Security has been beefed up at a Yellowknife school following the arrest of a student who is accused of making death threats toward classmates.
Parents were notified about the added safeguards via an email sent by the school's principal on Friday.
Yellowknife is not naming the principal as the name of the school is under a publication ban that was requested by the 13-year-old student's lawyer Peter Harte.
The principal wrote in an email that since the alleged incident March 15, an eight-step plan has been put into motion that includes locking all exterior entrances during school hours, except the main entrance; installing more security cameras so all four school exits can be monitored; installing a monitor in the school's office to help watch for potential threats outside of the building; and upgrading locks on all classroom doors.
“I would like to reiterate my commitment to the safety and well being of everyone, students and staff at the school,” the principal stated. “ I am taking this incident very seriously and have been addressing the various aspects of it throughout the spring break.”
The principal also addressed what she calls “concerns” about how the information on the threats had been initially conveyed to parents. Her email indicated that some parents may have learned about the incident through the media.
The principal explained that she had written an earlier message to parents prior to issuing a news release on March 21 but it didn't reach them because it was sent by the school's former secretary whose email account had been disabled.
“You have my word that I did create and send the original email on the morning of March 21-- unfortunately technology does not always behave the way that we expect it to,” the principal stated.
Yellowknifer called the principal for comment but did not get a response by press time.
She added in Friday's email that a lock-down practice drill is taking place at the school tomorrow.
“I will personally go to every homeroom to review the lock-down procedures. As with fire drills, we are required to practise lock-downs throughout the year so this will be our spring practice,” she wrote.
The principal stated there is a chance the student accused of making the threats could return to the classroom.
“The student who was charged will not be allowed to return to school until we are satisfied that it is safe to do so,” the principal stated. “We are also working with other community agencies to ensure that this student receives appropriate intervention and support.”
Yellowknife Education District No. 1 board chairperson John Stephenson said there are procedures in place to deal with threats. However, Stephenson said since becoming the chair he does not recall ever hearing of a student making death threats.
“All school staff and administration take safety in our schools very seriously,” said Stephenson. “These types of incidents have come up in the past ... emergency, bomb threats and in those cases RCMP always react right away.”
Stephenson said previous threats have turned out to be hoaxes.
“'How do you prevent a student from uttering threats,'” said Stephenson. “There's no way to prevent that, there is no way to prevent a student from uttering threats to a classmate.”
Stephenson added school trustees and administration will be briefed about the principal's new security measures at their next board meeting on April 10.
The lawyer representing the student charged with making threats made a brief appearance in territorial court on his behalf Tuesday morning. Harte advised the judge that he will be asking Thursday to amend his client's release conditions, which include house arrest. The student is facing three counts of uttering threats.
-- with files from Brendan Burke