Carla Clark | For The Republic One of the classrooms during the tour following the ribbon cutting ceremony for the completion of a two-year renovation to the facilities and classrooms at Parkside Elementary School, Columbus, Ind., Monday, August 5, 2024.
BCSC Superintendent Chad Phillips said a shooting threat made late last week against Parkside Elementary School led to “dramatically less” attendance across the district on Monday and is asking the public to be more careful in sharing unfounded rumors on social media.
The threat, which was sent by screen shot on Snapchat, was reported on Friday and led to an increased police presence at all BCSC schools on Monday. Columbus police over the weekend said the threat was not credible and later took an 11-year-old female into custody on a felony charge of intimidation and a misdemeanor charge of false informing for the Parkside threat.
Rumors circulated as well about threats to Northside Middle School and Schmittt Elementary School, which were unfounded.
As for the individual who made the threat at Parkside, Phillips said in rendering discipline that they will weigh a few factors.
“We will take into account, as we always do when we’re talking about discipline for a student, the age and the grade of the student, but then also the extent to which the action disrupted education, either for that student, or for others,” Phillips said.
The situation is not unique to Columbus — there have been similar threats made to schools statewide and across the country since a shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia on Sept. 4 where four people were killed.
There will be severe punishment in the future for any student who amplifies threats like it leading to a disruption in school, Phillips said, and asked that parents and guardians have conversations with their children about social media use and what to do if they encounter a threat.
“The unfounded rumors spread through social media have got to stop,” Phillips said. “We are asking parents and guardians to talk to your kids about what they should and should not do if they were to see a threatening message on social media. They should talk to the parent or guardian, talk to a school staff member or administrator, or contact law enforcement directly. They should not amplify the message by posting, sharing, liking — fill-in your social media action.”
Phillips continued, “And if students amplify a threatening message that results in a disruption to school, that student will face severe consequences at school, up to including suspension and explusion. Today, there are hundreds of kids who have had their educational experience disrupted because of social media spreading rumors, and that is happening all across the country.”
When BCSC was made aware of the threat, Phillips said the focus was on supporting law enforcement in their investigation and making sure BCSC families were aware of the threat, which by that time had gotten ample attention on social media.
“Our two priorities were, how do we support our law enforcement partners? And how do we focus on communicating the right thing to the right people at the right time?”
The superintendent spent about 30 minutes greeting students at Parkside in the morning and also made a stop at Northside Middle School. Despite the threats, Phillips said the day went as well as could be expected.
“That is only the case because there are a large number of law enforcement officers that work around the clock between early Friday evening and late last night to make sure that we could have a safe day at school today,” Phillips said. “… The level of collaboration between those agencies is astounding, and I don’t think you see that in other communities, to the extent that you see it here. Columbus really is special and it’s evidenced by how the Columbus way works even in a really tough situation like this weekend.”
Phillips also gave appreciation to staff who came to work like every other day with students in-mind.
“It’s a sad commentary that our staff understands that they have to come into work the day after a school shooting in Georgia or Parkland or in Michigan, and help kids work their way through that day in a way that keeps them focused on their own well-being and their learning, but they do incredibly well and that was evidenced today.”
Monday was pajama’s day at Parkside, according to Phillips.
“Everyone who could remember that on a Monday morning had their ‘jams on, but the staff were engaging with each kid, and I’m sure during the course of the day across the district, it was the same if a staff members saw that a student might have a lttle more anxiety than normal, helping them work through that no different than the day after the shooting in Georgia a week-and-a-half ago, or the one before that, or the one before that.”
