On Friday, December 17, Gorham School Superintendent Heather Perry, after consulting with administration and the Gorham Police Department, made the decision to dismiss students from Gorham High School and Gorham Middle School at approximately 9:30 a.m.
The decision to dismiss was actually made at 8:15 a.m, but due to elementary bus runs, the school was unable to get students safely on buses until 9:30. Between those two times, the schools were in “soft lockdown” in which school buildings are closed to all outsiders. No one came in and no one left but movement could occur naturally within the building.
Nation-wide there had been a non-specific threat about school violence for this date on a social media site. On Thursday night, Perry sent a message to parents and community members expressing the school’s awareness of the social media concern, and after consulting with the police department that there was no direct threat to the Gorham schools so schools would go on as usual.
By early Friday morning, a threat had been received which appeared to more closely target Gorham Schools. After reviewing this threat, school leaders made the decision to close the middle and high schools early.
It is now known that these messages and threats originated outside the state of Maine and that our students were never in danger, but that could not be verified at the time.
Although an unscheduled disruption to the school schedule is never a welcome idea, it is reassuring to all that Gorham administration and community leaders always regard student and school community safety as the highest priority. Protocols and procedures are put into place so that our schools are safe places for our students and staff.
In the Superintendent’s Blog from December 22, Perry states, “As I have said many times now, the events of Friday, Dec. 17 are not ones any of us wish to repeat anytime soon. However, these events also remind us that our schools are fully prepared to meet the varying challenges that come to us in today’s complex world. Whether it be TikTok threats, or gas leaks, or bomb threats, and most anything in between — it is important to know that our schools ‘have a plan for that’ because we do.”
She also offered a link to the emergency plans which outline the procedures and responses to emergency situations.