Taft High School students walk out over safety concerns after social media threat
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A social media threat against students at William Howard Taft High School prompted the walkout of dozens of students over safety concerns.
As CBS 2 Investigator Megan Hickey reported Thursday, the school, at 6530 W. Bryn Mawr Ave. in the Norwood Park neighborhood, is stressing that police deemed the threat "non-credible."
But students at the school said whether that threat was real or not, they feel like they were left in the dark about it for too long — which only added to their stress over this sensitive situation.
Dozens of students spilled out of the front doors at 11:22 a.m. the start of fifth period, chanting, "Our lives are important!" as they marched.
"It's so unfortunate that we really, we have to worry about it," said Taft High School junior Jason Guerra. "It's hard."
In the planned walkout, communication seemed to be the biggest gripe.
"They don't tell us exactly what's going on, which like worries us," said Taft sophomore Sarah Arogundade, "because if there is a threat, we want to know what's going on."
Police said they were made aware of the threat on Monday afternoon. Students tell us a student was "making some sort of list" for the next day — which was taken to mean a hit list.
"I felt unsafe," said Taft sophomore Isaac Ng.
"I'm sick of having to plan a literal escape route every single time I enter a classroom," said Taft junior Sally O'Toole.
O'Toole told me that the rumors on social media coupled with silence from administrator heightened their anxiety.
"Especially because we had no communication on any of this this, like, it left me so anxious the entire day," said O'Toole, "because at any moment, anything could happen."
"Nobody knows what's going on, and we're all freaked out," said Taft junior Veronika Gromek.
In the wake of several high-profile, tragic shootings across the country, Taft students said they're extra sensitive. Some are requesting the return of metal detectors.
In a letter to staff obtained by the CBS 2 Investigators, the school's principal said, "We will reinforce our regular screening of students before they enter our school building."
He also said, "There is no safety threat to our school, and all of our students and staff are safe."
These students say they hope in the future, they will be better kept in the loop.
"We should have been informed that we would be safe in this school, instead of all of us being worried," Gromek said.
The Chicago Public Schools issued the following statement Thursday afternoon:
"Chicago Public Schools (CPS) takes the safety and security of our students and staff seriously and we are committed to working with students, as well as their families, educators, and school leaders, to ensure a safe and secure learning environment.
"We value the perspectives of our students and will continue to engage with them to ensure that we understand their concerns."
CPS noted that Taft High School will continue to meet with students who expressed concerns, and is committed to creating a safe environment for students to express such concerns. CPS also encourages students to take active roles in their school communities.
Taft principal Mark Grishaber first informed the school community of a potential threat on Monday. This letter was also issued this letter to parents and guardians on Wednesday:
Dear Taft Parents and Guardians,
Earlier this week, I notified you that a member of our school community had made a social media post with language that resembled a potential threat against our school. We notified the CPS Office of Safety and Security to investigate the threat with the Chicago Police Department (CPD), and CPD deemed the threat as non-credible. There is no safety threat to our school, and all of our students and staff are safe.
I understand that this situation has been extremely concerning to our school community and that rumors have been circulating about additional safety threats to our school. While I cannot discuss further details about this situation for privacy reasons, I want to make it clear that safety will always be our top priority and we take every safety concern extremely seriously. As a reminder, whenever we are made aware of a potential safety threat related to our school, we notify the Office of Safety and Security so the threat can be properly investigated with the support of CPD. If you are interested in learning more about the Office of Safety and Security's approach to keeping schools safe, please visit their webpage.
While there is no safety threat to our school, we are taking the following steps to ensure students and staff feel safe at Taft:
- We will reinforce our regular screening of students before they enter our school building.
- Today, we are holding conversations with representatives of our student body to hear any safety concerns that remain. We are using these discussions as the foundation of ensuring that all students feel safe and supported while at Taft.
- Our security team and the rest of our staff will continue to support our efforts to create a safe learning environment for all students.
- Our efforts will also incorporate our partnership with CPD. We currently have four CPD school resources officers present, two school resource officers on each campus, to support the safety of our school community.
We have been made aware of a potential student walkout to bring awareness to the importance of school safety. This may occur tomorrow, Thursday, March 9. We are committed to creating a safe environment for students to express their feelings and concerns. To prepare for the possibility of a walkout tomorrow, we are working with both student leaders, the Office of Network Supports, and the CPS Office of Safety and Security to help make sure all of our students are safe.
As a reminder, the Taft team is always available to discuss the steps we take to keep students safe as well as matters related to your child.
I ask that you partner with us by notifying the school immediately if you are made aware of a safety concern related to Taft rather than spreading rumors. This approach will help the school and our safety partners in their urgent investigation of the threat. We will continue striving to provide all students with a safe learning environment where they can reach their full potential. Thank you for your continued support of Taft. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me directly.
Sincerely,
Principal Grishaber
The Chicago Public Schools do not participate in the statewide helpline "Safe2Tell" Illinois, aimed at reporting and responding to school threats like these. They have their own system.
We asked for data on the critical alerts like this to which they've responded. Late Thursday, we were still waiting.
