Parents appear to be left in the dark along with everyone else who lives in the neighborhood around Garfield High School in Seattle. The district called an early dismissal on Thursday and canceled all in-person learning on Friday, for both Garfield and Nova high schools.
“I do think there should be more engagement with families,” said Kayla Epting, the Garfield High School Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA) President.
The only information Seattle Public Schools (SPS) released was that the threat appeared to be related to dismissal time and after school. SPS sent everyone home early on Thursday and canceled all after school programs. Parents, students and neighbors want to know why and that question remains unanswered.
Where did the threat come from? Was it one person or more than one? Was it swatting or a threat on social media? And how long will this remote learning continue? All unanswered questions that KOMO News posed to both the district and Seattle Police, without many definitive answers coming back.
"We know the increase in violence in our community has raised concerns for students, families, and staff. [Seattle Public Schools] will be using this time to gather information, consult with partners, and work on measures to support our school," Garfield High School Principal Dr. Tarance Hart said in a statement on the school website.
Seattle Police said they're diligently working to identify and address the "ongoing disputes resulting in violence" around Garfield High School. The department announced they'd be starting a patrol emphasis in the area to "provide police presence to assist in protecting public safety in the community, deter possible criminal activity, prevent violence, and address suspicious behavior seen and or reported." Patrols will also be in the 9400 block of Rainier Avenue South to monitor issues that have recently risen.
“People are upset frustrated, angry all for valid reasons but again we want to also allow law-enforcement to do what they need to do,” said Epting.
KOMO News asked Seattle Police for more details about the threat but did not get any specifics. The same question went to Seattle Public Schools, which responded by saying their staff worked with SPD to investigate the threat that lead to the early dismissal and then remote learning.
“It broke my heart to hear that we’re doing remote learning,” said Epting.
But Epting did tell KOMO that she got some great feedback from parents, on how teachers handled it.
“Like hey this is a space where we can have conversations and I’m feeling just how y’all are feeling, how are you feeling, and like asking students to interact,” Epting said.
Still, Epting said this is entire incident is negatively impacting students mental health and their view of just how safe they are at school. KOMO asked her if she thinks the district’s doing its best to keep students safe on campus.
“We have two security specialists in a student body of 1,700 so no, but this is what we have to work with,” said Epting.
“We can’t wait on them to come and rescue us, but we can come up with solutions that work for our community and go from there,” said Epting. “Do we have enough cameras? Do we have enough lighting? And looking at other potential deterrents we have on our campus.”
The Nova school is an alternative school committed to social and racial justice, access and equity, the arts, and environmental sustainability. Students and staff at Nova got a different letter than what went to Garfield High School parents and staff.
The Nova letter said, "Seattle Police Department and SPS Security were in the neighborhood and Garfield campus responding to a reported threat on Thursday, June 1. No incidents were seen or reported." But there are also reports that police were in the area prior to the decision to call for an early dismissal.
Garfield’s PTSA is meeting with school staff and Seattle Police Monday night. Epting called this meeting solution-based.
“I’m really hoping to see honest, authentic engagement. We can’t do this work alone," Epting said. "We are a small but mighty parent group, a group of administrators and a few community members that just refused to let violence and terror dominate our school environment.”
KOMO News also confirmed that a representative from the mayor’s office will attend that meeting.
The safety meeting is scheduled for Monday night, June 5, at 7 p.m. in the Garfield Commons.