Dear Parents:
Last week, in coordination with local law enforcement, our district staff responded to reports of threats to our schools received on social media. The safety of our students and staff is the top priority of the Mukwonago Area School District. I would like to commend all of our students and staff for their work to ensure as normal a day as possible on Friday. In order to help our district families better understand our process when a threat is received, I wanted to share some information about our standard procedures.
When threats are made or concerning behavior is brought forward to our administrators an investigation immediately ensues. In many cases, law enforcement – including our school resource officers – are consulted to determine if a threat is credible and/or specific. In each case, a plan is determined with law enforcement to protect the safety of our students and staff. Depending on the nature of the threat, communications will be sent to families. Unfortunately, in many cases, the specific nature of the threat cannot be shared without jeopardizing the investigation. Of course, as the investigation concludes, additional updates will be sent to families.
In general, we focus our communications on the school at the center of the threat in order to provide information to those most involved with the situation and to avoid as best as possible creating an environment of panic or fear.
Consequences for such behavior are addressed on a case by case basis and consider if the student is a student with a disability under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act or Section 504 of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Due to the nature of student discipline and student records, we are never in a position where we can share the specifics of a disciplinary event with our school community as student records are protected under policy Policy 8330 Student Records linked HERE and FERPA, the Family and Educational Records Protection Act.
Beyond that, we are proud of the close relationship we have with our local law enforcement partners, including our two full-time school resource officers. The support of our families is also critical to ensuring a safe school environment. You can help support our work by encouraging students to report inappropriate or suspicious behavior, including bullying or inappropriate content on social media. If students see something, they should say something – to a teacher, an administrator, a police officer, or another trusted adult. Students can also use the confidential Speak Up, Speak Out app to report threats, bully, harassment, threats of suicide, and other activities which could endanger students, staff, and property.
Unfortunately, we live in an era where children and adults alike feel comfortable posting threats and harassing statements and often – due to the anonymity of social media – do not face the consequences of their actions. These actions create considerable disruption to the learning of our children and incite fear among students, staff, and parents and are wholly unacceptable.
While it is unclear whether the threats posted last week originated from Mukwonago, I ask all parents to closely monitor their child’s actions on social media. We will all need to work together to eliminate these kinds of senseless events from impacting our educational mission.
Finally, it is worth reminding everyone that students who post threats and harassing behavior can and will face consequences from law enforcement and from the school district, including suspension and expulsion. While we never want to see a student face a life-changing repercussion from a thoughtless action, we must protect our learning environment and the security of our students and staff.
Thank you for your support of our school district!
Dr. Joe Koch
Superintendent
