Eli Roust

On Friday, Dec 1, Free State administration sent the building into a “soft lockdown,” meaning teachers were told to lock their doors and continue teaching. For classes like choir, this posed a problem as the auditorium doors don’t lock, so they were forced to move into the shop nearby.

This morning at 10:26 a.m. the school entered an eight minute “soft lockdown” due to a potential security threat that was dismissed. According to Executive Director of Communications Julie Boyle, the lockdown was put in place due to a message flagged by the schools safety management software, Gaggle. 

Gaggle, a district-implemented software, made its debut prior to the fall break. The safety management system notifies district staff of several potential safety concerns for their further investigation or follow-up based on designated keywords/phrases found in communications/documents on students’ district-issued technology devices and accounts. 

This morning, Gaggle alerted the Free State High administration to a potential student email threat; the school administration used a lockdown as a safety precaution while they interviewed the students involved and determined there was no threat made. 

In an email to staff members, McAnarney stated that the message regarded a weapon on comments relating to a TikTok video, but was not credible.

Shortly after the investigation, the lockdown was lifted and classes went on for the remainder of the school day.