Farmington Municipal Schools (FMS) is taking new steps to ensure school safety while also supporting students who make threats of violence, district leaders announced this week. The renewed focus includes the launch of a new platform for documenting incidents at FMS schools.
The district is outlining how schools now respond when a student makes a threat. The approach balances two priorities: protecting the entire school community and addressing the needs of the student involved.
“Threats of violence should never be considered a normal part of our schools,” said Dale Bode, Safety & Security Supervisor. “In many cases, these threats are actually a cry for help or a reflection of the stress a student is experiencing. Our goal is to foster a safe, supportive atmosphere where students can learn and thrive, while making sure they have access to the support they need.”
The district’s response is built on a three-part process:
Behavioral Threat Assessment | Law Enforcement Involvement | Disciplinary Action |
Each case is reviewed by a school-based team that includes administrators, safety staff, counselors, and social workers. Their job is not only to apply discipline when necessary but also to look deeper into the root causes of the threat and provide appropriate support. | If a law is broken, the district’s Safety and Security team or Armed Campus Safety Monitors coordinate with the Farmington Police Department to investigate and determine whether charges are necessary. | Principals follow a three-tiered discipline guide that accounts for student needs, including special education supports. The district’s Threat Assessment Team and Support Services staff also step in to provide additional resources. |
District leaders emphasize that the goal is prevention, not just discipline. In the past, a student might have been suspended for a few days after making a threat and then returned to class with little follow-up. Now, the district is working to address the underlying issues that may have led to the threat in the first place.
“We want to shift the mindset from discipline alone to prevention and support,” Stacy Chang, Director of Nursing & Student Wellness, explained. “By responding thoroughly, we’re not only keeping schools safe but also helping students get the care and guidance they need.”
The district is also working toward national standards in threat assessment and behavior documentation. Ultimately, leaders hope to make violent threats “out of the norm” in the district, while continuing to foster a safe, supportive, and collaborative school culture, one of the four pillars of the FMS Strategic Plan.
What Counts as a Threat?
In Farmington Municipal Schools, a threat is any communication, spoken, written, gestured, or digital, that expresses an intent to harm someone. This could happen in person, through text messages, emails, or even social media. Sometimes, a threat isn’t made directly but can be implied through behavior that seems to show planning or preparation for violence.
Importantly, a statement or action is considered a threat even if the intended target never hears it or doesn’t know about it.
The district’s guidance to staff is simple: when in doubt, treat it as a threat. That means immediately following safety protocols, including an administrative interview with the student and a mental health safety screening. Every step must be carefully documented in the district’s system (currently PowerSchool, with a new platform in development).
This process ensures that threats are taken seriously, investigated quickly, and used as an opportunity to protect students while also getting help for the student who made the threat.
Launching A New Threat Assessment System
Farmington Municipal Schools is preparing to roll out a new, state-of-the-art platform designed to improve how schools track and respond to student threats and mental health concerns.
Currently, all documentation is housed in PowerSchool, the district’s Student Information System. But Ms. Chang and her team, including Ms. Hope Trujillo, Mental Health Coordinator, have partnered with Safer Schools Solutions to create a more comprehensive system from the ground up. Safer Schools Solutions is a company that provides data-driven software and consulting to manage safety, security, and behavioral health.
The new platform will give principals and staff a single place to record, track, and review threat assessments throughout a student’s school years. The goal is to ensure that warning signs don’t get overlooked or lost in paperwork, and to make sure support follows students as they move through grades.
To help guide school leaders, the system will include built-in supports, such as:
Step-by-step protocol guidance that staff can hover over for reminders and instructions. | Artificial intelligence features that can suggest whether a situation qualifies as a Level 1 or Level 2 threat, helping administrators make more consistent, informed decisions. | The platform is being tested with support from our partners at Poms & Associates Insurance Brokers, who provide statewide training and support in behavioral health assessments. |
District leaders are clarifying that the platform is an internal tool and does not share data with law enforcement in real time. Schools and law enforcement agencies will continue to maintain separate systems but collaborate when threats rise to the level of criminal behavior.
The new platform will also ensure privacy. Staff members will only see the portions of reports that apply to their role. For example, if a teacher witnesses an incident, they complete their section without access to administrative notes.
“We’re proud to be leading this important work,” Nathan Pierantoni, Executive Director of Human Resources and Support Services, said. “Our ongoing priority is strengthening our systems to ensure greater safety and security for our students and families.”
Threat and Mental Health Data
The district is also releasing data from the 2024–2025 school year and the first month of our current one:
2024-2025 School Year | 2025–2026 School Year (August) |
333 student safety screeners were completed. | 26 screeners completed. |
49 were Level 1 threats, 18 were Level 2, and 8 were Level 3 (serious) threats. | One Level 1 and one Level 2 threat. |
258 cases involved suicidal thoughts or self-harm. | 24 related to suicidal ideation. |
To support families, the district relaunched “Strengthening Our Circle of Care: New SOS Mental Health Resources for Families” on August 15, 2025. The SOS program, which FMS has utilized for students since 2019, is an evidence-based initiative shown to reduce suicide attempts and raise awareness of depression and distress among students.
By strengthening both safety systems and student support, the district continues to put the success and well-being of students and families at the center of its mission.