School Views: Prioritizing safety and support for students
The last few days have been difficult for our entire community. Threats involving our students, friends, and children drive everyone into hypervigilance mode. Having had two children come up through Eagle County School District, I am no different. As a parent and the superintendent, I take these threats very seriously.
On Sunday evening, a heinous prank naming numerous schools across the state of Colorado and the nation was posted to social media. This type of prank is known as “swatting,” and it’s designed to stoke fear and panic within a community. Targeting our schools, this incident did exactly that.
We do our best to communicate the most up-to-date information available to ensure families can make informed decisions regarding their child’s attendance at school. We understand that any information we can share is never going to be considered enough to calm all of the concerns this type of incident brings forth.
Many people decided to keep their children home on Monday, and we respect the right of parents to do what they think is in the best interest of their child’s safety and emotional health.
I’d like to share a little bit more about our process in the hopes of alleviating some of the anxiety around these incidents.
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“Swatting” and threat assessments are a very real part of modern school life, and they happen across the country at an alarming rate. We conduct threat assessments at schools regularly, but few of them end up on social media or cause this level of disruption. Even though we frequently investigate social media threats, the perpetrators are seldom caught because it is so easy to utilize anonymous accounts and multiple virtual private networks.
Local law enforcement and many within Eagle County School District have undergone extensive training to learn how to evaluate the credibility of these threats. These procedures are created and updated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Law enforcement agencies also receive intensive training in criminal investigation and serve as the lead investigators in any threats made toward schools or students.
Over the past few months, with the help of a third-party security audit and financial support from our community in the November 2023 bond question, we have made numerous improvements to security at our school campuses.
We hired a director of safety and security; we’ve improved access to buildings for police, and we’re installing 3M protective film on entryways and ground-level glass; we’ve improved communication systems, and we continue to practice drills at our buildings to educate staff and students. And our work doesn’t stop there after checking off the boxes. We are always looking for ways to make additional improvements. All of these things factor into our decision-making process.
Some have asked that we close schools and shift to online learning until someone is caught. In cases like this, there is a high likelihood that no one will be caught. I believe our students endured hybrid and online learning enough during the pandemic, and that the best way to keep our students safe and support them as they grapple with these fears is to keep them in school where we can provide a variety of supports. We want our schools to remain safe buildings for our students and staff, and be a source of normalcy and joy when the world gets scary.
Eagle County School District respects your right to do what you think is best for your child, and the school and teachers will support them academically whether they are in class or working from home.
I want to thank everyone who has reached out to let us know they appreciate our efforts these last few days. I consider myself fortunate to be surrounded by a supportive and compassionate leadership team, and a tight-knit community, to help us get through this situation.
Over the past few days, we have sent various communications in hopes of keeping parents informed so they can make the decisions they feel suit their families best. If you feel this has not been enough, I am sorry. Please try to remember that as a school district, we are only permitted to share information that has been publicly announced by law enforcement agencies.
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We live in an age of social media in which people can anonymously share thoughts with everyone in a matter of seconds. Many of those messages do more harm than good. Before posting something to social media, ask yourself if that post will improve the situation.
Send tips to law enforcement or use Safe2Tell. Send complaints, compliments, or suggestions directly to those who need to hear them. My more than 30 years in Eagle County has produced some amazing relationships and opportunities. We are friends and neighbors, working together to keep all our kids and schools safe. Thanks for working with us to accomplish those goals.
Philip Qualman is the superintendent of Eagle County School District. Email him at philip.qualman@eagleschools.net.
