Cellphones help keep calm during lockdown

The day had barely begun at Woodstock High School. Suddenly, their children were locked down in advanced chemistry class, ensconced in the auditorium or huddled in the corner of a locked classroom crouching behind desks for safety.

Parents throughout the metro area — at work, at home or running errands — learned that three Cherokee County schools were under lockdown as police acted on a tip that led to the discovery of an unloaded pistol in a Woodstock High restroom and two assault rifles at a student’s home.

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Bob Andres / bandres@ajc.com

Students gather in front of the high school after the lockdown was called off.

Related links:

• Tip on guns at school came from parents
• PDF: Woodstock High letter to parents and students
• Photos from the scene
• Guns fact sheet

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While the school swiftly executed its safety plan, there was confusion among parents as some cars and buses were allowed on campus, and some were not.

Woodstock High PTSA president Valerie King said teachers told some parents to drop their children off, others were told they should take their children home.

Parents and children reassured each other through cell phone calls and text messages. By 10 a.m., Woodstock High, Woodstock Middle and Etowah High schools were out from under the lockdown. Some students stayed at school, others were allowed to leave with their parents.

Greg Mikszan, a parent member of the Woodstock High advisory council, said it helped him stay calm knowing the school has a plan for just such a situation. He swapped many text messages with his daughter between 8:45 a.m., after she was locked down in her chemistry classroom, and 10 a.m. when the lockdown was lifted.

“She was responding to mine,” he said of their many text messages. Her first e-mail to him said she was locked in the classroom, was hearing helicopters and knew something was going on. “She seemed to be very calm,” Mikszan said.

King said the conflicting messages to parents driving their children to school concern her. “I want to know as a representative of the PTSA, is there a plan during drop off and pick up time? That’s the most chaotic time during the day.”

“If there is not something in place, there needs to be. They were letting parents drop off their kids not knowing the situation well,” King said.

Kathy Barlitt, who works at Carmel Elementary School in Cherokee County, has two children at Woodstock High. Her son sent her a text message that he was safe in the school auditorium. When the campus lockdown began, her daughter’s school bus driver notified Barlitt that she was safe and on the bus.

“I’m fine. They’re fine,” Barlitt said. “I told them don’t call me unless you know something new.”

As parents dropped their children off at school, or ran by to deliver something, they noticed police on campus. Within minutes, no vehicles were allowed on campus.

At 8:10 a.m., when she dropped her son, T.J., off at Woodstock High, Cherise Osborne noticed police cars. She thought something had happened and it was over with, she said. By 8:30 a.m., she knew the situation was serious when police began stopping cars from driving on campus.

“The realization that I had just dropped my kid off, of course I cried,” Osborne said. “He thought everything was fine. His first period biology is very crucial to keep his average what it is. He knows to keep his cell phone, he has to do well.”

“My son texted me at 8:40, ‘Mom, I’m OK. I’m sitting in first period. It’s a bunch of kids and the teacher and we’re doing work.’ At 9:30 a.m., he sent her another reassuring text and said he still didn’t know any details, Osborne said.

“About 10, he called and said they had caught the kids. He asked if I could come get him when it was over,” she said.

Mikszan’s daugher drives to school and was among the first allowed to leave the campus after the lockdown was lifted. She gave a ride home to friends, then made her own way home.

Through his service on the Woodstock High advisory council, Mikszan said the school’s safety plan was reviewed regularly and had been discussed with the council.

When Thursday’s incident began, “They went to a complete code red lockdown,” Mikszan said. “I know the school definitely has a good plan and was doing everything they could.”

King said the school is huge and there was miscommunication. “Teachers were telling parents everything was fine,” King said. “That’s my main concern as a parent and also as PTSA president.”

Lisa Swantek, a member of the Woodstock High PTSA board, has three children at the high school. “I had some anxious moments when I heard about it,” she said. “After I heard from my son’s teacher who called, I was fine. Woodstock is a wonderful school, and I knew the teachers and administrators would do the right thing.”

Keisha Shepherd said she saw police officers when she dropped her son, freshman Ira Shepherd, off at 7:45 a.m. She stopped twice and asked if everything was OK and was told it was. After she checked news reports, she returned to the school.

“I freaked out,” Shepherd said. “You immediately think of Columbine and Virginia Tech. I have been crying all morning. I am emotionally drained.” She has picked up her son at Woodstock High and her daughter at nearby Carmel Elementary.

“I am going to go home, take a nap and praise God for my blessings,” she said.

—Tucker McQueen and Alexis Stevens contributed to this article.