Bomb Scare at Mason High School Prompts Communication Concerns

In light of some parental concerns, this week’s bomb scare at George Mason High School resulted in improved communication between the school district and parents and students.

The four-day weekend was a relieving break for the students of George Mason High School after just taking mid-term exams and ending a busy and stressful first semester. But before the students could return to school on Tuesday, a bomb threat was received causing school officials to delay opening all city schools for three hours. The bomb threat was sent to George Mason on Monday via e-mail but did not pertain to any particular school building. Law enforcement authorities and K-9 officers searched all of the school buildings and areas Monday afternoon and again Tuesday morning. No devices were found and the schools were declared safe.

The threat was sent in an e-mail from a foreign country, reported as Indonesia in Tuesday's Washington Post, and allegedly pertained to a personal issue with a staff member at the high school. Although the threat proved to be a hoax, it caused a sufficient scare for students and their parents. Once in school, students had mixed feelings on the seriousness of the threat. “At first I assumed it was just a student pulling a prank or something, but then I heard rumors of a threat from overseas and I was little nervous,” said one high school senior.

Elementary PTA President Marybeth Connelly said, “We’re all relieved that nothing terrible happened. I’m especially grateful for the continuing vigilance of the superintendent and the law enforcement officers who made the decision to take this threat seriously.”

Connelly said some parents complained about the methods of emergency notification. Some showed up at school at the regular start time Tuesday morning, not knowing anything about the threat. Superintendent Berlin addressed the matter briefly in a letter sent home with students Tuesday afternoon. “Had Monday been a regular school day, a parent notification letter would have been sent home with each student explaining the situation. Usually we would make use of our Web site as well, but we deliberately avoided the Web site for a reason stemming from the investigation. Because it is part of the investigation, we are unable to elaborate further,” she wrote.

There were three main ways that information was sent out to parents to notify them of the delay and the reason behind it:

(1) emails to people on the Districts’ emergency notification list, compiled during last year’s sniper shootings,

(2) the PTA leaders’ e-mail lists, and

(3) the Mt. Daniels’ phone list, which included all the families of students.

The delayed opening information was also posted on the Cable 12 Channel.

“At this point,” Berlin wrote, “we are reviewing our parent notification options and will make changes accordingly.” Many parents complained that they were unaware of an emergency notification list and that the school board was unprepared for such a situation. Connelly added, “This was a good test of the Districts’ parental emergency notification system. I’m hoping we can fine tune it so that 100% of families get emergency information promptly.” To be added to the emergency notification email list, families are urged to submit their email addresses to webmaster@fccps.k12.va.us.

In addition, the Post reported complaints by some parents that their children, among a handful who were in the building Monday to take make-up tests, were not evacuated from the school during the search.