Rumors of drugs and a gun were reportedly circulating at the North Royalton Middle School and then on social media in early October, which led to an investigation and threat assessment.
According to the North Royalton Police Department, “On Wednesday, October 5, 2022, the North Royalton Police Department was advised of rumors of a non-specific threat directed at the North Royalton Middle School that had been posted on social media. School Resource Officers interviewed multiple students and found no credible evidence that any threats were posted on social media, nor could they find any evidence that the party that was alleged to have made the threat had the means or ability to carry out such a threat. The threat was determined to be a rumor that spread through one grade level. The parents of the alleged threat maker were advised of the situation. A police report has been generated for information purposes and the North Royalton Police Department and the administration of the North Royalton Middle School are satisfied that no credible threat exists to the students, faculty, or staff of the Middle School.”
School Resource Officer (SRO) Jon Karl stated, “It has been fully investigated and it has been determined that there is no credible threat.” He noted that he and Officer Lexie Jezior interviewed a large number of people and poured over a large amount of social media before coming to that conclusion. He went on to say, “I think in the interest of transparency it may be helpful if people understand there is a structured process used to figure things out when we receive a threat of any kind. Obviously being juveniles in the matter of student information, most things are strictly confidential.” With the threat assessment process, there is a difference between making a threat and actually posing the threat. Does that person have the motive and means to carry out that threat. “Children often parrot or mimic what they hear. Kids hear these things on the news and when they get frustrated, they repeat what they hear. They make spontaneous threats that have no basis.”
Karl explains that the SROs follow one of eight models that are approved and mandated through the Ohio legislature, that were enacted in 2021. “Everyone has to have a threat assessment team in place, in buildings that house grades six through twelve. I use the CSTAG model, developed by Dr. Dewey Cornell at the University of Virginia.” said Karl. He said that the process is applied across the board, and in the North Royalton School District, includes the elementary school grades. Karl said the way the model is designed, it includes a team, consisting of a community representative, law enforcement, mental health services and administration to look at all aspects of the threat. Once assessed, they know how to manage the situation. He also said that in the day-to-day operation of the classroom, teachers are trained for intervention techniques with positive behavior intervention support, which is formed in a tiered response to a situation. “These are things that are found in state law,” said Karl. “There are legal mandates that address school discipline. There are very distinct guidelines and protocols that are followed.”
School Superintendent Mike Laub addressed the School Board at its October 10 monthly meeting, stating that “The rumor mills are moving and I just want to help to provide a little bit of insight in what we do and how we do it. I’m very proud of our Middle School team in how they’ve handled this most recent situation. We were made aware last week and I was very proud that it was a couple of students who came forward to our administrators and said ‘hey we hear about some bad things going on.’ I think we should applaud those students, because that’s how we keep each other safe, and I want to say thank you to them. But, they brought some rumors, quite frankly, to our building administration and our building administration did a fabulous job of really investigating what turned out to be mostly rumor. And so that day, it was brought to their attention and we sent home a communication that night that basically let parents know that hey, rumor mills are flying and we’re looking into this. We don’t have any hard evidence. If you do, let us know. Parents reached out and our team was on the phone with families until probably 9:30 at night and they ran down where the rumor originated and how this whole thing spun out of control. The next day, finished going through the process and investigation and then sending another communication that next day, stating this is what the rumors were that we were hearing, but these are the facts. The good news is, with the Police Department’s support and help, they believed there never was any threat at the Middle School, but we had something that could have been and, again, our kids came forward and did the right thing.”
Laub went on to say that “When we communicate about those things, I just want to again stress to everyone, we have certain rules that we have to follow that have to do about students, student behavior, and student records. We communicate it to the extent that the law would allow and we try to be transparent about rumors going around. I will tell you that no matter what happens with that, there is always a sense, to some degree, from people who are not getting the whole story. I hate to put it this way, but to a certain degree, we can’t give the whole story, because all kids in that situation have rights. We try to do the best we can with it.” He added that in all communications, it is stated that those who have questions or comments are welcome to contact the administration.”
By GLORIA PLEVA KACIK
Contributing Writer