Minutes can feel like days to people when they are waiting for information. On the other side of that equation, the people trying to distribute the best and most accurate information are very aware of those time restraints.
It has been a busy week for school division officials in and around the Lakeland area — and most of the activity was learned, addressed and acted upon within a time-frame of just a few hours.
Several instances of online threats against area schools were reported across the region starting on Monday. In the first instance — a threat against schools in several northern Alberta communities, including Lac La Biche — Northern Lights Public Schools officials were notified by RCMP on Monday morning. The notification that an investigation was underway came during a division-wide professional development event in Bonnyville. With all schools closed for the day because of the PD event, school officials realized they had a little more of a window to create a plan and find some answers.
"School was not in session and all of the staff are here in Bonnyville for a PD day. Had school been in session, there would have been an immediate response," said NLPS spokesperson Nicole Garner, describing the tight and unfolding timelines of the day.
Within hours, school officials had developed a localized plan of security measures needed for when the schools opened the next day. Part of that plan included the cancellation of a Tuesday career-fair at Lac La Biche's J. A. Williams High School and the postponement of some extra-curricular sports activities. There was also a bulletin drafted to inform parents and families about the ongoing incident. Just moments before that bulletin was to be sent out to parents and families on Monday afternoon, RCMP contacted school officials to say they had located a suspect and the threat had been resolved. It was decided then that the bulletin would be sent to parents at the beginning of the school day on Tuesday, when parents could contact the schools after staff had returned from the PD day events.
Just a few hours later, however, RCMP were again notified of another online threat — this time directed at one school, J.A. Williams High School. Division officials again began to look at a plan, but before any significant details could be made, police said they had located suspects and again resolved the threat. Although the threats had been removed, in those few short hours, parents, families and community members had created a whirlwind of social media chatter based on the day's events.
"... assumptions were made about the two incidents being related and that there was an ongoing threat to student safety," said Garner, understanding that families were very concerned about the unfolding events.
Student attendance at several schools on Tuesday was affected by those concerns.
More threats
As students went back to classes on Tuesday, two more threats were being investigated by RCMP. One was directed at a school in a St. Paul school district and the other referenced a possible threat once more at J.A. Williams High School. Garner said RCMP contacted division staff on Wednesday to say the latest threats had also been resolved.
"One online post that was identified last night," Garner told the Lac La Biche POST newsroom on Thursday, "... has been investigated and was determined not to be directed at any Lac La Biche school."
Threats towards the school in the St. Paul area was investigated as well, and at least one suspect has been arrested.
Proper information
While each of the four separate threats in the last week have all been dealt with, the safety and security of students and staff means they are always taken very seriously, says Garner.
"While the RCMP have not recommended that we place our schools into a 'hold and secure' protocol, out of an abundance of caution, our schools have been implementing additional safety measures," she said late Wednesday. "... We continue to be in close contact with the RCMP and are prepared to implement additional safety measures if and when they are necessary."
Mental healthcare and well-being programming is being offered at local schools for any student who has been impacted by the week's events. Parents and families can also expect regular updates from the schools. Garner also encourages families to report any suspicious activities or online posts relating to school and student threats directly to schools and the police. Having parents, families and community stakeholders continue to take active roles in the local education system is a vital part of the equation, she says, hoping that families understand the vast amount of effort that goes on behind the scenes when events like these happen.
"We do take this seriously," Garner said, explaining that any perceived gaps in timelines are simply moments where officials are trying to guarantee the most accurate information is being sent out. "There's a balance between being really quick and being too quick."
RCMP say there are no on-going threats to student safety in the region.
Alberta RCMP representatives were contacted for comment on the string of threats, and the efforts needed to investigate each one. We will have that update when information is received.
