By Robert Tomlinson
News Director
THREE RIVERS — Following multiple incidents of threats against local school districts, local school leaders this week addressed how they handle those reports, as well as asked the community to think twice about how they spread information about such threats.
In a joint statement issued Friday, the superintendents and acting superintendents of all nine public school districts and the St. Joseph County Intermediate School District reiterated that student safety is everyone’s top priority every single day.
“Although we are from different school districts and communities, we have much in common when it comes to this particular topic,” the statement read. “No matter what community you belong to, it is a bond we all share.”
The statement highlighted a number of points about school threats, namely how they spread on social media. In many cases, the statement read, school threats start through social media and then is shared from one community to another, “spreading fear and anxiety.” It went on to note that each district’s school communities are encouraged to notify school officials of “any social media post that potentially puts our schools at risk.”
The superintendents then went on to request that community members stop reposting or sharing such school threats on social media, something that has been done continuously each time a threat has been made, warning that doing so could spread misinformation.
“By doing so, without having knowledge or background information about the post, it creates an environment of misinformation that is unnecessary and disruptive to the learning environment,” the statement read.
Another point highlighted by the statement are the building and security protocols the districts have in place, noting that they “strive to communicate information to families” about any safety-related situations as quickly as they can, but also stated they can only share so much legally.
“As districts work through the investigative process into these matters, we provide as much information to our families as legally possible,” the statement read.
The districts went on to add that they work collaboratively with law enforcement when such situations arise and that each district follows its specific student handbook regarding consequences and outcomes of anyone involved with making threats.
“Law enforcement is responsible for holding those accountable who violate state and local laws,” the statement read.
Finally, the superintendents asked parents to keep a “watchful eye” on their children’s social media and report any concerns directly to school officials. They also ask that parents have conversations with their kids about the “seriousness, jokingly or otherwise, of threatening the safety and security of our schools.”
“Together we can better support our top priority – the safety and security of every school district within St. Joseph County,” the statement read.
The statement issued Friday comes a couple of weeks after Three Rivers Community Schools shut down for two days in a row due to school threats, as well as posts that circulated on social media that same week purporting to threaten Centreville Public Schools. Centreville officials later reported that the posts were “in no way” connected to the school district, but rather a school district in Georgia.
All of the threats come in the wake of the deadly school shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Ga. back on Sept. 4, where four people were killed and nine more were injured. Students at that school returned to classes Sept. 24.
Robert Tomlinson can be reached at 279-7488 or robert@wilcoxnewspapers.com.
