How Highlands Elementary’s safety has progressed a year after the shooting

A year after shots were fired into Highlands Elementary School’s parking lot, a new emergency plan was set into place by the school’s administration. 

But some Highlands parents are still wondering whether their child’s safety is prioritized by the Shawnee Mission School District after a lack of communication since the incident.

On March 1, 2019, Highlands went into lockdown due to an outside threat. An email was sent to parents advising them not to come to the building until it was safe, but many, like parent Jeremy Mai, were worried and went anyways.

“At the time we had no idea what was going on, we just saw police tape and some police activity in the parking lot,” Mai said. 

Communication was a large portion of what Principal Lee Ann Combs felt needed improvement after the incident. But she also knew they could have a much more in-depth safety plan than they had in place previously to prepare for the future, even though the shooting did not cause any physical injury. 

To improve communication around the district, parent Emily Sullivan suggested a district-wide quarterly or semi-annual meetings to keep tabs on school safety and updates, which has not yet taken off. Sullivan and Mai feel that the district hasn’t communicated enough with the parents throughout the year. 

“I would completely welcome and applaud any kind of follow up,” Mai said. “If I were to get an email or a letter or even a survey from the district today, where they say, ‘Hey, here’s what we’ve learned, here’s what we’re doing differently,’ that would be awesome . . . It would just be encouraging to hear what’s been processed in the last year, that’s all.” 

Combs met with a group of parents and teachers who wanted to be involved several times in the past year to develop the emergency plan, and she communicated with different organizations and resources from other schools where similar events had happened. 

“We took what we already had and then we just made it even more detailed, because what we really want to do is we want to be transparent with our community,” Combs said. “We’re trying to be a lot more diligent as far as communication goes and just with giving people updates on what’s happening.” 

Now, if there were to be a lockdown, a text would be sent directly to parents or guardians in addition to an email because Combs realized email wasn’t efficient for everyone during an emergency.

The detailed version of the emergency plan is available only to administration and parents who come to the building to see it, however, there is a shorter version that was sent in a newsletter to the Highlands community. 

The plan includes several safety procedures —  communication plans, building surveillance, indoor and outdoor safety and security, lockdown procedures, alternative exits and a reunification site. 

After developing the plan, Combs sent it to the district’s security department, where it was approved before being sent out to parents. 

“I think it’s great that [the emergency plan] was done,” parent Emily Sullivan said. “I think it’s necessary that it was done . . . I think for parents it’s still an issue that is front and center and really important for them . . . It has had a lasting impact, so I still think there is room for more action to come of it.” 

Sullivan feels that when something like this happens, it’s an opportunity for social change and involvement on the district’s part. She, along with Mai, wishes the district would have communicated more of a response or kept the community updated in the year that followed the incident. 

“The hope was that this could be kind of a stepping stone for other schools to use as a platform to make a plan that works well for their school,” Sullivan said. “I don’t know if that’s happening or not.” 

Additionally, according to sixth grade teacher and parent Mike Torkelson, teachers found an issue with the number of walkie-talkies in the school on the day of the shooting. Although they had one walkie-talkie per grade level, they felt things would have gone smoother on the day of the shooting if every teacher had one of their own.

And a year later, the walkie-talkie issue has still not been handled as the district said they would, according to Torkelson. 

“I think for us teachers, that makes us, I’d say, a little disappointed with the district’s response,” Torkelson said. “That a simple thing like getting more walkie talkies [hasn’t been taken care of].”

Despite the lack of district follow up, Torkelson does feel that the principal’s emergency plan is a good one and that his own kids are safe at school. 

As they reflect on the incident a year later, Mai and Sullivan both feel that Combs is making Highlands as safe as possible. They all feel as though other schools in the district could benefit from seeing the Highlands plan, however each school still has their own individual plan as of now.