Editor’s note: The following news release from Perry County School District No. 32 includes information which was sent to parents during the lockdown Monday.
PERRYVILLE – Perry County School District 32 initiated a preventive lockdown yesterday morning in response to a potential threat to the schools found on social media. The lockdown follows the District 32 emergency protocols in place for crisis situations including potential threats, intruders, and natural disasters like earthquakes and tornadoes. Students were released from lockdown at 10:55 am, after local law enforcement determined that it was safe to continue with a normal school day.
A thorough investigation by local law enforcement agencies determined that this social media post, which was reported to a staff member as students were beginning the school day on Monday, was not a credible threat. The social media post referred to a shooting at “Perryville school” on “wensday at 8:45.” This may have originated with a social media post targeting Texas schools that has spread across the nation in recent days, affecting schools with names similar to those of the Texas schools. One of those Texas schools is named Perry School.
Investigators are still working to fully resolve this situation, and we are providing every assistance possible. The police will provide additional information when it is available.
School will be in session today and Wednesday. To help ease fears, we will have extra law enforcement patrol on campus and we will provide visible supervision in all areas. There’s no school for students on Thursday (Teacher Collaboration Day) or Friday (East Perry Community Fair).
For now, we must come together as a community that cares about our children and their education. I am asking for your help and support.
These incidents cause stress on our students and families, as well as our staff. They also disrupt the learning environment and redirect valuable community resources. We must all encourage our students to refrain from making social media posts that may be interpreted as a threat to schools, even as a joke.
If it’s age-appropriate, we ask that you talk to your student about the seriousness of making a threat, or sharing a threat they have seen online. Please help us emphasize to all students that making a threat against any school —whether it occurs on social media, in conversation, as writing on a bathroom wall, or in any other format — has serious legal and disciplinary consequences. As a district, we will process all incidents in fulfillment of our district’s policies with support from Perryville Police and Perry County Sheriff’s Departments, as well as the juvenile court.
Please also talk to your student about the proper way to report any threatening post or communication they may find on social media. Remind them: If you see a social media threat, do not forward or repost it. Instead, take a screenshot and show it to your parents, your school, and the police. Re-sharing the post online makes it harder for police to determine the source, and slows down the investigation. We will continue to encourage an environment where students, staff, and families feel empowered to report anything that might be suspicious or out of the ordinary; prompt reporting is important in helping us to be proactive in maintaining a safe school environment.
We also ask the adults in our community to refrain from seeking answers about situations such as these on social media. This creates rumors, which can be far from the truth, and increases the fear for our students and their families. We share the latest information with you as we receive it, using our district’s automated messaging system. For example, our parents received multiple updates throughout the day as more information became available.
Our commitment to you is to do all we can to keep our students and staff safe. We have multiple layers of safety in our schools including, but not limited to, our secure entrances where visitors must show ID and cannot access the building without going through the main office; the Raptor screening system for all visitors; School Resources Officers who work on campus; a strong partnership with our local police; the use of Go Guardian, the software used to monitor student online activity for key words and phrases; solid student-teacher relationships; district and building emergency plans; and drills to practice our response in emergencies. Please assure your students that we are doing all we can to keep them safe.
We truly appreciate our partnership with our families in all we do. If you ever have questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me at fjones@pcsd32.com.