Ann Arbor Pioneer High School was closed Tuesday due to a threat made on social media, according to a news release from Ann Arbor Public Schools (AAPS). The news release stated that a threat was made Monday evening and that classes were canceled out of “an abundance of caution.” Pioneer is one of four primary high schools in Ann Arbor, and this decision will impact its nearly 2,000 students.
In an email to students obtained by Click on Detroit, AAPS Superintendent Jeanice Swift said the district is working closely with law enforcement to determine the source of the threat.
“The Pioneer and our District teams, working in partnership with the Ann Arbor Police Department, continue to work vigorously through a thorough investigation of this matter today, and we will hold those involved responsible,” Swift wrote.
This is the second time that classes have been canceled at Pioneer in two weeks, with the school closing on Nov. 21 due to a problem with a water main. Like many districts, Ann Arbor has received social media threats in the past. AAPS closed all of its schools for a day last December after several threats were made in the wake of the shooting at Oxford High School that left four dead. The threat comes a day shy of the one year anniversary of the Oxford shooting, which occurred Nov. 30, 2021.
Swift encouraged community members to take an active role in protecting their schools and urged students to report concerns to school or law enforcement authorities.
“Parents should speak with their students regarding the seriousness of posting or spreading social media rumors,” Swift said.
AAPS and AAPD did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Daily Staff Reporter Levi Herron can be reached at llherron@umich.edu.