Today our District was made aware of a social media post on the TikTok platform that encourages threats to school safety on Friday, December 17. This post is circulating nationwide, and did not originate in our community or reference any of the schools in the Sherwood School District. The threat is non-specific and non-targeted. While we do not believe the threat is credible, we take all matters of school safety seriously.
Our law enforcement partners at the Sherwood Police Department are also aware of this issue, and have committed to providing extra presence at all Sherwood School District schools tomorrow.
We recognize that even non-credible threats can cause stress for our students, families and staff. With the nature of this post and the wide-spread awareness of it in our community, we encourage you to use this as an opportunity to have a conversation with your student about the nature of viral posts on social media. We ask our parents/guardians to monitor their students’ social media activity and speak with them about not sharing these types of posts, which only serve to spread unfounded rumors and increase anxiety.
If your student becomes aware of any potential threat posted on social media or elsewhere, please encourage them to notify school staff or a trusted adult right away. They also can make an anonymous report through SafeOregon by email (tip@safeoregon.com),or call/text (844-472-3367). Reports of school safety threats in our District can also be reported to the Sherwood Police Department directly at 503-629-0111.
Please be assured that your student’s safety is always our top priority. We appreciate your continued partnership.