No Explanation From Principal After Multi-Day Police Response
By EdNews Virginia (EdNewsVA.org)
A two-day law enforcement presence at Swanson Middle School is renewing scrutiny of how incidents are disclosed to families, drawing attention to a years-long history of vague administrative disclosures.
April 2026 Incidents
On April 30 at 3:58 PM, Swanson Principal Bridget Loft issued a message to families via ParentSquare stating that Arlington County law enforcement responded to the school on April 29 and April 30 to assist with “separate non-emergency calls.” The notification assured families the incidents were “addressed” and that “everyone is safe.”
Multiple police vehicles remained parked outside the school entrance on April 30 at 5:30 PM, hours after dismissal time, while students were still inside for extracurricular activities. To date, the school principal has declined to explain what prompted the multi-day police response or why it required the extended law enforcement presence on April 30.
Shifting Disclosure Standards
The administration’s continued silence on the events of April 29-30 stands in contrast to how the school handles other kinds of incidents. Earlier this semester, a message from the school included highly specific details following a bias incident, noting that students digitally shared “images of swastikas, symbols evoking white supremacy, and hate speech targeting Jews and expressing homophobia” during a classroom lesson.
A History of Sanitized Disclosures
The lack of information surrounding the April 2026 incidents follows a documented history at Swanson where official security notifications have omitted critical details that later appeared in public law enforcement records:
- December 2021 Knife Incident: The school community was notified via email that a student was found in “possession of a weapon,” and families were told during a PTA meeting that there was “no intent to harm.” However, official police records later revealed the event was classified as an “assault with a knife,” detailing that a suspect had chased a classmate and slashed the victim’s backpack while the victim fled.
- April 2022 Taser Recovery: Parents were informed that a taser was recovered on campus only after local media inquiries were made. Later, a school division leader implied to families that county police were notified of the taser incident. However, a police spokesperson told media outlet WDVM that law enforcement was never informed.
- March 2025 Weapon Discovery: Administrative communications confirmed the confiscation of two knives on campus but stressed to families that weapons “were not brought out.” However, according to law enforcement, a student allegedly made threats to harm a classmate with those knives following a dispute.
FOIA Requests Filed
To ascertain the nature of recent events at Swanson, Freedom of Information Act requests were filed with Arlington County’s government, law enforcement, and school division seeking official incident logs and internal administrative communications. EdNews Virginia will share relevant information and context with readers as new details emerge.
This article was made available to WMAL via EdNews Virginia.
