DALLAS — Last week was anything but normal as North Texas schools responded to a series of online threats. Although the threats were not real, the impact was vastly felt.
Among those districts that received threats was Lancaster ISD, which reached out to WFAA to join in a discussion with Cedar Hill ISD and Dallas ISD about school safety and trust.
“It has been a fairly heavy start to our school year,” said Robyn Harris, Dallas ISD Deputy Chief of Communications. “The uneasiness is felt in various communities. I think it’s important to note while none of us have experienced those this school year inside campuses, which is something we’re all grateful for, we absolutely know that there’s a great deal that happens outside of the school day.”
“It is unfortunate that we’re still dealing with the threat of school violence,” said Kimberly Simpson, Lancaster ISD Chief of Communications. "It’s something that keeps me up at night.”
“These types of threats bring a level of anxiety that can be very distracting. We’ve had to bring in counselors to make sure that kids have someone to go and talk to when they’re feeling anxious,” said Tierney Tinnin, Cedar Hill ISD Chief of Communications and Marketing.
When districts respond to threats such as last week’s, they said it requires an adjustment in resources. “Resources are being stretched,” said Harris. “In Dallas ISD, our police force has really had to combat it by creating a task force and looking into each one of these concerns and threats which we of course have to take seriously.”
WFAA asked the district how they build trust with parents.
“At Lancaster ISD, we always try to explain that it is a partnership,” said Simpson. “We are going as fast as we can, but as slow as we must to ensure that we have the accurate information…The partnership comes in with them, believing us, trusting us and leaning on us for information that we are sending out.”
All three districts said parents should also keep their information updated with the schools so that they can be sure to receive communication updates.
“It's our practice in Cedar Hill ISD to communicate first where it's closest to the issue. If it's happening at a school, I want to make sure that our parents are aware first and foremost and our staff and then we'll spread that information to the community,” said Tinnin.
“If we all are engaged, especially as parents, and understanding what their child's pattern of movement is, but also what they're doing on social media, who are their friends, who are their acquaintances,” said Harris. “School safety is a shared responsibility, and it starts at home.”
The districts have also designated resources to focus on mental health needs.
“We have a list of mental health partners that partner with our students, as well as our parents. We understand that adult behavior really can have a huge effect on the behavior of a child. We have a responsibility. We know that children are watching us, what we're doing, and they're seeing some of those adult behaviors like fights on airplanes that were not the norm a couple of years ago.” said Tinnin.
She said how they’ve supported parents has changed as well. "Just the shift of the type of parent classes that we gave when I first started, which was how to help your child with their homework, getting good sleeping habits. Now it is sessions on how to anonymously submit information that may be a threat, how to monitor your child's cell phone,” said Tinnin.
These districts often work together to support each other. “I will say last week, you really were able to tell how interconnected we all were,” said Simpson. “We all were on the same page because everything that was going out impacted all of us at the same time.”
“I’m grateful for the partnership and glad that I’m able to lean and rely on colleagues like the ones who are here today,” said Harris.
“And it's not just the professional advice, but sometimes it's let me pick up the phone and, ‘Girl, what kind of day did you have today?’ We encourage one another because, for school communicators, the job never stops,” said Tinnin.
Dallas ISD has not shared the number of arrests made in connection with last week’s threats, but they said it is possible more could come.