Flow chart outlines procedures

By Shelby Stewart-Soldan
Staff Writer
OXFORD TWP. – The Oxford Board of Education received a presentation about how tips of potential violence or concerning behavior are reported to the school district, during its regular meeting on Sept. 26,
“Toward the beginning of the year, the board asked us to review exactly how communications came into us, how communications flowed from us, when we got tips from various sources,” said district Superintendent Vickie Markavitch. “Sometimes we get tips from people who are concerned about a behavior that might be a threat and it comes directly to us during the school day. Sometimes we get tips from OK2Say and they actually reference the school, and OK2SAY sends them to us. Sometimes those tips do not reference the school at all, and those go to the police. Sometimes people have called 911, and the same thing happens. If the school is referenced, 911 will call us. If the school is not referenced, it goes directly to the police.”
A flow-chart was compiled by the district safety committee, and it outlines how communications are reported to the district.
If a tip is reported during the school day, the incident is reported to the administration, which then gets reviewed by a threat assessment team to determine if a threat assessment screener is needed.
Following that, the threat assessment process begins with a formal screener completed by, at minimum, an administrator, the school resource officer and a district mental health professional. Additional staff is brought on as needed.
After the screening, if it is determined that no threat assessment is needed, the incident is managed following the code of conduct, if applicable.
If a threat assessment is needed, the team determines if the threat is non-credible, meaning there is no means, intent or opportunity to carry out a threat, then the incident is managed through the code of conduct and a safety plan is implemented. If the threat is deemed credible, the student would be removed, security added, possible school closures and police reports filed.
After school hours, there are several channels a tip may go through. If the tip is reported to the administration after school hours, the safety team reviews the incident and carries on with the regular process of determining if a threat assessment screener is needed.
If a tip comes in via the OK2SAY anonymous tip line, Michigan State Police sends the tip to the district if the school is referenced, otherwise it would be a police matter only.
The same goes for a tip via the non-emergency police dispatch number or 911. If the district is mentioned, it goes to both the school and police. When the school is not referenced, it remains a police matter only.
“A lot of times, when people hear things happen in the community, and they want the school to be able to tell them more,” said Markavitch. “If it’s one of those events that does not reference the school, we frequently don’t have anything. We are not involved in the investigation. We have no jurisdiction to apply any consequences or take any action. The police, for very good reason, restrict anything we can say. Because if it’s an ongoing investigation for them, and we were to let information out it could interfere with their case. I know there are times when especially our parent population might get frustrated about that, but that is what it is. There’s a very good reason.”
OK2SAY is a confidential tip line. If there is an immediate threat or danger, the public is encouraged to call 911.