This morning at 6:45AM, the Cambridge Police Department notified Cambridge Public Schools of an anonymous bomb threat against “Cambridge Mass city middle school.” The Chief Operating Officer and I worked closely with public safety officials to ensure a swift response to this incident, and no evidence has been found to substantiate this threat.
Immediately following notification of the threat, trained CPS Safety and Security staff were deployed to begin a bomb threat assessment, accompanied by personnel from the Cambridge Police Department. Principals at the schools located in buildings containing a middle school (Amigos School, Cambridge Street Upper School, King Open School, Putnam Avenue Upper School, Kennedy-Longfellow School, Vassal Lane Upper School, Tobin School, Rindge Avenue Upper School, Peabody School) were also notified of the threat at this time.
Within approximately one hour of receiving the call, all school buildings containing an Upper School program had been inspected and nothing unusual was found. After consultation between CPS and public safety officials, it was determined that an announcement could be made that no further emergency action was required and that schools could remain open as usual.
Although these incidents are frightening, please be assured that Cambridge Public Schools has a detailed emergency preparedness plan which is closely followed following any threat to the safety of our students and schools. School safety and security personnel receive specialized training conducted by state and federal agencies, including required training in bomb threat assessment. Detailed emergency procedure manuals are in place in the offices of all building administrators, containing easy-to-read flow charts and checklists for handling specific hazards. Every CPS office and classroom has an abbreviated set of procedures that staff will follow in emergency situations.
Out of respect for the rights of parents and guardians, our current practice is to notify families any time a threat has been made, to alert parents to the possibility that an evacuation may be required. Our intention is raise awareness without causing undue panic. We will continue to review and refine our communications efforts, striving for accuracy and timeliness.
We encourage families and teachers to reassure children who may become aware of today’s incident that threats such as this are exceedingly likely to be a hoax. At the same time, please assure them that their teachers and other adults will do everything in our power to keep them safe. Advice for families about discussing violent events has been posted under “Quick Links” on the main page of our website.
This is also an opportunity for families and staff to review the contact information that schools have on file. We also encourage all members of our community to download the CPS App and enable push notifications, to ensure that you will receive important safety announcements and updates.
We hope that families will take this opportunity to familiarize themselves with evacuation procedures including the reunification site for your child’s school. While it is not recommended that school districts publicize full details of all safety procedures, key information has been summarized in a resource guide that is posted online and linked from the main page of our website.
Due to the upcoming relocations of our school buildings, updated emergency procedures are in the process of being completed. We will distribute hard copies of this information within the next few weeks.
Again, we wish to thank all those who work every day to keep our students, staff and families safe. The cooperation and collaboration between schools, families, CPS leadership and local safety officials is to be commended.
Jeffrey M. Young
Superintendent of Schools