The Big K Morning Show
How Do We Stop Local School Threats?
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We've heard as young as 10-years-old, a 10-year-old girl locally being accused of making threats and curious how the local school districts are handling this, and we're joined by Dr. Johanna Venanna, who is the superintendent at the Black Hawk School District, who's had the extensive experience at Char Valley and then through her North Hill School District time. Dr. Good morning. I'm sure this is on your mind each and every day. I know you're on your way into school now, so collectively, do you talk with other superintendents about this issue? Yes, we do. On a regular basis, this is the topic that comes out then, of course, when it's surfaces in our districts, then, of course, we try to communicate, so we're all on the same page. And what is the collective thoughts? I mean, this seems to have been proliferating, especially this year around the region. It's scary. Nobody ever wants anything horrible to happen in their districts, so we try to make each other aware as soon as possible to make sure that we investigate it, look into it, and then try to quell it, if it's non-credible. Ironically, this happened about the same time last year as well. So obviously, this isn't the first time, and I know it has happened. Certainly, social media components add, I guess, an ease for people who think they can't be identified by putting out some of these threats, and you're right, obviously, the vast, vast majority of them are not credible, but still, it really disrupts what you're trying to do every day in a classroom, right? It does. It makes parents scared to send their students to school. It makes students afraid to come to school or activities. But the majority of the time, it is non-credible. And definitely something we need to look into and to see, but many times, we have students that will see something and they repost it. And that seemed to be the issue that I think a lot of places had last week, and I was thinking about it on my drive-in before you called how we communicate, and I'm sure you have some type of social media. I have social media, and in today's society, that's how we communicate. But if I'm trying to warn someone... Looks like we lost... Thank you. Yeah. We lost you for just a second. Can I...? Can I... Can you repeat that? Sure. Many times, we communicate through social media. If you think about it, you have social media, I do, too, and if I see something that, you know, 79 is shut down, I may send a quick text to say, "Hey, you may want to avoid that road today." Students do the same thing, but we don't want to discourage them from communicating when they see these things, but we need to try to encourage them to do it the right way, whether it's tip lines, call the police, call the authorities, let their school know instead of just reposting, something that may or may not be true, and something that can obviously cause a lot of alarm. And the students, through every grade, are so adept at navigating social media. I'm curious, in your school district at Blackhawk, do kids have their phones in the classroom? To some extent, they do. I mean, we're one-to-one districts, so they have iPads with them. Obviously, that's on the district network, so it's a little bit more secure. They'll have it with them, but I see it's a moderate issue. So what is the game plan moving forward? Obviously, you're working with law enforcement. I know the FBI has been involved in some of these cases to try to identify the sources, and as I mentioned, some of these threats are coming from very young students. And yesterday, we saw in Florida, an 11-year-old was arrested and shackled, basically, to show people what happens if you're caught making these kind of threats. People can argue about whether that was overdoing it, but the fact is it's happening around the country. So what's the plan moving forward? Well, I think that we need to constantly be in communication with our local law enforcement, so we have those relationships. I think that we also need to continue to encourage students to communicate appropriately, parents, community members. I was very pleased with the amount of information that I received from parents, from community members, students as well, when they saw the slotting incident. And that's the best thing to do, is to tell someone when you see something or hear something that isn't appropriate. But it's also very important that our students have an outlet for mental health, and you think about these young children who are making these threats, why are they doing this, what behavior is being reinforced, and how can we reassure them as well? So there's a whole lot of dynamics that I think school districts are struggling with right now and really contemplating, and that's the community, the students, the parents, but also the child that may be doing, making threats. And you mentioned something that's become a term that people have heard. Can you explain what swatting is so parents can understand that? It's a post of a non-credible threat that's copied and just repeated and sent over and over again. It's basically the easiest way that I can explain it. Yeah, we remember last year, Central Catholic emptied out because of these kinds of threats in other schools. So I appreciate you taking time and it's a good advice if you see something, say something, but say something to the right authorities that can do something about it, right? Yep, yes, I appreciate it. Thank you so much for reaching out and giving some type of attention to this very important topic. I appreciate it. All right, Dr. Johanna Venanna, who is the superintendent at Black Hawk School District on the Big K Morning Show. The seasons may be changing, but the deals and the sharpest rides are unbeatable as ever. Hey, what's going on, it's your girl, Tasha McKia, and I need you to join the sharpest rides for their Fall Into Savings event, where they're offering incredible prices on their massive inventory. That's right, everything is on sale now. Shot from sleek sedans to rugged SUVs and sporty convertibles. 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