March 29, 2017
A Message from Superintendent of School Dr. Sal Corda:
Greenwich High School went in to a lock down this afternoon because of an observable threat that impacted student safety. This was not a bomb threat. However, it was a threat written on a bathroom wall that had specificity with regard to time and place, which necessitated swift action.
Because this is an ongoing investigation, I am not at liberty to share any more information about the threat. The Greenwich Police Department and the Board of Education take this issue very seriously and it will be investigated thoroughly.
Our procedures were implemented and students did an outstanding job in following the directions of the staff. The high school administration and the staff acted with a high level of professionalism and evidenced the strongest of concerns for student safety at every step of the process.
The Greenwich Police Department had an imposing presence, guided our actions at every step, and facilitated a smooth process where every room was thoroughly searched and every student was appropriate searched by a male or female member of the high school staff.
The central office support center acted efficiently and effectively, periodically issuing updates to keep our community as completely informed as we were able to given the constraints of an investigation.
In three hours from the time of the lock down until students were dismissed from school, we took all of the steps necessary to ensure that our students were safe. Given a high school of our size, in physical plant and in student body, that is an admirable achievement.
All of the other schools were dismissed at their regular time and high school students were on their way home at approximately 4:00pm.
I cannot compliment our staff and our police department strongly enough for their outstanding work.
We appreciated the presence of the First Selectman, Peter Tesei and Selectman, Drew Marzullo.
The community should feel secure in the knowledge that our emergency procedures worked flawlessly. We will debrief as a school team and with the police department to continually improve our process.
We urge parents to engage their children in active conversation reinforcing with them that our primary goal is their safety and that actions like this cannot and will not be tolerated. The police will continue in their investigation. We will provide further updates as information becomes available and we are able to share it.
Sal Corda
Interim Greenwich Schools Superintendent