Superintendent of Schools Thomas Scarice offers this update on today’s incident, involving a reported threat at Coleytown Elementary School:
At approximately 7:45 a.m., the Fairfield County Regional Dispatch Center received a 911 text message reporting a bomb threat to Coleytown Elementary School.
Shortly thereafter, the Westport Police Department contacted district administration. We immediately implemented our established safety protocols, which is particularly challenging during morning transportation runs.
By 8:15 a.m., a message was sent to Coleytown Elementary families notifying them of a 2-hour delayed start while the WPD, supported by the Stamford Police Bomb Squad and their explosive detection K9 unit, conducted a search of the building.
During this time, staff and students who were already on site were safely relocated to Coleytown Middle School, in addition to any buses in route. As a precaution, Coleytown Middle School was briefly placed under a shelter-in-place directive while the investigation was underway.
By 9:10 a.m., the WPD and their Stamford partners cleared the building, confirming that no explosive devices were found. Coleytown Elementary was deemed safe, and normal operations will resume, with students expected to arrive between 10:45 and 11:00 a.m. The CMS shelter-in-place was lifted.
The incident remains under investigation by the Westport Police Detective Bureau.
I want to express my deep appreciation for the professionalism and swift coordination of the WPD, the leadership of our building administrators, and the dedication of our faculty and support staff, whose actions ensured the safety of everyone involved.
I also want to commend our students, who responded calmly, respectfully, and with great maturity, reflecting the care and preparedness that define our school community.
While deeply troubling, our prior experiences, such as previous “swatting” incidents, have made us well-prepared to respond quickly and effectively, as was demonstrated this morning.
While any such threat is unsettling, today’s events clearly demonstrated the effectiveness of our emergency response protocols, the strength of our partnership with the WPD, and the remarkable composure of our staff, students, and building administrators.
Thank you for your continued trust, cooperation, and support.
As a person with children in both CES and CMS, the idea that our superintendent can rightfully say to this community that this was a success of our protocols is astoundingly disconnected from the reality of most parents in those buildings and how their morning went. To say nothing of the kids, in particular at the middle school, who should have never arrived until the situation was sorted (since both schools are named Coleytown). This says it wasn’t until 9:10 am that no explosives were found? My middle schooler arrives about an hour before that. The buildings are directly adjacent, with siblings inside. Vote tomorrow, Westport, if you haven’t already! (Thank you to our first responders and staff for muddling through a very messy day.)
Westport is the land of the self-congratulatory victory lap.
Sweeping things under the rug seems to be working for many people.
Glad everyone is safe
Great update 👍🇺🇸
No parent should wonder if their child is safe and unreachable during a crisis. Before Westport enforces its high school phone ban, we need clear, tested communication protocols.
Join us, Safety Before Silence: [https://c.org/nvMtzCRppx]