Manitowoc Public Schools superintendent is explaining how the school is keeping kids safe following the incident at Wilson Intermediate School.
Superintendent Lee Thennes said on WOMT’s Be My Guest program that the district can send a message to parents with students in the district during an event when students could be in danger.
That could mean a hold, where students are asked to remain in place at a school, a secure status, when something is happening outside near a school, or, in the case of last Friday, a lockdown.
He noted, “We moved from a hold to a lockdown when the police came in to do the search for what they were looking for.”
It was reported that a student might have had a weapon on them, but it was later determined that it was false.
Thennes says he understands that when a school is put on lockdown, everyone wants to know why immediately, but the school’s priority is making sure all students and staff are safe before they can communicate.
“Trust me, we are working really hard to make sure everyone is safe,” he explained. “But we can’t pause that work to like to send you an update. That can’t happen. We can send you something as soon as it’s humanly possible, which we did in this situation.”
If students needed to evacuate off-site, Thennes said there is another communication system to let parents know as well.
The superintendent also noted that social media is not the best source of information for incidents like last Friday’s.
Direct communication from them will be the best way to know what’s happening.
