What was once considered idle chatter now merits serious response
By Jennifer Eisenbart
Staff Writer
The year 2016 was reportedly a difficult one when it comes to threats made at schools in the area.
Perhaps that’s most evident in the Burlington Area School District, which – while still dealing with the fallout from two middle school students who allegedly compiled a hit list of classmates – had its second threat left in a restroom at Burlington High School in recent months.
Whether or not there are more threats these days, the world is certainly more aware of them, said Dr. Steve Braam, a psychologist who practices at Clinical Psychology Associates in Burlington.
“We know it better and we understand it better and we’re more aware of it now,” Braam said. “A lot of it has to do with awareness.
“Before Columbine, we weren’t aware,” he added. “It didn’t capture us the way it has since then.
“It certainly changed things, that’s for sure.”
The Columbine incident, where two high school seniors at Columbine High School murdered 12 students and a teacher, was the incident that set the precedent.
Braam said youngsters’ fascination with violence and situations like Columbine can lead to more threats.
“Our kids are much more used to violence than ever before,” Braam said. “I don’t think that’s a good thing.”
The awareness of those situations has brought action plans into place, ranging from tabletop exercises by area police working in tandem with school districts to a Safe School Initiative published by the United States Secret Service in 2002.
The Secret Service report identified, among other things, the importance of obtainable information before an attack. Using the Exceptional Case Study Project that was started in 1992, the Secret Service looked to find behaviors that could precede an attack in hopes of stopping it.
Locally, the Whitewater Unified School District has made efforts to have a better overall awareness that these types of situations may arise and has put forth an effort to develop plans to be prepared.
“In Whitewater, we have focused on strengthening relationships and developing options for our staff and students,” Elworthy said. “We are in continuous communication with local law enforcement and families about safety.”
With law enforcement, the district provides professional development for staff and students to empower them to “ACT,” which is an acronym for acknowledge, care and tell. The idea of “ACT” is to promote a safe and educational environment in the schools, which is the district’s top priority, Elworthy said.
What constitutes a threat?
Braam said there are criteria that can indicate whether or not a threat is simply chatter between students – or something dangerous.
Some of those criteria are:
- A threat aimed at specific targets.
- A plan in place.
- A history of violence or threats in the past.
- Stressors, such as a death in the family, or some criminal act or trauma.
- A history of mental illness.
“When you know what it is you’re looking for, you can put the pieces together really easily,” Braam said.
However, hindsight is definitely 20-20. The good news is that students are more aware and are reaching out to trusted adults.
“We’re not only trying to educate the adults, but the children,” Braam said.
Braam said a large part of the puzzle is teaching children how to respond appropriately when they see something like that happening around them.
“A lot of parents have done a good job of educating their children,” Braam said. “(Children) don’t always know who to turn to. If someone says something like that, they don’t know who to tell.
“Kids certainly need to be able to trust their teachers and their guidance counselors and their principals,” he added. “They need to talk about that. They don’t have to make a decision what to do about that.”
Braam was pleased with the way Burlington Area School District officials and the City of Burlington police responded to the student threat at Karcher Middle School earlier this month.
“In the cases we’re talking about in Burlington, they at least got it right,” he explained. “You can’t dismiss that. You don’t have the ability to make that kind of evaluation.
“The police – they got it right,” he added.
But in a world where violence is becoming increasingly part of everyday life, Braam also thought it might be a time to move away from hyperbole, from people venting frustration with threats of violence no matter how unlikely they are to perform them.
“I think it’s about time we change our language,” Braam said. “I think we have to do so in terms of our feelings.”
“Violence is just way too prevalent in the world today,” he added. “When we use it in common language, we’re telling our children that’s OK – and it’s not.”
Burlington follow-up
According to BASD Superintendent Peter Smet, the Dec. 14 threat found at Burlington High School was not specific to any one person or the student body as a whole.
A student saw the threat on the bathroom wall and shared it via social media. Staff then became aware of the threat.
Students were held in their classrooms or activity areas while police checked the situation and confirmed there was no danger, Smet said.
It came on the heels of an incident involving two Karcher Middle School students who are now charged in court with felonies for conspiracy to commit murder. They allegedly discussed and created a hit list that specified students by name.
While that incident was deemed more serious and led to charges, threats like those found in school restrooms recently can be more difficult to decipher.
Smet said other school districts are dealing with similar threats – often seen as copycat events.
“I think any time we deal with teenagers who sometimes make bad decisions …
you have to err on the side of caution and determine safety,” Smet said. “Situations like this are exacerbated by cell phones and social media.”
Waterford Union High School was forced to deal with a threat that was circulated via social media in mid November. The district brought in the Racine County Sheriff’s Department to investigate and then worked to return to normal as soon as possible after the threat was deemed to have no credibility.
“Those things happen,” Superintendent Keith Brandstetter said at the time. “We deal with them and move on.”
