Superintendent of Schools Joseph V. Erardi, Jr, held a response meeting for community members on Tuesday, November 11, following a threat made on social media against the high school a few hours earlier.

Dr Erardi was joined by Newtown High School Principal Lorrie Rodrigue and Newtown Police Chief Michael Kehoe. The evening event offered explanations and answers to questions voiced by parents.

“Of all days,” Dr Erardi said the threat came when the high school had a number of guests and an assembly for roughly 800 students to celebrate Veterans Day.

At approximately 11 am Veterans Day celebrations commenced, with the assembly starting after noon.

“Approximately at 12:55 pm Dr Rodrigue received notification that on the high school Facebook page there was a posting that immediately put the building into a lock-in, closed position,” said Dr Erardi.

The superintendent also said through partnership with the Newtown Police Department a consensus was reached to lock the high school. Lock-in protocols allow teaching and learning to continue. Safety officers were posted on campus and those in the building were kept in the building, according to the superintendent.

“The intensity of the situation really is predicated around where the posting came from,” Dr Erardi said, later adding the post came from out of state, “and through the due diligence of safety officials, they moved as quickly, as rapidly, as they can, and during that time span we continued to always err on the side of student and staff and building safety.”

By the end of the afternoon, Dr Erardi said, parents should have received three voice mails: one to announce what was happening and that everyone was safe, another announcing that school would be released on time with an update, and the third was a recap.

With the police department, Dr Erardi said it was determined, with additional information, that other schools would not be placed in an emergency status and that the high school was sufficiently safe to hold after-school activities and evening events, including the meeting slated to speak to the community members in the school’s auditorium.

“The entire event lasted about 45 minutes to 50 minutes,” said Dr Erardi, adding that Dr Rodrigue announced a normal school dismissal by the end of the school day.

The day was complicated on the heels of a “wonderful assembly,” Dr Rodrigue said.

Dr Rodrigue also said she made the decision to not announce over the loudspeaker about the lock-in, due to the assembly nearing its end.

“Our students are sensitive, nervous, we didn’t want to panic anyone,” said Dr Rodrigue, who added the announcement was sent out in other forms, including text and e-mail.

Dr Rodrigue also said everyone was safe, secure, and no one was panicked.

“If you believe that I stand here frustrated, you are absolutely correct,” said Dr Erardi, “and I am absolutely certain that … the safety officials who have been assigned to investigate are doing their absolute best for us.”

While the superintendent said the post on the Facebook page came from out of state, he would not share additional details due to the ongoing investigation. Chief Kehoe later specified the threat included “a gun” and Dr Rodrigue said it included a reference to “shooting.”

Dr Erardi also pointed out the threat and responding lock-in came the day after the school practiced a lock-down drill, a monthly procedure he said is done at all schools in Connecticut.

‘The Difficult Piece’

Dr Erardi said “the difficult piece” is trying to stay ahead of social media. While he estimated the first message to parents was sent within five minutes of the building going into lock-in mode, he also knows that some parents already had information through their Twitter accounts.

Saying he is sensitive to how parents may react when hearing his voice on voicemails, Dr Erardi said, “However, when I weigh the pros and cons with that, it’s the best that we can do to get the information to you as quick as we possibly can.”

A range of questions and concerns were aired during the evening. Parents and community members wanted to know why only NHS was affected by the lock-in, how to talk to their children about the situation, more details about the threat, and how the situation would end.

While Chief Kehoe repeated that further details being released about the threat could hinder the investigation, Dr Erardi did say he is hopeful that an announcement will eventually be made that the perpetrator is caught.

Other parents voiced concerns about their children not being made aware of the lock-in, about windows in areas of the building housing students, about students being able to text parents from school, and more.

Near the end of the evening, Dr Erardi said if he had to relive the day, he would not change the school’s response in any way.

“If there is one shred of validity in that threat, that’s where we’re going,” said Dr Erardi. “I’d rather have that conversation about [erring on the side of] safety than about an error of judgment in the opposite direction.”

Dr Erardi also shared that if parents have further concerns or comments he can be contacted.