Early morning calls generally suck

So I got a call at 6 am. Right after I hit the snooze on my alarm. Not a good way to start the day. A friend called to tell me that a middle school student had been suspended and then threatened to come to school today with ill intentions. He had a hit list and everything. Normally this wouldn't affect me at all, but here in Alabama where the education system couldn't be much more screwed up, our elementary is connected to the middle school. Yup the very same as the crazy suspended kid. She said there would be police and locked doors and other security measures and "was I going to send my kids to school today?" Uh, no, I think not.

I tried to talk to Joey about it so I could get his opinion. He was clearly asleep and mumbled something like, "mumble, mumble, that sounds great..." At least he sounded supportive.

I wasn't very concerned about my kids' physical safety, but I feel that school should feel like a safe place. I didn't want to send my kids there and have them see all the police. Or have them hear all the what ifs. Larry in particular is very sensitive to those things. He already isn't sleeping well at night. I didn't want to fight a terrified first grader to school every morning. And I loved having them home today. We had a great day.

To tell the truth, I'm more afraid about when this kid comes back from his suspension. What if he tries something then, when there are no police or extra security?

ASAP after the phone call I texted a friend to let her know what was going on. Her reply was "but he doesn't go to the elementary". Made me feel really stupid and paranoid. I wonder if she forgot the part about the two schools sharing the same building. Sure the elementary is in one wing and the mid school another, but they are only separated by a cafeteria.

Anyways, I had already decided to home school next year. I think the kids will be happy with that. This just made me more confident in my decision.