Springfield Public Schools and Republic School District respond to safety concerns

SPRINGFIELD, Missouri (KY3) – Springfield Public Schools has sent messages to families and teachers regarding threats circulating on social media that are deemed not credible.

“So we’re very grateful to those who have come forward to make sure we hear about these posts,” says Stephen Hall, chief communications officer for Springfield Public Schools.

The district is one of many that have taken notice of a nationwide social media trend involving threatening messages related to schools. Some of the threats mention specific schools, others do not.

According to Hall, some SPS families informed the district about some social media posts that concerned them: “We were able to launch an investigation, which included our school police officers, and we were able to determine that there is currently no reportable incident in Springfield.”

Springfield police responded to a 911 call about a security problem at Reed Academy on Thursday morning. Police also found the threat implausible. The FBI is not investigating.

“The FBI takes potential false reports very seriously because they put innocent people at risk,” an FBI spokesperson said. “We work closely with our law enforcement partners to determine their credibility, share information and take appropriate investigative actions. As always, we encourage the public to remain vigilant and immediately report anything they believe to be suspicious to law enforcement.”

In a statement to parents and teachers, SPS leaders say, “We have received reports that families at some SPS schools have seen similar posts, and our school police are currently investigating. Our policy is to always take any threatening post seriously and investigate thoroughly. At this time, we have no reason to believe there is a credible threat associated with our Springfield schools.”

SPS leaders say if you have specific information about the social media posts in question, you should report them. You can do this in several ways. Call school police at (417) 523-2911 or text the anonymous tip line at (417) 319-2901. Or contact a school administrator.

“As a district, we felt it was appropriate to remind people that while it is very important to report concerns, we also want to remind people how best to report them. We need to make sure the report gets to the people who can conduct the investigation as thoroughly and timely as possible, and that was the purpose of today's communication,” Hall says.

The Republic School District released a statement to parents about an incident between students outside of school. The district said the report was unsubstantiated and unrelated to other external social media posts or warnings from other districts.

First of all, we would like to assure you that the students of the Republic are safe Learning in school today.

This morning, Republic School District administration and School Resource Officers were made aware of a potential safety concern at Republic Middle School resulting from a threat made between students outside of school. School District administration and the School Police Team quickly and thoroughly investigated this incident and concluded that the threat was not credible.

The situation was handled according to district policy, but inaccurate information continues to circulate.

With this message we would like to inform our school community that This threat poses no danger to students, staff, or facilities in our district, especially Republic Middle School.

Please know that the well-being of our students and staff is our top priority. We take all reports of potential threats seriously and make every effort to create an environment where students and staff feel safe.

We want to continue to encourage our students and school community to report anything that may pose a threat to school safety. With our highly trained School Resource Officers and our partnership with the Republic Police Department, we are well equipped to respond to any emergency situation in our district.

Thank you for your attention to this important update.

On Wednesday, the Lebanon School District released similar statements regarding social media posts from other states.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol's Courage to Report website has helpful information on reporting threats. You can find the website here.

To report a correction or typo, please send an email to [email protected]. Please include the item information in the subject line of the email.

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