Message from Roseburg Schools Superintendent Jared Cordon

Dear Roseburg families, Thank you for your patience as schools throughout Douglas County experienced threats of violence on our campuses this morning. Thankfully, law enforcement determined that these threats were a hoax and were not credible. However, the stress and anxiety that situations like this can cause are very real. We share the community’s frustration with senseless acts like this that create unneeded alarm and disruption. Here is a brief recap of today’s incident: We received a report of a potential active shooter on the RHS campus. Following our district safety procedures, RHS immediately went into a lock down. Shortly after the report was received at Roseburg High School, 911 dispatch contacted our district office and directed us to place all schools on lockdown. Similar threats were simultaneously occurring around Oregon school districts today, and all were eventually deemed not credible. Central Office administrators immediately notified schools of the lockdown and all schools were immediately placed into lockdown. Lockdown procedures were maintained until law enforcement physically cleared each building to determine that there was no threat on campus. Once each building was deemed secure, schools were reopened to normal operations and parents were invited to pick up their children, if they desired. I encourage you to check in with your children this afternoon to see how they are coping with the stress of today’s situation. Please know that our counselors and school therapists will be on hand to provide emotional and mental health support to students as needed. Please do not hesitate to contact your child’s school if you feel they need additional support. I would like to thank our local law enforcement officers for their prompt and comprehensive response. We are incredibly grateful for their support and partnership in keeping our students, staff and community safe. You may remember last fall that we communicated with families about the rising trend in these hoax threats, known as “swatting,” around the country. The school district and law enforcement work collaboratively anytime there is a potential threat. We always take threats seriously and will follow our Emergency Operations Plan until potential threats are assessed. Thank you to parents and guardians who followed law enforcement and school staff instruction and precautionary measures. I understand that some families are concerned with the timeliness of our messaging procedures. We sent out an initial email via our One Call system shortly after receiving the lockdown request from law enforcement. We’ve received reports from some parents that there are delays from the time messages are sent to when they are received, which is frustrating to us as well. This is also the case for phone calls sent via One Call. We are in communication with the vendor to ensure efficiency and effectiveness. For this reason, the most up-to-date emergency communications (and weather-related notifications) will always be immediately posted on our website, www.roseburg.k12.or.us. Again, please know that our school staff are here for you and your children. Our students’ safety is our top priority, and I appreciate your ongoing support as we strive to maintain safe and healthy learning environments for our students. Sincerely, Jared Cordon Superintendent, Roseburg Schools