Montgomery High’s Twitter account was put to its first test this morning when the school was put under a two hour lockdown after a student apparently inadvertently dialed 911 from class.

Principal Laurie Fong established the campus Twitter account last March as a way to reach parents if phone lines or other more traditional modes of communication were down.

Read a blog entry on that topic here: http://extracredit.blogs.pressdemocrat.com/10019/montgomery-principal-using-twitter-for-emergencies/

 “I was looking at the different technology that is free,” she said back in June when I talked to her about her Twitter account. “If I’m hiding under my desk, I just get my cell phone, I dial my little Twitter number, and I say we are in lockdown, the police are on campus, whatever- if they sign their device up, any Twitter blast goes straight to their cell phone.”

 Well on Wednesday, Fong did turn to Twitter to send out the following messages:

 10:34: We are now on lockdown. SRPD here. Investigating suspicious phone call. Quiet. Lf

11:22: Still on lockdown. SRPD cking a classroom. No knowledge but could be just kids playing. Should know in 10 min. lf

 11:53: Off lockdown. All clear. Suspicious call cleared. Back on reg bells, lunch regular. Lf thanks to SRPD and all Vikes.

 The Montgomery account has 68 followers. I wonder if Wednesday’s lockdown might spur a few more parents to sign on @MHSvikings