Understanding Swatting Hoaxes and Fake Threats of School Violence

At The Main Street Academy, our focus is to provide your child with a quality education in a safe and orderly environment. I also believe that it is important for me to keep the lines of communication open with parents and to make you aware if a situation arises at our school and how we will respond when one does.

Recently, at multiple school districts across the state, including the Fulton County Schools district, "swatting" incidents occurred that resulted in several schools being locked down with police responding to the school building.  " Swatting" is defined as a false report of an ongoing emergency or threat of violence intended to prompt an immediate law enforcement response.

Fortunately, as of today,  "swatting" hasn't occurred at The Main Street Academy. However, I want to communicate proactively in the event we do have to respond to a real or false threat to our school's safety.  If our school does receive a threat of this type, our response may include:

  *   Placing the school in a soft or hard lockdown depending on the details involved.
  *   Immediate coordination with Fulton County Schools Police and the appropriate local police force to respond to and then investigate the threat.
  *   Communication to the community about the situation with as much information as possible in as timely a manner as possible. Please know that we will communicate to our community as quickly as we can, but our priority will be the immediate safety of our students and staff.
  *   Follow up communication as appropriate with any additional information and resources to support our community.
  *   If we need to dismiss students or allow students to be dismissed, we will communicate the process details when it is safe to do so.

While these real or hoax threats may be scary, it is important that TMSA parents and guardians only physically report to school AFTER receiving communication that it is safe to do so.  Arriving beforehand will only complicate matters for the police and school staff as they respond to the situation.

Safety continues to be a top priority at TMSA and I know these situations are unsettling for our students, staff, and parents.   Please remind your student, "If you see something or hear something, say something.' I often say, If you're asking yourself if you should report something, the answer is yes!'

Thank you for your involvement in your child's education and your partnership with The Main Street Academy. If you have questions, please feel free to contact me at 404-768-0081.