CTA Denounces Mock Shooting Drill at Raisin City School
Contact Frank Wells at 562-708-5425
Masked “Shooter” with Fake Gun Terrified Students and Staff
BURLINGAME –– CTA President E. Toby Boyd issued the following statement today regarding the outrageous decision of Raisin City School Superintendent Juan Sandoval to authorize an employee to wear a mask and carry a fake gun as part of a school shooting drill.
“The California Teachers Association is appalled at the decision of the top official in Raisin City Elementary School District to conduct a lockdown drill in which a school employee wore a mask and brandished a fake weapon. With no warning to the staff or students, this outrageous lack of judgment terrified youngsters and placed staff in peril, as some prepared to fight off someone they believed was an actual assailant. While the sad reality is that school shooting and lockdown drills have become a necessary safety precaution at schools across the nation, such drills are intended to prevent or minimize both physical and psychological trauma to students, not to cause actual trauma and leave drill participants terrified.
We stand with the Raisin City Teachers Association and local parents in their demand that Superintendent Sandoval step down or be removed. The safety of students and schools will always be a top priority for educators, and terrible decisions such as holding this drill undermine schools as a safe place to learn and grow.”