I was very shaken when I received the message. I was not aware that schools were being targeted tomorrow... ?

I would like more information as my daughter has two friends that won't be going to school tomorrow due to these rumors.

I was forced to put my child in school this month from home schooling and now this??!!! Kinda pissing me off that shes not safe in a public school system I am mandated cause my ex husband forced it in divorce court that she attend. Really?? DO you REALLY think public schools are a better option with everything happening in the world today?? Cause if something happens to my child why shes in the states care in the public school system I will seriously carve it out of the states collective ass somewhere close to the bone!

Very nebulous and frightening statement. If its purpose was to reassure parents, this was an EPIC FAILURE for the Harford County communications manager. I had not heard any rumors and thus, I found myself speculating as to the nature of the threat... I made alternate arrangements for school tomorrow for my child as i just do not feel I have all of the info I need to ensure my child's safety. Without this horrifically perplexing statement, my child would have been attending school.

I agree with Dan. Elementary schools have a half day anyway. My son is staying home. I'm glad that the school system has my child's well being at the forefront but I think I may care a bit more and have the ultimate responsibility. That was the strangest and convoluted message I have ever received. I feel like they are withholding something from me I may want to know.

I completely agree with Dan Epic Failure is an understatement. I was not aware of any rumors and was caught off guard by the email that was sent. My child will not be going to school tomorrow because of the email that was sent!

I also agree with Jeff and Dan, at the end of the day it is the parents responsibility. The call was very alarming and did seem to withhold information.

If the phone call didn't go out, everyone would be complaining about not getting a call.

I didn't receive a call but after hearing from some a friend inside a Pennsylvania school district, it seems more schools are dealing with this than are not. I hate to be one of those living in fear, but then again, nothing scares me more than someone harming my child...

Kelly your 100% correct all this town does is complain nothing is ever good enough for them...

If it is serious enough to make phone calls then to post this I would not let my kids go and my grandkids most certantly won't go if I have anything to say about it. Unfortunately there are not enough Police to do much if anything. Locking the doors is not enough and having the Police drive by just is not close to being enough. Now a line of parents around the outside the school armed is enough security to make me happy.
Ben Braun

Dan nailed it, Teri failed us on this one. My child attends private school and will be at home tomorrow anyway, had she attended our local high school, I would have kept her home because of the typical lack of informationfrom HCPS. Plus seriously, what are they going to learn tomorrow during their concerts and "winter holiday" parties?

Yes I think they Should have said that it had to do with the ridiculus comments about the end of the world but you all are crazy to take your kid or kids out of school over this. if the world is going to come to an end then there is nothing you or anyone else can do about it or to keep anyone safe from it the good Lord will watch over all our children. He just takes some home to a better place sooner than other. Praying everyone does stay safe and well in Gods care this holiday season!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was under the impression that Bel Air High School and North Harford High School had received a gun threat. This is what my high school daughter had heard. I'm really not sure what's suppose to happen Friday.

Very cryptic message, leaves too much room to speculate... And in the aftermath of the horrific tragedy in Connecticut, most parents an and will speculate the worst. I'm on the fence... Don't want to be a victim of terrorism, but need to know that my children will be safe. Tomorrow and every day!

All I want to know is what the "rumors" are. Like many have already posted, I was not aware as Teri assumes. By not stating what the rumors are and what they are investigating and will be protecting against just creates more anxiety.

My daughter is going to school. We talked about it in detail, and together we both agreed that it would be best to go. And I think Teri Kranefeld's message was very well done. Thank you HCPS.

Hell. No. We are staying home, at the very least I can shield my children from all the insanity! They will not hear about last week's massacre again. They will not question their safety or worry why half their class mates are not in school after this ridiculous, worrisome message. If there is serious information, spit it out. If you are just going doomsday crazy, don't call me! My kids will be baking cookies and enjoying an extra day off, since Mom is off work. After all, this is is Christmas, and last I checked, family and making GOOD memories is what this season is all about. Merry Christmas!

