Coping With Unwanted National Attention

Social Media

SOCIAL MEDIA BEARS a double-edged sword. The indispensably disruptive tools of Facebook, Twitter and Instagram can be used to inform, educate and inspire or they can tear down, spread falsehoods and destroy.
I’ve seen both sharp edges cut through in a recent situation that brought undue national attention to our school district in a world that now thrives on immediate information.

In March 2017, a former high school teacher in our school district abducted a 15-year-old student, spurring an Amber Alert and nationwide manhunt. He traveled with the young girl across the country, escaping detention until police caught and arrested him five weeks later in California. The suspect subsequently pleaded guilty to federal charges and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

The news coverage focused undue attention on our 12,500-student school system in south-central Tennessee and all those connected to it. The social media targeting was especially intense.