KENOSHA – A national award that was supposed to honor Roosevelt Elementary School in Kenosha for its response to a school shooting threat is now being withdrawn.

“I think it’s unfortunate. They probably still deserve that award because of how they reacted at that moment,” said Kenosha Unified School District parent Aaron Egan.

The award came after a 13-year-old boy attempted to enter Roosevelt Elementary School Thursday morning with what were later identified as airsoft guns.

When school staff attempted to speak with him, he ran out of the building and into the surrounding neighborhood where he was later arrested by Kenosha police.

According to the One in Five Foundation for Children, a national nonprofit formed after the 2022 Uvalde school shooting, several students and parents had raised the alarm before the attempted break-in.

The organization, which had planned to honor Roosevelt Elementary School with its “Nonviolent School Alliance Award,” said it has since revoked the recognition due to concerns that the district did not take previous warnings seriously.

In a statement issued Saturday, the foundation said it was withdrawing the award and the $5,000 grant after learning of “more than half a dozen previous reports that were made prior to this week’s incident, from students and parents about the statements and the threatening behavior of the individual.

Following the threat, a parent called TMJ4 to say reports had been made about the suspect weeks ago.

This father told TMJ4 that less than two months ago, his children received an ominous Snapchat message from the 13-year-old suspect, showing what looked like a gun and a map of a Kenosha high school. It states that both the Kenosha Police Department and the school district were alerted.

“If students and parents called, they definitely should have looked into it,” said Delisha Alexander, a mother of five at KUSD.

As a result, the foundation said it is asking the district to review the school’s incident reporting policies. The group’s national director issued this statement:

In response, the Kenosha Unified School District expressed disappointment in the decision to revoke the award.

A district spokesperson said the district is “saddened to learn it is being revoked due to inaccurate information” and that the staff’s actions were “heroic and deserving of recognition.”

The district clarified that prior to the incident, concerns had been raised about images of airsoft weapons, but not about threats or violent behavior. A district spokesperson said the concerns were thoroughly investigated.

While some parents said the canceled award raises concern, they acknowledged the district’s quick response to the closure.

“They should still get the award for how they reacted at that moment,” Egan said.

The $5,000 grant would have gone to the school to support increased ongoing school safety and prevention measures.

See the school district’s full statement below:

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