Terrifying

[Butter]

Today my two in public school brought home a letter similar to letters brought home by every student in San Antonio area schools.  Here is the letter:

 

 

 

Within the past few days, area agencies have become aware of a threat being made toward a San Antonio-area school.  The threat was not specific to any particular school or district, but did allude to violence being committed at an elementary school on April 24th.

This morning, police representatives from the area met at San Antonio Police Headquarters to discuss a collaborative and coordinated approach.  Local and federal authorities are now in the process of evaluating the validity of the threat and tracing the source.  

In the meantime, security is being heightened by all area agencies. The San Antonio Police Department will work with all school districts to provide patrols, and the [our particular district] Police Department will increase patrols as well. In addition, [our district] has an extensive crisis plan in place and administrators have been instructed to review it with their staff. 

If anyone has information that may help authorities with this situation, please call the SAPD tip line at (210) 225-TIPS (8477).

 

 

My first thought was relief that my little elementary schoolers are at home again.  My second thought was whether I should pull my older two back out.  My third thought was even if this is a hoax, what kind of person threatens an elementary school?!?!

[Chris in VA]

Ugh--that is really hard. How do you weigh a threat of violence against the probability it won't happen when even the authorities think it might?

 

I would consider homeschooling the rest of the year. 

 

:grouphug:  :grouphug:

 

Dd's school has been locked down 3 times in one semester (fall), but it was for violence at the bank across the parking lot. Still, it's a hard world to let them go into. I'm sorry you have to deal with it. 

[Eagle]

That is so scary. It's easy to make comments about not letting the "bad guys" win by carrying on as normal -- until it involves your own children. I don't think I would be able to send my children to school that day (or week...) if I received a letter like that. I'm sorry you are going through this and hope nothing will happen at your schools. :grouphug:

[umsami]

That would completely freak me out.  I'm assuming in Texas your school year ends in May? If so, I'd take my kids out and homeschool, if only for the fact that if it's on the radar of the police department, then there's a lot of chatter going on, and I'd rather be safe than sorry.  I just think that if there's somebody with a gun who wants to do a lot of harm, they can do so before the authorities can stop them.  I wish that wasn't the case, but it is.  

 

 

[Butter]

School year ends in June.  I think I heard that they used to have to end by Memorial Day or the end of May, but they changed it so we get longer at Thanksgiving and Christmas and finish school the first week of June now.

 

My elementary kids are already homeschooled.  Thank goodness.  I trust my middle schooler's school.  I've been there while they were going over emergency procedures for this sort of thing.  My high schooler is actually in a pretty dangerous school already (it's a magnet so not the local zoned school).  They have a bunch of cops on campus all the time (that's part of the reason we're switching her to the zoned school next year).  She's scared, though, just from the threat.  If my little guys were still in school I'd probably keep them home minimum on Thursday.  I wouldn't be surprised if there were more than 200 schools total all over San Antonio.  I don't blame anyone who keeps a kid home of any age.

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

Wow, scary.   :sad:

[Ameena]

Wow - scary. And thank you for posting this. I'm in the area too, and have 2 elementary schools within a half a mile either way {Judson ISD}. Hadn't heard a peep.

 

I for one will be staying home that day, just in case.

[busymama7]

School year ends in June. I think I heard that they used to have to end by Memorial Day or the end of May, but they changed it so we get longer at Thanksgiving and Christmas and finish school the first week of June now.

 

My elementary kids are already homeschooled. Thank goodness. I trust my middle schooler's school. I've been there while they were going over emergency procedures for this sort of thing. My high schooler is actually in a pretty dangerous school already (it's a magnet so not the local zoned school). They have a bunch of cops on campus all the time (that's part of the reason we're switching her to the zoned school next year). She's scared, though, just from the threat. If my little guys were still in school I'd probably keep them home minimum on Thursday. I wouldn't be surprised if there were more than 200 schools total all over San Antonio. I don't blame anyone who keeps a kid home of any age.

I'm just curious as to your logic here. If it wouldn't be safe for a elementary schooler why feel safe enough to send a high schooler? Was the threat specific to elementary?

[Butter]

I'm just curious as to your logic here. If it wouldn't be safe for a elementary schooler why feel safe enough to send a high schooler? Was the threat specific to elementary?

 

Yup.  From the letter in my OP:

The threat was not specific to any particular school or district, but did allude to violence being committed at an elementary school on April 24th.

