Elmwood Park High School classes remote Friday due to 'potential threat' directed at planned walkout
CHICAGO (CBS)-- Students at Elmwood Park High School will be e-learning Friday after a "potential threat."
The district superintendent's office told CBS 2 the decision came after they received a potential threat about a walkout planned for Friday.
Students planned the protest over safety and security concerns for 10 a.m.
"Out of an abundance of caution, we will move to an e-learning day today at EPHS," school officials said in a message to the school community.
Earlier this week, there were reports of a student found with a gun on campus. But, the school didn't order a lockdown because the principal said it was not "deemed to be the safest response."
The student who allegedly had the weapon was located shortly after the school learned of the potential threat about a block from the school. He was arrested and charged on Monday.
CBS 2's Tara Molina spoke to the head of security who claimed the school improperly handled the situation, which is why he's speaking out. He said he and everyone in the school was put in an unsafe position.
The superintendent said otherwise.
The school's head of security is on administrative leave for what the district's superintendent called unauthorized interference with the ongoing investigation and more. The security official spoke to CBS 2 about this concern but we are not showing his face or disclosing his name. He said the whole school was put at risk.
"Anytime there's a weapon in the building, we have to follow procedure," he said.
He claims school officials never put the school on lockdown or alerted police after hearing claims of a student with a gun.
"One of my main concerns was that the protocol wasn't established here," the head of security said. "We did not go into a full lockdown."
But the district's superintendent, Leah Gauthier said in a statement, "both the Elmwood Park and River Grove Police Department affirmed that the actions taken on Monday mitigated the threat within the school."
River Grove's police chief also wouldn't address concerns about no lockdown and said, "I am not commenting on school policy or procedure."
The security head added, "We need to look at this as a learning situation where we can make it safer for the kids at Elmwood Park High School and the teachers, the whole staff."
The president of Elmwod Park teachers union said in a statement on Friday:
"With student and staff safety as our biggest concern, we are thankful no one was physically harmed during Monday's events. Collectively, the Elmwood Park Educational Team (EPET), Elmwood Park Custodian Association (EPCA) and the Paraprofessional and School Related Personnel (PSRP) will continue to advocate for the safety of all our staff and students, including our most vulnerable. We want to work with administration, but we insist on full transparency in order to move forward with trust and assurance. Student safety needs to be the district's priority, and it will continue to be our priority."
Gauthier's full statement read:
"Since first responding to a serious incident that occurred at Elmwood Park High school on Monday, March 6, District 401 administrators have been meeting with local law enforcement to review our handling of this matter. Following those discussions, both the Elmwood Park and River Grove Police Department affirmed that the actions taken on Monday mitigated the threat within the school.
Today, a school staff member, who had been placed on leave due to allegations of both inappropriate conduct with a student and unauthorized interference with the ongoing law enforcement investigation of Monday's incident participated in a media interview. During this interview, they made misleading statements about school administrators' handling of the matter and inappropriately discussed sensitive student information, and confidential school and police information. We regret that this individual's actions have caused further stress and concern to our school community.
We understand the passion and concerns around school safety. Moving forward, we will continue to partner with our law enforcement partners to review protocols and training to maintain and enhance the safety and security of our school buildings. This includes our decision today to transition to e-learning following our discovery of a social media threat of violence that was later deemed by law enforcement to be unfounded.
Our students are our future and our most important assets. Elmwood Park Community Unit School District 401 remains committed to providing a safe learning environment and will continue to make the safety and well-being of our students, staff and schools our top priority."
