Safety Update 12/16/2021

Safety Update 12/16/2021

December 16, 2021

Dear STGRSD Families,

We're connecting with you today because we've received information about a post on TikTok that has gone viral. We've heard from colleagues in other school districts where students are talking about this same post. News reports from other states have also reported about this particular post, which makes a vague reference to school violence on December 17, 2021. Unlike Facebook and Twitter, which mostly show you content from people you know or follow, TikTok has a feed that prioritizes content that is highly engaging, which includes people you do not know. That is why this post became especially viral.

At STGRSD we take all threats seriously and work with the Southwick Police Department to investigate all leads. This week we have had two reports of potential threats at Southwick Regional School (7-12) and implemented Shelter-In-Place to complete both investigations, which determined that the school was never at risk.

In consideration of the events of this week and the TikTok post, we are asking you to please take a moment to talk with your child about what they can do to be safe, kind and responsible.

  • If you or your child ever has any concerns about safety, those concerns should be shared immediately with any STGRSD staff member or School Resource Officer. Even if you don't know all the facts, please share what you know and we will investigate. That is the correct response when there is a concern. If you have any information that might be helpful to us, please let us know.
  • Discuss online behaviors with your child, talk to them about what they are doing on social media and set appropriate boundaries for social media usage.

Attached to this email we have included our Safety Protocol Fact Sheet, which will help clarify the terminology used in safety events. In the unlikely event of an emergency at your child’s school, we strongly request that you do not respond to the school unless instructed to do so. Well-intentioned community members responding directly to the school during an emergency have significantly hampered the efforts of emergency personnel in other jurisdictions. Should there be an emergency incident at your child’s school, we will notify you via email and, if necessary, advise you of the exact location of the reunification site via automated phone calls. Those automated calls will go to the most up-to-date contact telephone numbers and email addresses we have for you. As such, it is imperative that you keep your contact information up-to-date with us so that we have the best means by which to reach you.

Thank you again for your partnership and always feel free to contact us.

Sincerely,
Jennifer C. Willard
Superintendent of School

Southwick-Tolland-Granville Regional School District