Winston Salem Times

Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools issued the following announcement on September 10.

September 10, 2021 - Please see below for a letter from WS/FCS Superintendent Tricia McManus -

Good afternoon WS/FCS students, parents, and staff,

After the events in our community this past week, school safety is on everyone’s mind.  Keeping our students safe is a top priority and I need your help.  As you know we had the horrific event at Mount Tabor, we found a gun at Parkland, we’ve had some disruptions among students at other schools, and in the last few days we have had multiple reports of concerning or threatening social media posts.  None of these things are ok.  Threatening but false posts are not funny.  Fighting is unacceptable, and guns, real or fake, will not be tolerated on campus, ever.  

This year more than ever, our students need to be in school.  We need our students focused, comfortable, and safe inside our learning environments. We have lots of ground to cover to help students who missed valuable class time due to the pandemic, but all of these unnecessary and intolerable distractions are taking valuable time away from our schools.

As we enter a weekend, and a much-needed break, I am asking for your help.  Parents we need you to be vigilant in helping us to remind students that guns or anything resembling a weapon are never welcome on campus. Remind students that violence does not solve conflict and we have many resources in our schools to help our students resolve issues.  And help us in making sure everyone understands that false information, rumors, threats, or downright lies on social media or otherwise are damaging and disturbing, especially when they are reposted. All of these actions can lead to serious consequences.

We are thankful for our Forsyth County Sheriff’s Officers and Kernersville Police Officers that serve as School Resource Officers. You can rest assured they are doing everything possible to keep students safe.  They are following up on every concerning social media post and every tip we are made aware of. If there ever is a credible threat, we will make parents aware.

Over the coming days, I ask that you talk with your children about these things. Remind them that we never want to miss any information that can prevent an act of violence. Remind them to tell someone they trust any time they see something that concerns them.  Report concerning posts on social media, but do not repost them.  Reposting items, truthful or not, gives the author of that post power.  Reposting does exactly what the author wants which is to cause fear and, in most cases, spread untruths.

Thank you for your help and understanding; now let’s focus on facts, on building character, on being kind, on being successful and on learning. We must stand strong against violence in our schools and in our community, and we must continue to serve as each other’s eyes and ears and report what we see, without reposting it. Thank you for always letting us know when you see or hear something that concerns you.

Sincerely,

Tricia McManus - WS/FCS Superintendent

Original source can be found here.