December 13, 2022

From the Office of the Superintendent

TCSS Students, Families, Faculty, and Staff,

This morning, law enforcement received a false threat of an active shooter at Hillcrest High School. Although an investigation is still underway, it appears the call was placed by someone out of state, to multiple schools in multiple locations. Our local law enforcement officers are consulting with the FBI in this investigation.

As we saw today, any threat made to the safety of our schools will be met with a swift and serious response. We are thankful to the Tuscaloosa County Sheriff’s Office, Tuscaloosa Police Department, and all first responders who quickly arrived at Hillcrest High School to secure the school and protect our students, faculty, and staff. We are thankful to the Hillcrest High students, faculty, and staff, who immediately implemented lockdown procedures. As a security precaution, we do not publicly discuss our school safety plans in detail. However, several of the responding officers today noted numerous ways in which safety plans were well executed by students, faculty, and staff. Our school safety plans have been developed in close consultation with law enforcement and those with expertise in the field of school safety. These plans are designed with the intention of saving lives in an emergency situation. We are thankful to Hillcrest High students, faculty, and staff, for the steps they took today to follow their school safety plan. 

We are also grateful to parents and families, for your cooperation in a scary situation. We always work to share information as quickly as possible, but our first priority in an emergency situation is protecting students. In an emergency situation, TCSS communicates directly with families, faculty, and staff, through our automated phone calls and text messages. Make sure your school has your most up-to-date contact information so you receive these messages.

It appears today’s false threat originated with no warning, from someone with no connection to TCSS. However, there are often signs of a potential threat to school or student safety. If you are aware of a potential threat to student safety, we encourage you to use our confidential Speak Up for Safety tip line. Speaking up when you are aware of any potential concern is one of the best ways you can support the safety of our schools or help a student in crisis. 

Email address: speakup@tcss.net

Call or text: (659) 734-2808

As with any school safety concern, our administrators and law enforcement officers will review today’s situation and response, to determine ways we might improve our school safety plans moving forward. If you have questions or concerns about school safety, please always reach out to your school administrator directly.