[Kerileanne99]

See, that would terrify me too, and I think I would be keeping ALL my kids home. Especially given the date (Such close proximity to the Columbine tragedy remembrance and a couple other school shootings in history specifically on April 24th)

 

Plenty of schools that have experienced tragedies have had decent security...it is no guarantee.

 

Also, as paranoid as I am (probably due to time in the Army) I would be thinking in terms of this: if officials have been made aware of the possibility, but the child/adult attaches specific significance to the day or just feels like they have psyched themselves up for it, or are just ready to be done with it? They may either have a backup plan or will come up with one in a spur of the moment decision. It is just too entirely possible.

 

Keep them home for the day. It is just not worth it.

[busymama7]

 

Yup. From the letter in my OP:

The threat was not specific to any particular school or district, but did allude to violence being committed at an elementary school on April 24th.[/quote

 

Got it. Sorry about that :)

 

It happened here and I do know of some kids who were kept home. Nothing happened that day but I did wonder what I would have done if my kids were in school. I don't envy you.

[Tree Frog]

I have 3 in public schools here, 2 in high school and one in middle. None of them brought home a letter. I thought it was due to them not being in elementary school, but your older kids brought one home?

 

Here's a link: http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/education/article/SAPD-tells-school-districts-of-threat-against-5418686.php

[staceyobu]

Isn't this week standardized testing for Texas schools?  If so, it will be hard for parents to keep kids home that day.  

[JustEm]

Isn't this week standardized testing for Texas schools? If so, it will be hard for parents to keep kids home that day.

 

I imagine in a situation like this the schools will accommodate parents who choose to keep their children home. I for one know that no standardized test would keep me from leaving my kids at home if I were in that area.

[Catwoman]

Personally, I would assume that the authorities feel the threat is credible if they have notified the families.

 

If I were you, I would pull my kids out of school for the rest of the year.

 

I know I sound paranoid, but I'd rather be safe than sorry in a situation like this.

[gaillardia]

Isn't this week standardized testing for Texas schools?  If so, it will be hard for parents to keep kids home that day.  

I read in last week's newspaper (one in Texas), that the parents actually have the option to opt out of testing with the STAAR test and do not have to attend if they have notified their school. There apparently is also a FB page. 

(Not trying to derail the thread).

What a horrible thing to have to deal with, not knowing if your kid is safe at school. Home schooling is not for everyone. Many schools are good and turning out well-educated, confident kids. I feel sorry for any parent who feels she has no choices. My eldest being bullied at school is why I started home schooling. We live in an area in which I would not want my kids to attend school. 

[Seasider]

Is there significance in the April 24th date? Honestly, if nothing happened on that day, I would still be holding my breath until school let out for the summer.

 

I would seriously consider bringing them home to finish the year.

 

How do the kids feel about it? I definitely couldn't send them if it frightened them to be there.

[Aiden]

Personally, I would assume that the authorities feel the threat is credible if they have notified the families.

 

If I were you, I would pull my kids out of school for the rest of the year.

 

I know I sound paranoid, but I'd rather be safe than sorry in a situation like this.

 

I would assume that, credible threat or not, the lawyers told them they had to warn the parents.

 

My first instinct would be to pull my daughter out of school, definitely for the day and possibly for the year (and many more years to come). My husband's response was, "Eh, it depends on the threat. We didn't take her out of Cairo when there were threats against Americans there." My response: "We also didn't send her out alone into the target zone."

 

It's hard when you don't know the nature of the threat--is it a threatening note, scribbled in the handwriting of a 5yo? (If so, probably not too much to worry about.) Is it an accumulation of evidence from multiple sources with high credibility, or from multiple sources with credibility varying from high to medium? (If so, the threat is very real.) Unfortunately, police departments--like national security organizations--usually don't reveal that information for fear of jeopardizing their sources or compromising their methods. It's a reasonable stance for them to take, but it does make it difficult to make decisions based on their warnings.

 

I pray that you, yur husband, and your children will have wisdom and peace as you decide what to do, and that whatever you decide, your children--and the other children in your area--will be safe from violence.  :grouphug:

 

[creekland]

Our school and schools all around us have had to deal with this type of thing this year.  It must be a current fad or something.

