Pueblo Charter School issues apology after lockdown drill

PUEBLO, Colo. -- Chavez Huerta K-12 Preparatory Academy issued an apology to teachers and parents Thursday evening after Tuesday’s lockdown drill.

Parents, teachers, and students were unaware the lockdown was in fact a drill, and parents were emailed that there was a "situation" on campus that caused the lockdown.

Ultimately, parents weren’t informed of the lockdown's true nature for more than an hour after the drill was initiated.

At a debrief Wednesday evening at the Charter school, it was discovered there were two key issues with the lockdown. First, some administrators were unaware the lockdown was actually a drill. Due to this, the intercom did not inform students and teachers that the lockdown was for practice purposes, and created confusion when getting word out to parents.

Second, Chavez Huerta CEO Dr. Richard Duran says the drill took too long. A normal lockdown drill should take 15-20 minutes. Tuesday’s drill took more than an hour, which Duran says added unnecessary stress to students and staff.

Teachers received an email apologizing for the miscommunication, while parents received a robocall Thursday evening with a similar apology.

Duran tells KRDO this miscommunication has never happened during drills, and necessary actions have been taken to ensure it never happens again.

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Parents are speaking out after a lockdown at a Pueblo charter school incited panic Tuesday. Parents say the school failed to tell them it was only drill for more than an hour.

Now, they're accusing administrators at Chavez Huerta K-12 Preparatory Academy of using scare tactics on students and staff during the drill. 

“I was honestly thinking the worst,” said Mistie Dennis, a mother of three CPHA students.

Dennis says she received an email and phone call Tuesday afternoon about a lockdown at her children's school.

The email said a lockdown had been called due to a situation on campus, but did not clarify that the lockdown was a drill. The email also notified parents that students' phones had been turned off and asked parents not to come to campus.

“Considering it said on campus -- is there someone in the school? Are my kids in harm's way?" said Dennis. "I need to know what’s going on”

Dennis says she was informed that the lockdown was only a drill by robocall more than an hour after the lockdown was first initiated.

CHPA's CEO Dr. Richard Duran tells KRDO that the administration had communication issues with parents, and that the nature of the drill had not been made clear to them.

However, the problems do not stop there. Parents claim the school's administration also left teachers and students in the dark about the true nature of the lockdown.

Elizabeth Rodriguez tells KRDO her fifth grade daughter was so afraid during yesterday’s lockdown that she had seizure-like symptoms, and lost control of her lower extremities. She was informed of the lockdown when the school's nurse contacted her about her daughter's condition.

Rodriguez says her daughter and her fellow classmates believed a gunman was on campus, and claims students were running through campus in fear for their lives.

Dennis, who has a third, fifth, and seventh grader at the charter school, says her daughters told her that teachers were also panicking. Additionally, administrators were trying to open locked doors to classrooms where students were hiding in the dark.

“My fifth grader said all she did was cry during the lockdown," said Dennis. "All she wanted to do was cry, and didn’t know what was going on. She was scared.”

Duran told KRDO that the administration did not intend to frighten any students or staff. He says these drills can create anxiety for students, but in this day and age these emergency issues must be addressed. 

Duran says administrators were walking the hallways during the lockdown trying to open classroom doors. However, this was to make sure the rooms were secure.

According to the National Association of School Psychologists guidelines on school safety drills, "it is essential a drill be carefully planned, doesn't cause harm, or frighten participants."

The guidelines also state that students' parents should be informed at least a month before drills.

The Colorado Department of Public Safety provides resources and suggestions as to how a school or district should conduct emergency drills. However, the schools and districts have autonomy over the their own emergency drill protocols.

Dennis believes the school should issue an apology after Tuesday's lockdown.

“They shouldn’t have taken it to the extent of traumatizing the children and making it seem like real life," said Dennis. "I’ve seen other schools wanting to do real life scenarios of a lockdown but no one was notified of this happening.”

Duran would not say if he believed Tuesday's lockdown was a success or not.  

CHPA held a debrief at the school between administrators and staff to discuss the lockdown Wednesday evening.