Tips caused administrators to be more cautious during Monday ‘crackdown’
Published 11:21 am Thursday, December 15, 2011
Austin High School administrators were out and about on Monday due to information that caused staff to be more cautious about student behavior, according to AHS officials.
School officials notified high school parents Monday night about steps they took to maintain safety at the school Monday, including doing a walkthrough on Sunday night, limiting access to the building to five doors, enforcing the student handbook policy concerning book bags, large purses and student dress, and having more administrators out and about.
“We were out and about and more present,” AHS Principal Brad Bergstrom told the Herald on Thursday. “I think the kids referred to it as crackdown Monday.”
However, on Monday, Bergstrom told the Herald that administrators were out walking around and that the school was going through activities related to its Week of Caring, but he did not mention the building’s door limitations or the Sunday walkthrough.
There was no lockdown or Code Red, however, contrary to rumors posted on social media websites like Facebook.
“It was important for parents to know that there was no issues of lockdowns,” Bergstrom said Thursday.
Bergstrom said there was never a threat but that the school deals with safety-related tips all the time. When a tip comes in, administrators try to determine whether it’s true. If they can’t prove the safety issue as false, administrators respond accordingly.
That’s what occurred on Monday, but Bergstrom said there was no threat to student safety.
“The biggest thing is, we were having issues with kids and their timeliness to class,” Bergstrom said.
AHS has been in two Code Red lockdowns this year.