School threat response draws concern

The way the Medford school district responded to a potential threat incident has some parents upset that they were notified after the fact.

In a statement sent to family members and staff in the district, administrator Laura Lundy stated after school on December 17, the district was made aware by a parent that a child had made a threat to bring a gun to school.

“The police were made aware and contacted all the families involved. After law enforcement and our investigation, it was determined there is no threat to students.”

The message went on to express gratitude to the individual who brought the issue to the attention of staff. “They did the right thing, and we encourage others to do the same if they find themselves in a similar situation in the future,” they wrote.

Parent Brittany Reinhart and others have questioned why the parents were not informed the day of the incident stating that the school district should have alerted parents like they do for other mass messages.

Parent questions about how the incident was handled prompted Lundy to prepare answers to frequently asked questions that were distributed to the families of students in the district.

The document is as follows: “We understand that incidents like this raise questions, and we want to emphasize our continued gratitude for our district staff and local law enforcement for their handling of the situation. We hope this document will address any remaining questions our families, staff, and community members may have.

See SCHOOL on page 4 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Why was law enforcement contacted?

Law enforcement is contacted whenever there is a potential threat to school safety. The safety of our students and staff is our top priority, and having a strong partnership with local police helps ensure we can respond quickly and appropriately to any situation. The involvement of law enforcement allows us to quickly assess the situation and take the necessary steps to protect our school community.

Why did the district wait until school was already in session before notifying parents?

The timing of the initial report occurred after school hours. The district worked with law enforcement to assess the credibility of the threat. After investigating the situation and ensuring the threat was not credible, we determined that there was no immediate danger to students and staff. Before the school day began, we confirmed that the students involved had no access to weapons. At that point, we proceeded with informing our families of the situation.

What is the process when a threat

is made?

When a threat is made, the district takes immediate action and contacts local law enforcement to begin an investigation. This includes questioning the students involved and their families to understand the nature of the threat. Law enforcement also ensures that any individual who may have made a threat does not have access to weapons. If the situation is determined to be a credible threat to safety, families are notified immediately. If the threat is determined to be not credible, we will send an informational email to families to ensure they are properly updated.

We take all threats seriously and are grateful to those who brought this recent situation to our attention. We have sound safety protocols in place and continually work with staff and students to practice these procedures.

This incident serves as a reminder that we all must continually strive to improve our procedures and drills so that we are prepared in case of an emergency. The safety of our students is our top priority, and we ask for your partnership in ensuring our students have access to a safe, secure, and welcoming educational environment on a daily basis.”