THUNDER BAY — The series of threats made against Hammarskjold High School on multiple occasions in the 2018-2019 academic year has resulted in an expedited update to the Lakehead school board's emergency evacuation and emergency school closure policy.
The recommendations were presented to trustees Tuesday night, and will be voted on at the next board meeting.
Under the board's original schedule, the policy would have been reviewed for the 2022-23 school year.
However, the date was moved up after the events at Hammarskjold that caused school closures and ultimately led to two students being charged with public mischief and mischief interfering with the lawful use of property.
The threats ranged from planned shootings to possible explosives.
The emergency evacuation and school closure policy for threats includes three levels of severity: lockdown, hold and secure, and shelter in place.
In the new policy, procedures for handling reports of concealed weapons on school premises, and bomb threats, are also highlighted.
Previously, the document only referred to those situations as being covered by the board's protocol with the Thunder Bay Police Service.
Superintendent of Education Michelle Probizanski says adjustments were made to reflect "any of the little things that we noticed during the process at Hammarskjold" last spring.
Lockdown is the highest level of response to a situation such as imminent danger from an intruder.
It requires everyone to remain silent and out of sight behind locked doors, with lights off, until police take command of the situation.
A lockdown also clamps down on cell phone use, with the volume to be turned off, no screen light on, and no use that might draw attention.
Hold and Secure is a more moderate response level when a potential threat exists inside or outside a school.
Possible causes including investigation of a bomb threat, an intruder suspected to be a possible threat, or a serious accident close to the school.
Exterior doors and windows are locked, and no one enters or leaves the building, but classroom activities may continue.
Probizanski said the wording of this section of the policy was revised to take into account that "there's a variety, a continuum of what hold and secure could look like."
She explained "There might be a threat made on the phone, and then we gauge whether the threat constitutes needing a hold and secure where students would be held within the building. Sometimes they're held within their classrooms. It's a very fluid situation."
Shelter In Place is a lower-level response to a potential threat outside the building.
Staff and students must remain inside the locked school for safety reasons in a range of situations including potential threats not yet investigated or confirmed, and extreme weather.
Concealed weapon and bomb threat scenarios
In the event of a report of a concealed weapon on school property, staff are instructed to try to determine first if the report is valid. Was a weapon actually displayed, is the information second or third-hand, and is the source reliable?
They are also instructed to find out what type of weapon was seen, where it might be concealed, the specific nature of any threats, who the targets were, a description of the suspect, his emotional state, and where he was last seen.
Police will be contacted if the information is considered valid. Depending on the situation, a staff member may approach the student in an effort to lead him away from other students and staff to a location where police will take control.
If the suspect is on school property but is not a student, the policy states that he should be approached by police.
Eight pages of the policy are devoted to the handling of bomb threats, all of which, it states, must be taken seriously and communicated to police before the principal is notified.
Principals are responsible for the development of individual school plans, to ensure that staff and students are familiar with the plan, and to schedule at least one bomb threat drill a year.
Staff who most likely to receive bomb threats get training in what information to note for police. The protocol emphasizes the importance of recording the exact wording of the threat if it is made over the phone.
Principals are charged with evaluating the information and making an initial assessment based on a variety of factors including whether exams are taking place, whether there have been any other recent threats, and whether there have been any negative incidents involving anyone connected with the school.
Probizanski said any adjustments to the emergency evacuation and emergency school closure policy were made in close consultation with police and other stakeholders.
