Two students are currently suspended following some tense moments Friday at the Middle-High School building in the Cuba-Rushford district.
According to a statement posted on the district's website, Friday's lockdown was initiated, "as a result of threatening words spoken which led to a search on two student's devices." The statement goes on to say the search uncovered, "questionable and disturbing material."
The names of the students involved have not been released. According to the district, the students will be out of school pending a superintendent's hearing off-site.
Read the superintendent's full statement below.
Dear Students, Parents and Community Members,
I am writing to give you an update on the lock-down that took place this past Friday at the Middle High School building. The lock-down was initiated as a result of threatening words spoken which led to a search on two student's devices. The search revealed questionable and disturbing material. The district always takes the most conservative approach when it comes to safety, thus a lock-down was initiated to secure students and give the district and law enforcement the opportunity to sweep the entire building, including every locker in the high school.
The students involved have been suspended out of school pending an investigation. The district anticipates the students being out pending a superintendent's hearing offsite.
Some parents have questioned why the district issued a notification after many hours of being in lock-down.
During an emergency situation our priority is to secure students and staff to ensure they are safe. The second goal is to figure out how to neutralize any impending threat. After these two goals have been achieved, our third goal is to communicate with staff and parents about the situation.
In today's world, where social media could tip off a silent threat, our first two goals become critical to carry out first. During drills, we have the time to communicate in advance to ensure parents and children have great conversations at the dinner table about the importance of these lock-down procedures. During an emergency, we would be putting lives in danger if we chose to communicate first without securing students and staff and neutralizing the threat.
Parents have not only entrusted us with their child's education, but also their physical and emotional safety. Although we have this awesome responsibility on our shoulders, we also understand the human side of fear, anxiety and concern. However, we are on site and working actively to ensure every single student is secured and accounted for. Even though it is contrary to human nature, we ask parents not to call the school, but patiently wait to see the district's announcement on the situation either on the website or through a broadcast.
Thank you for entrusting your children into our hands.
Carlos Gildemeister
Superintendent of Schools
