WEST TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV)— After threats were made at multiple Vigo County schools last week, Vigo County School Corporation officials said this was a learning experience.
Its Safety and Security Coordinator Kurt Brinegar said people can’t jump to conclusions in these hectic situations.
“Sometimes it is difficult to put out certain information because there is a current investigation going on, which is what occurred last week,” said Brinegar. “Last week, some of that information wasn’t available, but parents and students were communicating with each other, so the students were pretty upset which then upsets the parents.”
He said the spreading of false information on all social media platforms made everything more difficult to manage.
“If you don’t know the facts and you post something that you think is the facts, just make sure that it is the truth,” said Brinegar. “If you put something false out there it can start another firestorm for something else and then we have to investigate that as well.”
Another big focus going into this week is the mental health and well-being of the students. Behavioral Health and Wellness Coordinator Dr. Megan Kirk said all staff within the school building are trained to keep everything as safe as possible.
“Our teachers are trained, our students have been through the drills, but we still just want to reinforce that our schools are safe places,” said Kirk. “We have a wonderful SRO program with officers in each building to help ensure our safety and, of course, our staff’s main goal is to make our students feel safe at school as well.”
She added that a student’s mental health is as important as their other needs.
“Our ultimate goal is making sure that they are safe not just physically, but their psychological state and their wellbeing so that they feel safe so that learning can take place, and they can keep moving forward in their academics,” said Kirk.
Officials said that they are also planning to implement a new app as early as fall break. They hope that this new line of communication will help cut down on false rumors and disinformation.
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