I was informed when I got home that on the internet rumors were posted about schools being harmed, then on here its end of the world cleaned up posting. My grandson's mother informed me that she was keeping her soon home and I said as a parent its' your decision.
The last thing a parent wants to do is to place their child in others care, trusting them to provide a safe learning environment; then told to identify a corpse.
I cried when I heard the news driving home from my school on Friday because I know what it feels like to bury a loved one at a young age. I hope no one has to endure the life long grief. Of course, we know they are with the Lord and how insensitive for someone to make a comment such as that..
If they can not provide all the facts, I totally agree to keep your child home.
School is one place your child should be able to learn without the fear of being bullied, shot, etc.

Teri needed to give us more information. I am going to find a way to contact her to let her know that her message caused more worry than not.

I agree with Jeff and Dan. It was a very strange message and when I reread it in my email, it left me with the feeling of what they weren't telling us. My kids are staying home today - half day anyway!

I have to agree. I was not aware of any rumors. I asked my child about it and she was not aware of any either. The phone call and email left me feeling like they weren't telling me something. My child is home today. Too much going on in schools now a days to leave an open message like that......

I wasn't aware of any rumors until I got the message yesterday while sitting at work. I had mixed emotions, but I decided that we can't live our lives in fear.
Deuteronomy 31:6 says....
Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you."
Now our politicians may have taken GOD out of our schools, but they can't take him from our hearts. The doubters may question, where was god last week? Well he was with each and everyone one of those children and teachers who died. He embraced them and welcomed them to heaven.
By keeping our children home we are promoting fear and I belive Fear kills....

The schools are feeding right into the crazy mindset of the few that make threats. Suggesting that people are free to keep thier kids home is irresponsible and whimpy and only emboldens the bullies.

I cant believe you folks are serious. Do you not realize how many unfounded rumors are received and reported daily in our area schools? No? That is because they are investigated and deemed unfounded. And no, you dont have the right to hear about every one of them. And yes, many lead to charges. Because the schools and the police do their job. This instance they received more than the normal volume of threats and rumors, therefore it spread to the student body, and then home. So they had to address it, and did so very well if you ask me. Had theyignored it like most as an off the wall threats, which is what these usually are, you all would have wanted someones head!!! If you dont think your child is safe, find an alternative for their education. Mine went to school today because the school showed me that they have the most effective security system/procedure In place, they received some rumors, investigated and found them to be just that...rumors, and called and emailed us all the results of that investigation to quell our fears. Job well done in my book. So until they develop clairvoyance and can see the threat coming, I take what they are doing as best practice and pray my kids stay safe. Maybe you should too.
And find something else to do but spend every moment bashing and trolling on the Patch.

My middle school-aged daughter also said she heard someone threatened to bring a gun to school. My middle school-aged son had heard nothing when I asked. She stated she did not know which school. The intent...being pro-active in communicating with parents in an effort to re-assure...was spot-on. It failed, though, because they left everyone very curious and concerned about what the rumors were. To state that they investigated but found nothing to suggest the rumor was credible...but we will have extra police everywhere tomorrow...without stating what the threat was is EXTREMELY alarming. Not only that, how are we supposed to assist with rumor management if we don't know what the heck we are talking about? That was a ridiculous request given we were not provided with any specific information.

Everyone who kept their kids home, do yourselves a favor and look on facebook for some friends in another state with children. Look at the postings for their school systems...this is happening everywhere. The call was easy to understand, they informed us there were unfounded RUMORS going around and they advised us they determined they were not credible. How on earth can all of the whiners above not get that? Would you have preferred they ignored the RUMOR and you had to hear it from your child/neighbor? Get a life HC!

