DECEMBER 5, 2024

Superintendent’s

REPORT

SAMANTHA BREEN

HHS ENGLISH TEACHER

FINALIST for

Teacher of the Year

1.

ALICE, LOCKDOWN, and

SHELTER-IN-PLACE

Clarification around

Swatting and Hoax Events

3.

HOPKINTON MIDDLE SCHOOL

IMPROVES RANKING

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HMS US News & World Report Ranking

2.

IN THIS

presentation…

Congratulations, Sam!

Congratulations!

Your school has produced a semifinalist for 2025 Massachusetts Teacher of the Year!

WELL

DONE!

Over 400 middle schools state wide

Individual Schools are ranked

Per Pupil Expenditures for

Districts in the TOP 10

01

BROOKLINE

$25,802

PER PUPIL EXPENDITURE

02

LEXINGTON

$22,736.61

PER PUPIL EXPENDITURE

03

BELMONT

$18,294.94

PER PUPIL EXPENDITURE

04

NEEDHAM

$22,808.43

PER PUPIL EXPENDITURE

HOPKINTON’S PER PUPIL EXPENDITURE IS $16,177.01

EMERGENCY PROCEDURES

WHY ARE WE REVIEWING THIS AGAIN?

On Tuesday, December 3, 2024, Fire, Police, the Select Board, and the Public School Administrators met to review the HHS swatting incident, of October 1, 2024, and it seems there is some misinformation in the community on this topic.

ALICE

I

Inform

L

Lockdown

A

Alert

C

Counter

E

Evacuate

A protocol that is practiced to ensure that schools (and other institutions) are prepared to proactively respond to the threat of an intruder or active shooter

EMERGENCY PROCEDURES

On October 1, 2024, at Hopkinton High School,

we had a SWATTING EVENT,

which, when determined to be a HOAX,

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ELIMINATED the

threat of an intruder or active shooter.

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Therefore, the ALICE protocol was not used but rather a shelter-in-place.

SWATTING HOAXES

What is the appropriate response?

SWATTING HOAXES

What is the appropriate response?

Many of Hopkinton’s School Administrators attended this webinar, only eight days after our swatting event.

SWATTING HOAXES

What did this webinar offer?

What criteria are used to determine it’s a hoax?

This screenshot was taken directly from the webinar slide show.

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The presenters shared that school shooters have NEVER provided a direct warning via telephone, email or social media.

What other criteria may be used

to determine it’s a hoax?

• If the receiver of the call is able to stall the caller and ask particular questions, such as specific geographic location information, favorite teachers/courses, names of hallways/wings, the caller will not have answers.

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• If they are using inflammatory language - for example, “Call of Duty” language, that’s another sign that it’s a hoax.

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• If the call is coming from a far away place--ours came from Missouri, we believe.

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• If they mispronounce the name of the school or the community.

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• If the call comes from a VPN (virtual private network), non-traceable numbers

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• If there is an uptick in cases in a particular geographic area

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ON OCTOBER 1, 2024, WE HEARD NO GUNSHOTS; POLICE RECEIVED ONLY ONE CALL

SWATTING HOAXES

Once we are near-to-certain that it’s a hoax…

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“SHELTER-IN-PLACE

IS THE BEST

COURSE OF ACTION.”

ALICE

SHELTER-IN-PLACE

• USED IN TIMES OF (INTRUDER/ACTIVE SHOOTER) THREAT

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• DECISION-MAKING FALLS TO THE PROTOCOL AND IS BASED ON BEST ASSESSMENT BY THE ADULT(S) IN CHARGE OF STUDENTS

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• IDEAL END RESULT IS ELIMINATION OF THREAT AND SAFE EVACUATION

.

• USED IN TIMES OF HOAX, MEDICAL EMERGENCY, OTHER LOW-THREAT EMERGENCIES

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• DECISION-MAKING FALLS UNDER INCIDENT COMMAND

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• IDEAL END RESULT IS STUDENTS/STAFF REMAIN IN PLACE UNTIL EMERGENCY (REAL OR PERCEIVED) IS ELIMINATED AND SHELTER-IN-PLACE IS LIFTED; OR ANOTHER COURSE OF ACTION IS PURSUED

ALICE OR SHELTER-IN-PLACE?