In light of recent Southern Boone School District class cancellations and with threats of school violence on the rise nationally, the Missouri School Boards’ Association is encouraging students to use an anonymous tip line to report concerns, among other tactics.
“Over the last decade, we have seen an increase in threats following incidents of mass casualty events,” said John McDonald, Chief Operating Officer of the Council for School Safety Leadership, an organization under the umbrella of the Missouri School Boards’ Association.
“When there’s a tragedy that makes national news, we generally see an uptick in threats to schools,” McDonald said.
Recent school shootings in Georgia and Nebraska have contributed to an increase in threats across the country, including in Missouri.
Southern Boone School District released students early Monday and canceled classes Tuesday following verbal threats of violence.
In Jackson County, five juveniles were arrested this week for making violent threats against schools. At Ladue Horton Watkins High School in St. Louis, school officials canceled classes Tuesday after a bomb threat.
One component of Missouri’s safety strategy is the “Courage2Report” hotline, an anonymous reporting system designed to empower students to report threats or concerns.
“Students should absolutely use Courage2Report. It’s an anonymous hotline that allows them to report threats or concerns they’ve heard,” McDonald said. “The information is then passed on to local law enforcement for further investigation.”
“It only takes one student brave enough to pick up the phone and submit a tip,” McDonald said. “That student becomes the detector, and the adults — law enforcement and school staff — become the disruptors. Together, they can stop these threats before they escalate.”
Addressing the growing role of social media in spreading rumors, McDonald acknowledged the challenges schools face in keeping up with the rapid flow of information online.
“You can’t communicate as fast as social media,” he said, noting how misinformation can quickly cause panic within a community.
Tim Lewis, a professor of special education at the University of Missouri, emphasized how schools are shifting toward prevention and early intervention, particularly through mental health and behavioral support systems.
“Schools are now focusing on creating safe environments, addressing mental health risks and providing early intervention to prevent problems from escalating,” Lewis said.
Incorporating systems like Missouri Schoolwide Positive Behavior Support, schools are building multi-tiered frameworks to offer different levels of support depending on a student’s needs.
“We look at tier one as early intervention and prevention, while tier two focuses on students showing moderate risk and tier three is for those with more significant behavioral challenges or mental health issues,” Lewis said.
Both McDonald and Lewis emphasized the importance of engaging parents in these efforts and said that schools should create partnerships with families, reaching out when early warning signs appear.
“When there are first signs of risk, schools contact families and work with them to support the student,” Lewis said. “If necessary, schools can also connect families with community agencies for further assistance.”
While progress has been made, Lewis said, there is still more work to be done.
“We know we can decrease violence and help students struggling with mental health, but it takes a concerted school-wide and district-wide effort,” Lewis said.
McDonald added that schools must remain transparent with the community while balancing legal restrictions, particularly around student privacy, in order to maintain trust and manage crises effectively.
