Investigating the Lafayette School Threats and Lockdowns
By Audrey Tugade, Gwyneth Lee, Lily Foster, and Savannah Martinez, Print Editor-in-Chief, Print Head of Layout, Print Opinion Editor, and Print News Editor
Graphic by Cara Hamilton, Head of Illustrations
Acalanes High School and M. H. Stanley Middle School (Stanley Middle School) went into lockdown on Aug. 17 due to multiple threats against students. Springhill Elementary also went into lockdown due to its proximity to Acalanes.
At around 12:40 p.m., an anonymous person called the Lafayette Police Department (PD) warning of a potential threat to Acalanes. Lafayette police officers arrived at the scene, and the school initiated its lockdown procedure at 12:45 p.m.
“We received a phone call that someone was armed in the parking lot and was going to do harm to the students [on campus] and faculty,” Lafayette police officer Joe Berentsen said. “And when we responded, we did not find any evidence of that actually being a genuine threat.”
The loudspeakers announced the lockdown procedure over lunch. Because this did not happen during a class period, students relocated to nearby classrooms.
“It obviously was not a drill,” English teacher Erin Field said. “It was real, but we did not know until later that there was no actual threat ... I had the New Crew leader training that day, [and] I did have to bring in some extra students who I did not know. That was a little bit stressful.”
Acalanes Administrative staff worked to ensure students were safe once the school implemented the lockdown procedure.
“We do bathroom checks to make sure that everyone is out of bathrooms, and everyone is in a safe space,” Acalanes Principal Colin Malcolm said. “We also liaise with the [Acalanes Union High School District (AUHSD)] office. They manage communications up to the community while we manage all things happening on site.”
AUHSD sent updates through email and ParentSquare to inform families of the situation.
"The school is currently on a precautionary school safety lockdown following an anonymous threat over the phone,” AUHSD sent via Aeries Communications. “Students are safe and secure in their classrooms, and Lafayette Police are on campus. Please do not attempt to come to campus as you will not have access to your student.”
Acalanes Administrative staff kept on-site staff informed throughout the progression of the lockdown.
“As the lockdown goes on, we send email communications [to Acalanes staff] periodically, just saying, ‘Here's an update if you want to update students with this information,’” Malcolm said.
In addition to the threats against Acalanes, an anonymous caller warned Stanley Middle School of a potential hazard on their campus.
“We received a phone call that alluded to ... an explosive device might go off in the afternoon,” Stanley Middle School Principal Ann Kim said. “So, we immediately started enacting our safety plan, which includes notifying our [Lafayette School District] office and involving law enforcement. And as a result of that, it was determined that it would be safest if we moved to a shelter-in-place.”
When the police arrived at both of the schools, they created command posts to instruct individuals, including people coming back from lunch or parents unaware of the lockdown.
“We want to set up a command post so that when different agencies come together in one spot, they are not just scrambling to communicate with each other and winging it...,” Berentsen said. “We want to have people ready to explain to them what is going on, [and] keep them from entering what could potentially be a very dangerous parking lot.”
The Lafayette PD completed the threat assessment on the Acalanes campus around 1:15 p.m. and lifted the lockdown at 1:20 p.m.
“After the lockdown ended and the school day wrapped up, the Lafayette PD received credible information indicating the source of the threatening calls were from an actor ... who made the calls with the expressed aim of disrupting normal school activities,” Berentsen said.
With the new school year just starting, both Acalanes and Stanley had not had the chance to present safety procedures and conduct drills.
“We had not had a chance to have a lockdown drill because it was only our fifth day of school,” Kim said. “So this gave us the opportunity to really test our processes and our procedures. There are always things that we realize we can fine-tune to make things even safer for students.”
Because no emergency drills had happened yet, some new students were unaware of what to do in a lockdown situation.
“It was kind of scary because we did not have any practice,” frosh Aiden Loi said. “We just ran to a safe area where a teacher was ... I felt scared, and kind of nauseous about what was happening. You did not know what was happening outside, and all the cops were outside.”
Some students experienced louder classrooms during the lockdown, potentially due to the lack of emergency protocol training.
“I think that because we had not had our training yet, [the frosh] did not realize how real it was,” senior Samantha Griscavage said. “And so there was a lot of talking and stuff, which was a little unsettling.”
The following day, on Aug. 18, Acalanes administrators sent an additional message to students and families informing them of another anonymous threat intended for Aug.19.
“Yesterday evening, Acalanes received another threat submitted through an anonymous tip line for Wednesday, Aug. 19,” Malcolm sent via Aeries Communications. “We immediately reported the threat to the Lafayette PD, who conducted a risk assessment. Based on their investigation, Lafayette PD determined the threat was not credible.”
Overall, no students were harmed, and some administrators appreciated the agency that teachers and students had during the lockdown.
“I was very, very proud and impressed with how our school responded...,” Malcolm said. “Big shoutout to students and staff for doing the things they needed to do and making sure that they took care of each other in that moment.”
