Message to Bothell High School Families: Remote Learning on Dec. 2, 2021

Last night, you received notification from Principal Price that graffiti was discovered on campus that threatened violence to our Bothell High School community on Thursday, Dec. 2. As with all issues of safety, we are taking the matter seriously. Law enforcement was contacted immediately, and we are continuing to investigate the threat in partnership with the Bothell Police Department and District Safety and Security staff. In addition, we worked with the Bothell Police Department to increase their presence on campus today, including a full sweep of the campus this evening based on more threats of concern made on social media.

Because law enforcement and school officials are still working on the case to identify the source of the threat(s), I have decided to close the Bothell High School campus for Thursday, Dec. 2 out of an abundance of caution. Instead, students and staff will remotely follow the 7-period schedule. There will be no new formal instruction, but staff will hold “office hours” on Zoom during regular class periods to provide academic support. Staff will post their Zoom links on Schoology and email those same links to students. Students will not be required to participate in “office hours” but are encouraged to utilize the “office hours” if they wish to connect with their teacher. On Friday, we plan to have Bothell High School students and staff back in person utilizing the missed block schedule with periods 1, 3, 5, and 7. There will be no PAWS release.

I want to directly address the individual(s) who wrote the threatening message and those who may know who did it. If this message was meant as a call for help, threatening anyone, let alone an entire school population is not the way. We have counselors and school staff ready to provide support as appropriate. The first step is coming forward. If there is an issue with anyone in the school, there are a number of avenues to resolve the issue. Our priority is to make sure everyone is safe. If it was meant as a joke, these types of threats are not a laughing matter and will be taken seriously. Your school community is counting on you to provide information immediately if you have it.

Parents and guardians, we encourage you to have conversations with your students that if they know something about this incident to report it immediately to the Bothell Police Department. Their non-emergency phone number is (425-486-1254), and it is monitored 24 hours a day. If at any time you believe you have knowledge of any situation where danger is imminent, dial 911 immediately. During the school day, you or your student can contact any member of the school administration or our school resource officer, Garrett Ware. In situations where you do not believe there is imminent danger, you can also choose to use our 24-hour Safe Schools Alert System using the contact information below:

• Call - 885-521-2665
• Text - 885-521-2665
• Email - 1414@alert1.us
• Website - 1414.alert1.us

We understand that events such as this can cause anxiety in our students. If your student expresses any anxieties or you feel your student needs someone to talk to, we will have counselors available when students return to school.

I appreciate all who are involved in this investigation. We will provide an update as we have more information.

Michelle Reid, Ed.D.
Superintendent