 

I can't speak to the cause for your school, but at ours, the issue was a student writing bomb threats on bathroom walls.  No one seriously thought anything credible of it, but of course, it has to be treated as if it is.  So, all sorts of local and state police plus bomb sniffing dogs were involved.  Letters to parents went home.  The school was searched.  Each person coming to school (even employees, etc) were searched.  And, of course, no bomb, but it certainly disrupted a testing day the first time.  We've had to do this twice before they finally caught (and arrested/charged) the culprit - a 9th grader having fun.

 

IMO, the days when there was such a high presence of security are the days the school is MOST secure.  ;)

 

We had bomb threats back when I was in ps too.  In those days we just ended up with a fire drill while teachers searched the school, then let us back in.

 

So... if it's a bomb threat they're dealing with, I'd have no issues sending mine to school that day.  If it's something else - more specific - then I might get concerned, but in general, even with letters sent home to parents from our school, no one AT the school thought it was a serious issue based upon what had happened.  It was just something they had to do.

 

Times sure have changed.  (The security for one of these now is FAR better than the old days.)

[Donna]

I agree. Terrifying. 

 

We had an incident last year where there was a threat on a bathroom wall of violence on a specific date at my boys high school. Parents were notified. I kept my boys home the next day. I know, someone planning violence is most likely not going to let people know when it will happen but I kept thinking if something did happen and I hadn't kept them home, I could never live with myself.

 

I pray your situation is a hoax as well.

[Butter]

I have 3 in public schools here, 2 in high school and one in middle. None of them brought home a letter. I thought it was due to them not being in elementary school, but your older kids brought one home?

 

Here's a link: http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/education/article/SAPD-tells-school-districts-of-threat-against-5418686.php

 

Yes.  Our district (North East) sent home letters with every child.  All the districts were supposed to.  Plus they did robocalls for some schools and e-mails for others.

 

There is some speculation that it has to do with messing with STAAR testing.  Several grades have STAARs today and tomorrow and more have them next week and the week after.

 

That link has a lot more information that makes me think even more it's a kid trying to disrupt things.  (ETA: The threatening e-mail was sent only to people in Northside - not our school district - but since it didn't specify a school they are treating it as any San Antonio school - not just Northside schools - making me even more comfortable with sending Ani and Cameron to school.)

 

Chances are they sent home letters to beat the news media.  They'd have a LOT of mad parents if they heard it on the news first.

[Butter]

I imagine in a situation like this the schools will accommodate parents who choose to keep their children home. I for one know that no standardized test would keep me from leaving my kids at home if I were in that area.

 

Nope.  Our district is extremely strict on excused/unexcused absences.  They've said if kids don't attend school that day it is unexcused.  Thursday is not a STAAR day.  STAARs are today and tomorrow.  I've had to fight to get them to label some of Ani's part day absences as excused when I brought in an orthodontist note to prove where she had been.  Right now she has a one class period unexcused because she had a mandatory thing for her magnet program.  School business AT the school.  Yet they are counting the kids unexcused even though the magnet teacher cleared it with the school and everything.  They won't listen to parents OR the teacher (it could be that her school's attendance office is staffed with idiots - another reason she is being moved to the zoned school next year).

[Butter]

How do the kids feel about it? I definitely couldn't send them if it frightened them to be there.

 

Cameron thinks it's very interesting and is not the least bit scared.  Ani is freaked out, but mostly that she has friends with siblings in various elementary schools.  She's relieved her own brothers are not in school.  Pulling Cameron out is a definite no.  He is deciding now if he wants to do the K12 virtual school next year and because of very, very stupid laws he cannot unless he spends a year in public school.  There is some question as to whether part of a year qualifies, but just in case we're not jeopardizing that.  Ani figures her school is safe from outside violence because there is a fair bit inside.  Her school has a lot of cops (district and city) at it all the time.  Drugs and gangs are all over.  It's a pretty crazy school.  She loves going to school.  She definitely does not want to be pulled out for the rest of the year.

 

The news reports it as "on or around the 24th" (the 25th is a holiday - Fiesta - because San Antonio shuts down for an annual parade).  Our district says the 24th specifically. (ETA: Newer news is saying just the 24th is in fact what was threatened.)

 

If it was specific to one of my kids' schools it would be a no-brainer.  They'd be home.  The thing is, it's only a vague thread to "a" San Antonio area (elementary) school.  There are dozens of those!  The person up thread who is in Judson district is actually very, very close to me probably, but we're in completely different districts and if I go a few miles in another direction I'd be in yet another district and a few miles another way and in still another district!  Every school in the whole city is beefing up security this week.  That's a LOT of schools.  By numbers of schools and the fact that the older two are not in elementary, the odds are very, very good their schools are fine (aside from the typical craziness at Ani's school).