I agree that we don't need to know about every rumor that is received, investigated, and deemed not credible. I have faith in the security protocols in place and my kids went to school today. However, if HCPS makes the decides it is necessary to bring a threat to parents' attention as they did in this case, they need to provide complete and transparent information or they will absolutely fail if their goal is to diminish or eliminate undue concern. Observation: There is no need to judge people for expressing their opinions just because you don't share them by getting personal and characterizing them as trolling and bashing. That post contained the only bashing I observed...no one else, whether they liked the way the situation was handled or they didn't, expressed their thoughts in a manner that was disrespectful to anyone else.

HCPS was facing a lose/lose. If they did not address the rumors, parents would scream that they withheld information. Now that they made an announcement, parents are screaming that they fed into the frenzy. I appreciated the information, and made the decision that was right for my family. Why does it need to be analyzed? Send them to school or don't. As a parent that is your call.

Problem is - the message was not clear. If you have a middle schooler or high schooler who can fill in the gaps for you, you may not realize the message was not clear. If you have a Kindergartner and 1st grader like myself and ddn't get the message until late in evening after returning from work, you may find the message unclear since your 5 and 6 yr olds don't frequent social media sites. Therefore, you may not know what "rumors" have been circulating and what the "threat" is.

This is reality people... The world we live in. You can't put your children in a bubble and pretend it isn't real. TALK to your kids!!! That's the problem... No one talks anymore...

I don not have a child in school (thank god) he Graduated last year.... I think they should use the Natioal Guard that our tax dollars are paying for anyway and put them at all the schools in the US... Stricter gun control is not going to help. the bad guys are going to find a way to get a gun if they realy want one. Putting am armed solder at the doors might make some one thin twice before entering our schools and hurtting your childern.

I just feel that the message that went out to HCPS parents could have been worded better. I believe the message started panic in parents. I didn't hear anything about the rumors from my middle school and high school children. The message left me feeling uneasy and full of unanswered questions. I hope the school system learns from this incident, that presentation/wording of information is critical in allowing parents to make their own educated decision about their children"s safety.

HC- I have opened a dialog with my Elementary aged child, because he had heard things in school, from other children. I want to be the source of information, not the confused version from another child. That aside, there is no way that any parent can know what to say and how to say it, because we can't wrap our own heads around it.
I received the "robo" call, and was not shocked but saddened to hear it. Being aware of the climate right now, as it relates to recent events we as parents must understand that these "school officials" are negotiating a tough situation. I don't know if it was handled flawlessly, but these are situations that I believe officials are making choices based on the best information they have. Most of these teachers, and administrators are also parents. I think that we all need to take a step back. Focus on keeping our children happy and safe, and appreciate that the intent of our school officials is the same.

The pussification of America is truely observed in the majority of the sheep's comments in this article.

Quit smothering kids with concern. Sort of odd that the apparent method for protecting kids from harm is to wallow in it; immerse them in fear about it and talk about it endlessly.

The rumors were many, varied and non specific. And were everywhere. Therefore the message addressed that specifically. No need to give specifics of wild rumors and put an idea into a whack jobs head to go do something he hadnt already thought of. Come on folks, these people are trained for this stuff...they dont do this on the fly and off the cuff. If you dont like the job they are doing, get yourself elected/hired/appointed to do it.

Dear Lord! What is wrong with some of you parents?? The "end of the world" was predicted and rumored for the past many years! It stems from some ridiculous Mayan calendar! My kids have been joking about it forever! How can one madman "end the world'? Are you people living in a bubble? Why are you keeping your kids home? Because the world is ending today? Even NASA put out a statement last month that there are no meteors, etc, heading for the Earth. Honestly, I find it utterly insane that HCPS even put out a call for such a silly, childish "rumor". Give me a break and let your kids grow up! Stop all the babying! And if you are against guns, you are doomed. We need armed guards in every school!

My daughter, a Jr in High school was very uneasy yesterday..came home from school and told me. Felt scared at school. Also, someone was expelled from her school yesterday. So something was going on??? I find it hard to believe you are expelled for a rumor.

Ahh, "No child left behind" and the generation of everyone getting a trophy.

You could probably keep your children home from school indefinitely and they still receive a diploma, ehhh?