State agencies aim to help coordinate local responses

In a school year focused on a return to normal, a series of threats have disrupted classes for thousands of students across Connecticut in recent days.

Now state agencies are coordinating a response with local officials to address the threats and provide support to the students.

In a statement released Monday when threats closed Hamden High School for a second day and disrupted classes for at least three others, the state

Department of Education said it’s working with local districts to “provide every student with a safe and supportive environment in which to learn and to thrive.”

“The department continues to support districts in the work of building and maintaining crucial positive relationships, engaging families and addressing the social-emotional and behavioral health needs of students,” the department said in the statement.

In many cases, police are still investigating how the threats were made and who was behind them, while school administrators weigh the needs of the students, already strained by a nearly two-year pandemic.

Brian Foley, aide to Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection Commissioner James Rovella, said state agencies are working with municipal leaders and school officials “to provide assistance in managing these incidents.”

“We continue to work closely with our local, state and federal partners through the investigations,” Foley said.

The series of threats began Friday in Danbury, Norwalk and Hamden and continued Monday with Hamden’s Eli Whitney Technical School and New Haven’s Wilbur Cross and Hillhouse high schools dismissed early. A threat also sent Norwich Free Academy into a lockdowns, according to The Day.

After a threat of a student with a weapon closed Norwalk High on Friday, the school had a two-hour delayed opening on Monday so administrators could provide guidance to teachers and staff on how to support students.

Norwalk school officials did not respond Monday about what type of guidance the teachers and staff were given before students arrived.

Norwalk police Sgt. Sofia Gulino said the investigation remains “active and ongoing.”

After being closed on Friday for a threat of gun violence, Hamden High School was closed Monday after police said a new threat was posted on social media.

Hamden Police Chief John Sullivan described what shuttered schools on Monday as a “warning” posted on Snapchat.

“It’s a very carefully worded message that’s put on Snapchat,” Sullivan said.

One high school-age teen was arrested — so far — Monday in connection with an alleged threat against Wilbur Cross High School, officials said.

The arrest came as police investigated a series of alleged threats of violence that resulted in a total of at least 11 schools in the city and at least two neighboring towns going into lockdown or closing Monday.

While not associated with Hamden public schools, the Eli Whitney Technical School, which is part of the Connecticut Technical Education and Career System, was dismissed early after state police at Troop I said they were alerted by a parent about a social media threat that was “interpreted to be related” to the school.

State officials pointed out that all schools have safety and security plans to address potential threats and state agencies work with districts to handle emergency situations.

“The CSDE collaborates with the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection’s (DESPP) Division of Emergency Management and Homeland Security (DEMHS) to support schools and districts in establishing required policies, protocols, and practices to prevent, prepare for, and respond to emergency situations,” the education department said in its statement.