Are my kids safe at school?
Two recent incidents at Temecula schools left parents and students wondering.
The week of March 4, 2024, saw a safety incident at Great Oak High School and the previous week one at Chaparral High. The one at GOHS became the more serious of the two, involving a verbal altercation at lunch on Tuesday, a student fight after school, a second fight Wednesday morning, and then rumors of a weapon that might be brought to campus. In the resulting fear, an estimated 45% of students stayed home on Thursday.
Fights happen, and school staff are trained to deal with them. But parents and students both worry about issues of safety and security, especially after an incident happens.
TVUSD Director of Security Jason Vickery presented information on these concerns at the March 12 school board meeting (starting at 3:03:30 in the video). Let’s review a few key points.
Why were communications to parents not consistent?
In the GOHS incident, the situation changed over time. The first communication to parents was after the verbal altercation, so at that point there had been no violence, only yelling. The situation and communications changed when the fight broke out after school—and then again the next day when the second fight occurred and rumors about a weapon began.
At the board meeting Mr. Vickery explained that every incident is unique and, like this one, may change or escalate over time. In addition, initial reports are often fuzzy. It takes time to investigate what happened and what might happen next.
Site administrators, on-site Campus Security personnel, School Resource Sheriff’s Deputies (SROs), Mr. Vickery, and Student Welfare & Success staff all work together to immediately investigate any incident and analyze any continuing threat. They question everyone involved and consider reports from students, parents, and staff; video; the validity of social media comments; and much more. If any weapon is rumored, the Sheriff’s office investigates at length.
Superintendent Dr. Woods emphasized that because these situations are usually fluid—but the district wants parents to be informed promptly—the first communication to parents is likely to be followed by additional communications as the situation changes, more facts are known, and the analysis continues. So later communications may be quite different from the first one. It’s frustrating for parents, but there’s no way to avoid inconsistency.
What role did social media play?
For the GOHS incident, social media comments blew everything up out of proportion within a few hours. Parents spread rumors online and accused the principal of lying, although her communications were completely accurate at the time she sent them. Even adults who had no students at the school and no knowledge of the campus or the incident made incendiary comments, fueling fears.
How can students and parents get information about an incident at school?
Step 1: DO NOT ask the community at large on Facebook or any other social media site what happened. They don’t know. But they will speculate anyway and assume things that aren’t true at all and get everyone upset. Try not to read it or contribute to it.
Step 2: DO watch for texts and emails from the school principal explaining what happened and what happens next. Realize that these communications walk a line between quick information and facts that may change later or will be known after investigation. Understand that this information will change.
Step 3: Trust the school, Sheriff’s Deputies, and district staff to fully investigate the situation and take necessary steps to address it. TVUSD employees are dedicated to keeping our students and staff safe, always.
Will school be closed?
Mr. Vickery emphasized that if there’s a creditable threat, school will be closed and the principal will let parents know. If there are a lot of rumors on social media but TVUSD Security and the Sheriff’s Department after investigation do not consider the threat valid, you can expect to see Sheriff’s Deputies at the school. They are there for reassurance.
Parents sometimes say that seeing Sheriff’s Deputies at their child’s school scares them and their kids. This reaction makes sense. Try to understand—and reassure your child—that the deputies are there out of an abundance of caution, to make sure students are safe, to make sure no one causes trouble on campus or in the street after school. It’s better to have them there to avoid trouble than not have them there if trouble occurs.
How can students or parents report rumors and concerns?
Mr. Vickery reminded all students and parents to use Let’s Talk to report anything you know that might be important for safety or security at school. Also use it to email related images or videos if you took any with your phone. Let’s Talk is set up to automatically send your email to the people who can investigate it.
As Trustee Barclay noted in the meeting, you can find Let’s Talk on every school’s homepage and on the district homepage. Just click the tan vertical tab on the right side of the screen. For example, here’s the Let’s Talk tab on the TVHS homepage:
Other ways to report concerns
If you use the Let’s Talk online reporting tool on the district’s Safety & Security Department webpage, your report goes to the same people as the Let’s Talk tab. So you can use either the tool or the tab.
You can also send a crime tip anonymously to the Riverside County Sheriff's office. Their forms are available in English and Spanish.
Other resources you should know about
IMPORTANT: If you have an imminent concern for your or someone else's safety or an emergency, please call 911 immediately. Do not hesitate.
Links to mental health and bullying resources (on the TVUSD website)
Information about weapons on campus (what is considered a weapon, district policy, and so on)
TVUSD’s Safety and Security Department, including the district’s Emergency Plan, canine inspections, visitors on campus, safety drills (fire, earthquake, lockdown), and more
We hope this review gives you helpful tools and information. To see the full presentation at the board meeting, watch the meeting video starting at 3:03:30.
Stay safe out there!