A Letter from the Superintendent and Police Chief

October 7, 2015
Wednesday at 2:45 p.m.

Dear Shaker Schools Community,

 Shaker Heights Police Chief Lee and I are writing to you with information regarding a situation that took place today at Shaker High School.

 The District was alerted by the Shaker Police Department of two anonymous messages on social media of a threat against the High School.  The Police Department has reviewed the posts, and currently do not believe them to be credible.  However, the District and Police Department take all threats seriously.  As a result, we immediately increased the presence of police and school security District-wide as a precautionary measure.

 The District, the City and the Police Department have a Crisis Management Plan in-place for situations like this -- and we are following that Plan to the letter.   

 Please know that the safety and security of our students and staff are always our Number One concern. If it was determined they were in any danger, we would do anything necessary to protect them, including closing school. In such situations, our first communications priority will always be school community.   

 Unfortunately, we cannot control the exchange of social media messages and rumors that invite confusion and chaos. Instead, we only ask that you rely on official District and Police Department emails, postings and telephone calls for the accurate information you need and deserve. 

 Again, we take any threat seriously.  Therefore, the investigation into the source of today’s threat is continuing.

 So, based on the information we have, please know that classes will continue tomorrow and throughout the remainder of week as normal.

 We ask that you also reinforce with your student that if they see something, they need to say something -- to you, a teacher, an administrator or a security officer. We thank each of you who contacted us about today’s situation, and rest assured that we acted upon the information you provided.

 For the latest information, I urge you to monitor our official Shaker Heights High School web page, the district’s Facebook page (For Shaker Schools) and our official Twitter feed (@shakerschools).

Sincerely,