KAUKAUNA — School districts are reassuring parents that there is no credible threat to a challenge sweeping through the social media app TikTok warning about school shootings Friday.
Kaukauna parents received a message from the school district Thursday saying no specific TikTok threat has not been made towards a school in the Kaukauna Area School District.
The original TikTok challenge has been shared across the country and urged students to skip school on Dec. 17. But at some point, the challenge was changed to a school shooting threat, according to media reports.
“We encourage you to speak with your student(s) about the seriousness of any threat of violence,” read the message. “We also encourage your student(s) to report any threats to police or school officials immediately, the practice of ‘Speak Up, Speak Out’ is essential to support greater safety in our schools.”
The Appleton School District and Appleton Police Department on Thursday issued a joint news release saying they don’t believe the threat to be credible, but they are closely monitoring the situation in collaboration with their School Resource Officers and are taking it seriously.
Police say the posts did not originate within the Appleton Area School District and did not include specific threats to Appleton schools or students.
School districts across the state and country are posting similar statements.
Read the full statementk from Appleton here:
The Appleton Area School District has become aware of a national trend on the social media platform TikTok. The trending posts refer to a threat to school safety on Friday, December 17.
The posts did not originate in our school district nor do they refer specifically to an AASD school. We have also heard reports from other districts that the same posts are circulating in their schools.
The district has been in contact with the Appleton Police Department regarding the posts. While we do not believe the threat to be credible, we are closely monitoring the situation in collaboration with our School Resource Officers (SRO) and taking it seriously.
This situation serves as a good example of why it is important to avoid sharing posts online that refer to school safety threats. Even if they are not credible threats, they can cause a great deal of stress and anxiety for our students, families, and staff. We ask our families to monitor their children’s social media activity and speak with them about proper behavior online.
If you or your student become aware of any potential threat posted to social media or anywhere else, please notify a school administrator or SRO as soon as possible.
As always, thank you for your partnership as we work to ensure a safe, secure, and positive learning environment for our students.
Sincerely,
Dr. Judith Baseman
Superintendent of SchoolsChief Todd Thomas
Appleton Police Department
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