Good Afternoon Northeastern Families,
In the last month there have been a number of school shooting hoaxes called into schools across the country. Recently, a middle school in northwestern Hamilton County was the target of this type of incident. In some of the recent incidents, a person has called 911 claiming there is an active shooter at a specific school. Police, Fire, EMS, and families then rush to the school only to determine that the whole thing was fake. These incidents, although eventually determined to be hoaxes, cause very real panic, fear, and anger for families. The incidents are called “Swatting.”
We want to take time to share our safety procedures with families to help everyone understand our processes if we are ever targeted. We will always treat any report of an active shooter threat to be real until it is proven to be false by law enforcement.
In these situations, whether real or proven false, we will:
Immediately place the entire campus in lockdown. This will include barricading doors and students moving out of sight.
Alert the authorities if they are not already aware
Communicate to parents that the buildings are in lockdown
Update staff, students, and families as the situation unfolds
Campus will be closed to everyone except for first responders and law enforcement.
We know many families' immediate reaction will be to drive to campus. Please take a moment to learn more about our process of handling emergencies in the district by reading the parent guide to the standard response protocol. We ask that you allow law enforcement time to arrive on campus to deal with the event. If families immediately head to campus, it may slow the police response. When you are directed to come to campus we ask that you park in the CNEAA fields just west of campus. Please park and remain in your vehicles until we are able to get a staff member to meet with families and provide updates. It is important to remember to update Finalforms and have the correct people/information listed on the emergency contact forms.
As a District, we are constantly examining our emergency procedures and refining our processes. It is disappointing to know that these events, and the negative impacts that are a byproduct of such an event, are unpredictable and completely random. We are working to have the best possible response to these situations.
If you have any questions about the District’s safety procedures please contact your building Principal or the Director of Operations.