PUSD addresses fear, rumors
District, police say student safety is No. 1 as more threats surface
As the nation continues to react to the recent school shooting in Parkland, Fla., leaders of Porterville Unified School District find themselves wrestling with two difficult tasks — ensuring their students and staff remain safe, while controlling the effect of unsubstantiated rumors on social media about similar acts of violence at PUSD sites.
PUSD issued a statement late Wednesday evening on their website to address the social media issue and ask parents for help:
“This evening, we have been made aware of several social media posts concerning the usage of standard initials of one of our high schools and one of our middle schools in a possible threat.
“Please be aware that one of the posts has been discredited earlier today as an Internet hoax, while the other post involves a school in Pennsylvania.
“We will continue to be proactive in terms of social media and having constant communication with the Porterville Police Department and the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office.
“In light of recent events, we urge you to have meaningful conversations with your students about the dangers of spreading false rumors through any social media channel.
“Please continue to contact school administrators with any information you see through social media as the safety and security of our students and staff remains our highest priority for our district. We will have increased police presence at the two school sites on Thursday as a precaution.”
The district later elaborated that those two sites were Strathmore High School and Sequoia Middle School, in response to threats of violence at SMS and SHS on social media.
Despite the announcement, there was still concerned
reaction from the community Thursday as many students were picked up early by parents at PUSD sites.
Students said there was significant conversation around campus regarding threats of violence they had read on social media outlets.
At the PUSD board meeting Thursday, an emotional student board representative from Porterville High School expressed her concern to the Trustees.
“Personally, we’re all very disappointed because our school makes us feel like there is no action being taken, and the students were all very fearful today. They haven’t addressed it to us or given us the proper training,” she said.
Seeking clarification, Trustee Felipe Martinez asked her, “Outside of social media, what doesn’t make you feel safe? Have you seen anything on the actual campus that would
frighten you?”
She responded, “It’s kind of what’s going on around us. People are talking, saying ‘Did you hear this?’ It’s nothing that we’re really seeing, it’s all what we’re hearing. That is what’s scaring us because we’re taking everything very seriously. In Florida, they were saying stuff and people were seeing signs, but no one was taking any action. When no one tells us it’s going to be OK and students are left to wonder and question, that’s when it gets really frightening. A majority of us are afraid something is going to happen.”
Martinez reassured her that PUSD and law enforcement have been proactive in dealing with site security, but suggested they could do a better job of communicating that to students and their families.
School Resource Officer Cody Martin told the board the Porterville
Police Department is in the process of updating its active shooter presentation, and resource officers will be conducting drills at school sites once it receives agency approval and their staff have been trained.
He added that there is an investigation underway on a specific school site regarding events that took place Thursday, but he couldn’t give details regarding what was done or said.
“We are hoping to locate the individual or individuals who initiated this whole process this afternoon,” Martin said. “Once they are identified, they will be arrested.”
He also commented on the difficulty of tracking down leads in the intangible world of social media and the pitfalls of using such platforms to spread misleading information.
“What’s happening is students are taking screen-shots of the original post, adding their
own specific comment to it, and adding that back on to Snapchat, Twitter or Instagram,” he said. “The first line of teaching is going to be with parents. We need to quell these situations from the get-go and stop spreading rumors. It’s all hearsay, and I want to let students know that they are safe.”
During public comment, Harmony Magnet Academy teacher Marc Wheeler, who is also an Army veteran, expressed an interest in making PUSD sites “hard targets” for such incidents, and suggested forming teams at each site to assess its unique assets and vulnerabilities and make a “coordinated physical response” if the need arises.
“We didn’t foresee these changes happening in our society, and our schools are not designed to be defensible from attack that well,” said Wheeler. “They are
designed to be accessible and inviting. The more obstacles people like that have, the more likely it is people will survive.”
He also expressed a similar need for additional “soft response” efforts to identify isolated students and get them help.
Whether real or virtual, PUSD Superintendent Ken Gibbs assured the board and the public that the district will take the same vigilant approach to school threats.
“These things happen on social media. It’s unfortunate, and we may see more of these. I don’t know if they think it’s a game or don’t take it seriously, but I can assure you we take every one of these threats 100 percent seriously, even when it doesn’t seem like it could be credible,” said Gibbs. “Students who participate will suffer severe consequences, and we’ll do everything we can to protect our students.”