[Annie G]

Back when I was in school (the Dark Ages) we had bomb threats every year in spring. Usually during testing week.  We had a fire drill, they checked the school, they let us back in. They knew it was unlikely to be a real threat but they searched anyway. 

 

In the past decade, our local schools have some such 'event' every couple of years, also almost always in the spring, sometimes on the anniversary date of the Columbine tragedy.  Several have been threats written on bathroom mirrors. Again, police don't think they are legit threats but they search anyway. 

 

I might keep the kids home - I've never regretted being 'too careful'. But how many times has someone given advance warning of such events? I know sometimes there are warning signs, but actual heads up warnings? Never heard of that actually. 

[PeachyDoodle]

Yes.  Our district (North East) sent home letters with every child.  All the districts were supposed to.  Plus they did robocalls for some schools and e-mails for others.

 

There is some speculation that it has to do with messing with STAAR testing.  Several grades have STAARs today and tomorrow and more have them next week and the week after.

 

That link has a lot more information that makes me think even more it's a kid trying to disrupt things.  (ETA: The threatening e-mail was sent only to people in Northside - not our school district - but since it didn't specify a school they are treating it as any San Antonio school - not just Northside schools - making me even more comfortable with sending Ani and Cameron to school.)

 

Chances are they sent home letters to beat the news media.  They'd have a LOT of mad parents if they heard it on the news first.

 

I was just thinking this. At least they notified the community so that you can all be vigilant and parents can make an informed decision regarding the safety of their children.

 

Last spring, there was an incident at dd's elementary school in which a child brought a gun to school (twice). He threatened two other students with it, pointing it against one child's temple and another's stomach and threatening to kill if them if they told. A third child witnessed the threats. Later, it was revealed that this same child had previously been caught with a knife at school. Thankfully, no one was hurt.

 

However, not only was almost zero disciplinary action taken, the district made a conscious decision NOT to notify parents, not even those with children in the affected classroom (it was not dd's classroom, but the room across the hall from her). It was an incredibly stupid decision, because this is a close-knit rural community, and of course it was only a matter of time before news got around. In fact, when the news finally broke, it turned out that there were even teachers in the school (who also had children attending the school) who only found out about it via the grapevine. How is a school supposed to keep kids safe if even the STAFF don't know there's a threat? We, along with a lot of other people, were incensed that the school would keep us in the dark about a credible threat to our dd's safety. It was a major factor in our decision to homeschool.

 

Praying for the safety of all the students in the San Antonio area this week...

 

[Night Elf]

I would talk to the principal of my specific school and ask what measures are being taken with security. For the schools that are administering standardized tests, what is the protocol if a student misses a testing day?

[ktgrok]

 

Plenty of schools that have experienced tragedies have had decent security...it is no guarantee.

 

 

 

Given that multiple shootings have happened on military bases, I don't think there is enough security in the world to prevent a person that is determined. 

[Butter]

I would talk to the principal of my specific school and ask what measures are being taken with security. For the schools that are administering standardized tests, what is the protocol if a student misses a testing day?

 

I actually already know exactly what the security plan is at the middle school because I was volunteering when they were going over it right in front of me.  The high school is a mess, but crawling with cops all the time for other reasons (Ani has had three kids removed from three different classes in the last few weeks because the cops busted up a drug dealing ring - and those three kids were dealers).

 

Just like I feel like we were just as unsafe on 9/10/01 as we were 9/11/01 (we just didn't know it/realize it/think about it), but pretty safe on 9/12/01, I feel like the schools were just as unsafe last Thursday as they would've been this Thursday with no warning and with the warning they are probably much more safe.  It really sounds like this is more of a terroristic threat (which the police are pursuing as a charge even if it's a hoax) than a credible danger to schools threat.  There was mention in the news article about them possibly knowing who sent the e-mails due to "previous threats."  Columbine, Newtown, the stabbing at the school recently... there really wasn't any warning for those.

 

There is no STAAR testing on Thursday.  I don't know what they do if a kid misses STAAR testing.  I'm sure there are make-ups because there are legitimate reasons (like illness) to miss.  As for "opting out," no, you actually can't do that.  At least you can't if you want your kid to be in public school.  The only way to truly opt out is to homeschool or send your kid to private school.  Kids cannot be promoted if they don't pass the STAAR exams.