Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Teens’ note contained plot to kill a teacher

Two Canyon Springs High School students detailed a plot to kill one of their teachers in a written note and both girls have been suspended pending expulsion, Clark County School District officials confirmed Friday.

The names of the two girls, both freshmen at the school, have not been released. Edward Goldman, associate superintendent of education services for the district, said the students were referred by school administrators for expulsion, as required by district regulations.

Goldman said the contents of the note were disturbing.

"You cannot threaten anyone, a teacher, a student or staff member, without serious consequences," said Goldman, who declined to discuss the specifics of the note. "It doesn't matter if you say it was just a joke or you never actually take action. We take these types of situations very seriously."

The students could face criminal charges as a result of the incident. School police officials could not be reached for comment Friday.

Sources with knowledge about the incident said the note, containing a back-and-forth conversation between the two girls, was found in a restroom by another student Jan. 28. School administrators quickly investigated to determine the note's authors by comparing handwriting on homework assignments, sources said. Within a few days the girls had been identified.

The girls were interviewed by school officials Feb. 1 and admitted to writing the note, sources said.

The note includes a description of the girls' plan to secure a hypodermic needle filled with a "tranquilizer" and use it to paralyze the teacher. One girl suggests that after class she could sneak up behind the teacher and jab her in the neck while her accomplice distracts the teacher. There is also a suggestion made to ambush the teacher as she walks to her car at the end of the school day.

One of the writers notes that they would need to get rid of the body but no specific plan is laid out for doing so. When interviewed by school authorities, the girls confirmed that the subject of alleged plot was a teacher whose name appears in the note, sources said. The girls also said they had been joking and never intended to carry out the plan.

This is the second time in as many months that a district teacher has reported being threatened in writing by a student. Earlier this month a Centennial High School student was suspended after drawing a violent cartoon that depicted the death of one of the school's substitute teachers.

In that incident, the student chose to attend private school rather than switch to one of the district's alternative programs. After reviewing the case district officials decided expulsion was not warranted. The substitute teacher who was targeted in the cartoon said she was fired from the school as punishment for talking to the media.

John Jasonek, executive director of the Clark County Education Association, said the teachers' union takes these types of incidents seriously.

"You have to not only be proactive but you must take appropriate measures to ensure these types of things don't blow up and become a tragic incident," Jasonek said. "I'd rather hear someone overreacted than didn't react enough."

Jasonek said one issue is that the district does not include a psychological evaluation as part of its disciplinary process in these types of situations. It's not sufficient to simply send a student to one of the district's alternative schools as punishment, Jasonek said.

"Certainly adding a psychological element (to the disciplinary process) makes a lot of sense," Jasonek said. "It would be reassuring for the teachers, and the parents and even the other students, to know situations were being handled appropriately from all angles."

Robert Butterworth, a Los Angeles-based child psychologist who specializes in school violence and trauma, said written threats should not be dismissed.

"This is not the same as a teenager, in an impulsive moment, saying, 'I hate you. I wish you were dead,' " said Butterworth, whose wife is a public school teacher. "To commit something to paper requires premeditation. It's not a fleeting thought. It's a rage directed outward, and it's important to evaluate those individuals and find out what makes them tick."

That doesn't mean those students should be automatically expelled or viewed as dangers to society, said Butterworth, who is a consultant to several national organizations regarding teen violence.

"We shouldn't destroy their whole lives because of one incident," Butterworth said. "But a lot of times violence starts off with premeditation and plans and that shouldn't be ignored."

It's also important for the teachers to be given as much emotional support as necessary, including counseling, Butterworth said. Some administrators mistakenly follow the "out of sight, out of mind" course of action, believing that once the student has been removed from the school the problem has been resolved, he said.

"If the kid just disappears, the teacher may wonder, 'Gee, is he really mad at me now?' " Butterworth said. "If the teacher is kept in the loop, at least they're more reassured. Sometimes it's even helpful to bring the two together in a supervised session where it can be talked out."

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