09/01/2026
Hello, Gentry families. ❤️🤍
Thank you for your support and understanding as we responded to a potential threat involving our schools this morning.
We know mornings like this can be unsettling for parents and caregivers. We want to share what happened, why we responded the way we did, and hopefully answer some of the questions you may have heard throughout the day.
This morning, we received information from another school district that a former Gentry student, who no longer lives near Gentry, had been communicating online with a student from that district and made a threat toward Gentry. That student did exactly what we hope any student would do -- she reported the conversation to her School Resource Officer, who then contacted us.
From there:
• Out of an abundance of caution, we immediately secured our schools from entry or exit. The Gentry Police Department’s response was immediate, and our first priority was making sure our students and staff were safe.
• The Gentry Police Department, our School Resource Officers, Dr. Broyles, Jason Barrett, who leads our district’s safety operations, our building principals and other key district leaders immediately began working through our safety procedures and assisting with the investigation.
• We communicated with our families and caregivers through our official communication channels and continued providing updates as information was verified and became available.
• Law enforcement located the individual hundreds of miles away from Gentry and detained them. Following further investigation, law enforcement determined there was no credible threat to our students or schools, gave us the all clear, and our school day continued as normal.
During a school safety situation, we don't use social media as our primary communication channel. Our families should be able to know that when they receive a text or email from Gentry Public Schools, the information comes directly from us and reflects what we know to be true at that point in time.
That doesn't mean we don't communicate. It means we communicate responsibly and factually.
We are incredibly proud of our School Resource Officers who serve through the Gentry Police Department, our Commissioned School Security Officer program, our district safety leadership and all of the people who play a role in keeping our students safe every day.
Most importantly, we want our families to know this: When information comes to us that could potentially involve the safety of our students, we take it seriously. We act. We investigate. We work closely with law enforcement. And we communicate with our families as information is verified.
Thank you again for caring so deeply about your kids and our School District. We know that questions and concerns come from a place of wanting your children to be safe, and we share that priority completely.
If you'd like to learn more about the many ways Gentry Public Schools works to keep students safe, we've put together information on our School Safety page:
https://www.gentrypioneers.com/page/school-safety
And as always, if you have a question or concern, please reach out directly to your child's school . We believe direct information is always the best information, and we're always happy to help.
Thank you for trusting us with your children.
