Golden Valley High School parents expressed concern after a written threat was made at GVHS Monday and they weren't alerted until hours later.
The principal of GVHS, Paul Helman, said they try to alert parents as soon as possible after any incident, but their first concern yesterday was making sure students were safe, launching the initial investigation and then notifying parents.
“We need the time to accurately assess our threats, and accurately assess whether it’s credible or not credible,” said Helman.
Helman said before their initial investigation was completed Monday, parents were calling and asking about the threat. He said staff took all calls and explained to parents the situation, he encouraged all parents to reach out to the school if they ever have a concern about the safety of their student.
He said, “In every incident we do our best to get that phone call home to our parents in a reasonable time.”
He also added GVHS will continue to work to alert parents as soon as possible for any future incidents.
Helman said the investigation is ongoing and he said once investigators determine who did it and why they will determine the consequences, including the student being suspended or expelled and potential criminal charges.
“There’s a variety of reasons we could speculate why a student would, would put that type of threat into the bathroom. Could it be a cry for help? Absolutely," said Helman. He said GVHS has multiple resources on campus to aide someone if they need it.
Jessica Burzlaff, a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, said she saw the threat on social media Monday and the word that stuck out to her was "bullied."
Burzlaff said when a student acts out like this, it can some times be a last ditch effort as a cry for help.
She said in the U.S., threats at schools has increased more than 100 percent in the past few years, but admits the reason behind the increase in unknown.
"Whether that's because there is an increase in students who would actually go through and commit violence or whether there are students who are exploiting our culture of fear to get out of school, or a test, or just for fun, it's unclear. But the danger is, you have to treat every threat as an actual threat," said Burzlaff.
While Burzlaff admits the entire stunt could've been a ploy for a student to get out of a test, but if it wasn't, she said, it is crucial the student gets the help she or he needs.
"She needs somebody to intervene and have empathy for her and help her build tools that she can rely on that she won’t resort to this kind of violence or this kind of stunt really to get the attention that she obviously needs," said Burzlaff.
Burzlaff says when students act out with a threat, like the one yesterday, it may be a cry for help or a sign of depression.
While she points out depressed people are more likely to be the target of a crime and not the perpetrator, she said parents should look for signs of depression, such as changes in sleeping or eating habits, their grades dropping, or a lack of concentration.
She said if you notice changes in a loved one, it’s important to address them.
“Saying to them I see that you’re suffering, what can I do to help you? And taking it seriously can make a huge, difference and that’s an intervention almost anyone can do," said Burzlaff.
For more information on how to approach someone you may think is depressed or more on the warning signs you can click here.
