announces that the Lockdown is still in place, but we can go back to our desks. We need to wait though for an Administrator to come around and let us know what's happened.

1:05 p.m. - The other teacher comes back up to the room and says that we can have lunch really quick.

1:10 p.m. - They start dismissing students to walk quietly down to the lunchroom, get their lunches and walk back up to the classrooms. We're still under lockdown, but we can do limited movements.

2:40 ish p.m. - An announcement is made that police have requested that students not be dismissed to go home until clearance is given, meaning that we may be required to stay in school past regular dismissal time.

3:10 ish p.m. - All after school activities are cancelled and students and staff are told to go straight home.

Turns out there wasn't an issue at the school...Thank God! But there was a hostage situation a few blocks away that caused the police to request that the schools be locked down to prevent children from being hurt.

Such an exciting day at work!

If you'd like to read the article.... http://www.southtownstar.com/news/957739,0519burbankstandoff.article