UPDATE 10:30 A.M. (5/5)
PEORIA, Ill. — Peoria Public Schools says an “inappropriate object” was discovered on a bus serving students at Kellar Primary School last week.
PPS Superintendent Dr. Sharon Demoulin-Kherat tells WMBD’s “The Greg and Dan Show”, the district takes safety of its students and staff very seriously…saying each building has its own threat assessment team that follows a time-tested series of procedures.
“Here’s some guiding questions that we ask: Is the threat imminent? In this situation, no. Can this threat be spread? In this situation, no. Is the threat contained? Yes,” Kherat says.
According to the superintendent, the Kellar Primary student was taken to the principal’s office where the item was confiscated, and because it was not a widespread threat, the district’s mass notification system was not used.
Kherat says Peoria Public Schools works very closely with the Peoria Police Department to handle these types of situations.
“We very good with the safety teams. We have a lot of pieces, we have a lot of cooperation, Kherat says.
“Anyone that sent me an email, I responded to them, and basically shared with them why the mass notification was not made,” Kherat adds.
PEORIA, Ill. – It’s apparently the sort of thing that happens all the time, but it’s something that had some parents at a North Peoria school concerned.
Peoria Public Schools says what they call an “inappropriate object” was discovered on a bus serving students at Kellar Primary School last week.
A school district spokesperson says the student was taken to the principal’s office where it was confiscated, and because it was not a widespread threat, the district’s mass notification system was not used.
“Our threat assessment team abides by a series of time-tested procedures when responding to safety concerns across the district,” said Haleemah, Na’Allah, Director of Communications and Community Engagement, in a prepared statement. “As displayed by this instance, our staff are trained to swiftly de-escalate matters before they pose a threat to students and staff. Mass notifications are not utilized in the absence of an active and/or widespread threat.”
Na’Allah said with 12,800 students, so-called “inappropriate objects” are confiscated all the time.
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