Principal DeCorian Hailey announced Monday, April 14, that students will not be allowed to bring backpacks to campus from Tuesday, April 15, through Friday, April 18. In addition, STAAR testing originally scheduled for Tuesday has been postponed to Wednesday.
The announcement was made over the school’s public address system and later emailed to parents, students and staff following a social media threat posted to the anonymous, student-created Instagram account @braswellnewss earlier in the day.
As a precaution, police presence on campus will be increased and metal detectors will be used at entry points. Students are encouraged to adjust their arrival times to accommodate security checks, which staff will conduct as efficiently as possible.
“The Little Elm Police Department is currently investigating a potential threat that was made against our school,” Hailey said in the email to parents. “Out of an abundance of caution, there will be an increased police presence at Braswell High School tomorrow, as well as the use of metal detectors upon arrival.”
In addition to the heightened security, students will not be allowed to bring backpacks to campus for the remainder of the week.
“Because STAAR testing is this week, we had already asked that our students not bring backpacks to campus,” Hailey said. “Please allow extra time for your student(s) upon arrival, and know that we are conducting checks as efficiently as possible.”
Students are permitted to bring a small purse, no larger than 5.5×8 inches, and lunch boxes.
STAAR testing for all grade levels—except seniors who have already passed their required exams—has been moved to Wednesday, April 15. Makeup testing will take place Thursday. Seniors who have passed their STAAR exams should report to their assigned study hall rooms during first through third periods Wednesday.
The testing room and senior study hall room assignments and bell schedule emailed out by the testing coordinator, Michelle Bilgri, will now be used on Wednesday instead of Tuesday.
Students are encouraged to report any concerns through the STOPit app. Reports of cyberbullying, threats of violence or self-harm remain anonymous. The STOPit app can be downloaded from any app store; use the code “Braswell” to submit concerns.
“Please know that we take any potential threat to our students, staff and campus seriously,” Hailey said. “We value the trust you place in us, and we work daily to ensure your student feels safe on our campus.”
