Safety measures in place after threats made to Washington Community High School

WASHINGTON (25News Now) - The superintendent of Washington Community High School District 308 said the school is continuing to implement safety measures “out of an abundance of caution” due to recent unspecified threats.

WCHS staff will check backpacks until further notice while the administrators and Washington Police investigate the “possible safety risk,” said Superintendent Kyle Freeman in an email he sent to parents, guardians, and students.

After confirmation from Dr. Freeman, he said there was a threat over the weekend of May 9 and 10. Then there was another threat found at school on Monday, May 11.

The school notified parents on Sunday night about a threat WCHP received over the weekend. It was then followed by another notice to parents on Monday on a separate threat incident. Then a third threat was made on Tuesday, which was discovered in one of the girls’ bathrooms.

Freeman is asking students to avoid bringing backpacks to school. Bags that are brought to school will be searched, Freeman said. Students bringing bags for athletics are asked to leave them in their cars, or they can be stored in safe place during the day, Freeman said.

Students have to report to the main entrance on Jefferson Street, with doors opening at 7 a.m. for “Zero Hour” classes and 7:45 a.m. for first hour classes.

Students taking an AP test at Five Points must enter through the south doors by the auditorium at 7:45 a.m. They cannot take their bags into the testing area, the superintendent said.

The following is Freeman’s email:

As I mentioned in the message sent to parents and students yesterday, information concerning a possible student safety risk at WCHS was brought to the attention of the administration over the past couple days. While the timelines connected to the initial threats have now passed, we will continue to monitor the situation closely. Out of an abundance of caution, we will resume our implementation of our current safety measures, including the bag check procedures outlined in previous messages, until further notice as we investigate these incidents in conjunction with the Washington Police Department.

We are asking students to try to avoid bringing a backpack to school. All bags that are brought to school will be searched. If your student needs to bring a bag for athletics, we ask that they leave the bag in their car and retrieve it after school for their practice or game. If they do not have the ability to store a bag in a car, we will search the bag and provide your student with a safe location to store their bag during the day.

Students should continue to report through the main entrance on Jefferson Street with doors opening at 7:00 AM for 0 Hour classes and 7:45 AM for 1st hour classes. Students who are taking an AP test at 5 Points should enter the south doors (by the auditorium) and will be allowed to enter at 7:45 AM. No bags will be admitted into the testing area.

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