Good afternoon, this is Steve Mares, Principal of Athens Drive Magnet High School, with a special message for Wednesday, January 11^th. A copy of this message will be posted on our school website (www.wcpss.net/athensdrivehs), emailed to our students, and emailed and texted to our school families.

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

I am sharing this special message because I want to keep our entire school family informed of the threat that we continue to investigate.

While we have not found the individual(s) responsible for writing the threat at this time, it is important to know that based on our investigation, which included WCPSS Security and law enforcement, the threat does not appear to be highly credible. Our strong partnership with these officials continues as we collaborate to keep our students, staff, and visitors safe.

Please know we take all threats such as this very seriously. Therefore, we have mobilized many resources to both investigate and prepare as if this is a legitimate threat to our school, and we continue to do that. We will have extra support from WCPSS Security and Law Enforcement on campus this Friday to ensure we have a great day of teaching and learning. Please also know that our staff has been trained to support efforts at our school in identifying, preventing, and responding to safety concerns. We have a solid plan in place to accomplish this.

Our commitment to providing a safe learning environment that is conducive to teaching and learning drives everything that we do. Our students are the most important individuals in our school, and I am proud of the care and leadership that our staff provides each day to take care of, inspire, lead, and positively impact them.

I also care about the concern and stress that this has caused for our students and families. Please know we can all support our students by reassuring them that Athens Drive takes safety very seriously. It is important to emphasize the role that students have in maintaining safe schools by following school safety guidelines, communicating any personal safety concerns to school administrators, and accessing support for their emotional needs. Here is a helpful resource, if needed, to utilize in speaking with your student:

• Talking to Children About Violence: Tips for Parents and Teachers. (2022).

If your student needs support related to this incident, please reach out to your student’s Counselor.

It is imperative that we continue to build a culture that encourages our students and families to feel confident that they can safely and securely report any suspicious activity to a trusted adult at school. They can also report such concerns by calling our anonymous tip line, 919-856-1911.

I greatly appreciate your continued support of a safe learning environment for our students, staff, and entire school family. My staff and I will be here on Friday to support our students in having a safe and productive day of teaching and learning.