West
Jefferson, NC --
A fifth grade Student was suspended after making a verbal
threat to harm another student. Administration acted quickly to the
threat made. "School
Shooting Map"
.
by Fawn Roark
Staff Reporter
The Jefferson Post
West Jefferson, NC
School officials are looking into an alternative placement such as
home-school for a fifth grade student who allegedly made a threat to
classmates last Tuesday at West Jefferson Elementary School [Assessment
Training for Early Warning Signs]. Superintendent
Donnie Johnson of Ashe County Schools said the student had made a verbal
threat to a couple of students. The other students told their teacher who
immediately notified Principal Bobby Ashley and a school resource officer
arrived at the school a few minutes later. "They jumped on this
real quickly," Johnson said. "It was due to training that staff
has gone through and because of the staff working with students. If
students feel like they have heard a threat, it is important to report it
and they did that this time. We hope kids will do that in a
situation."
When asked how do officials know if a student is serious about a threat
or if a threat is made for another attention such as getting attention or he
or she is temporarily angered, Johnson said a lot of research is done [Assessment
Training for Early Warning Signs]. "If a threat
is written or said, we just do not want to take anything for granted with
the events that have taken place over the past couple of years. We
felt like we had reliable sources in this situation," Johnson said.
"A lot of factors go into making a decision like this. We looked into
the student's background and decided to go with short-time suspension.
"We are looking at an alternative placement for the remainder of this
school year for this individual," he continued. "We suspended the
student for five days and we are looking at other options." Johnson
said a zero-tolerance policy for school violence is currently being
developed at this time, but has not yet been taken to the board of education
as of yet [Crisis
Action Plan Training].
"I think the new character education is helping students a
lot. It is helping to instill values and the different character
traits into our students. Our schools are doing a good job with it,"
Johnson said. Principal Bobby Ashley stressed the importance of students
reporting threats and said the children involved in this situation responded
quickly and did exactly what they were supposed to. Ashley said the threat
was made in the gym in the morning before school had begun and students who
overheard the threat reported it to their teacher. "We actually
had the student in the office before class was even started. After
talking with the students we knew that a threat had been made," Ashley
said. "We had things wrapped up within a short period of time and
called the
parents. I think the whole school responded responsibly."
Ashley said Guidance Counselor Cindy Price had presented a lesson to the
fifth and sixth grade students about two weeks ago following a school
shooting that had been covered in the national news. Fifth grade teacher
Noel Miller had also reviewed the information during a current events
lesson. "Mrs. Price and Mrs. Miller had talked with the students
about their responsibility in reporting any kind of threat. Our students did
a good job reporting this quickly. You just cannot operate a school unless
the kids feel safe and secure," Ashley added. (See
theLockOutViolenceEverydayCampaign
- A community violence prevention program).