Times have changed. Just as the result of the events of 9/11 that aircraft hijackings are now considered terrorist attacks, any take-over of a school or university will not be considered a hostage situation but rather a killing field.
I only lurked this thread yesterday, but the references of hostages in these school take-overs shows naivete towards the current criminal elements in our midst.
At the time the teacher sought help from the police, it WAS a hostage situation and there was hope for dialogue between the police and the perp. The average citizen (Amish or otherwise) doesn't have the tools (phone tracers, loudspeakers, hostage negotiators, etc) needed to contact a perp holed up behind barricades and "walk him out."
While there was a chance the situation could escalate to violence, I imagine the Amish community was hoping for everyone to come out alive. I don't believe they called the police expecting mercenaries for hire.
That was my point. ;)