Friday, March 12, 2010
There are lots of things that I hope you will always remember from
your time here at Orange Lutheran High School, but I especially hope
that you will always know how much the faculty, staff and I truly
love and care for you. As I mentioned earlier today, serving at
Orange Lutheran is so much more than a just a job for the paycheck;
we are here because we want the very best for you.
As a result, we never stop thinking of ways to make your experience
at Orange Lutheran the best it can be, and we take very seriously
your safety here on campus and even away from school. If we ever
learn of any potential threat to your safety, please be assured that
we will stop at nothing to keep you safe.
Most of you have probably already heard some rumors circulating
around campus this week, so in the spirit of honesty and trust,
please allow me to set the record straight. Early Tuesday morning at
about 12:30 a.m., a message from one of our formers students was sent
through Facebook to about 20 of our students; it is true that the
language in the message is alarming and threatening. One of our
students brought this message to the attention of a teacher during
the first class of the day, and that teacher immediately contacted
school administration.
Following our standard course of action, we immediately contacted the
Orange Police Department. We continue to work with the Police
Department, health care professionals, and the family of the former
student, and we continue to be advised by them and other trained
professionals that there is no credible threat to the safety of the
school at this time. I want you to know that I feel just as safe
being here at school and allowing my own two daughters to be here on
campus as I did last week and the week before that. Please know that
I will always do my very best to not allow any one of you to ever be
put in harm’s way.
Just so you know, safety has always been a huge priority for me. Let
me share with you a few of the measures we have already implemented
the past few years that you probably haven’t even noticed:
Administrative presence in the morning and after school – while we
like to say, “Good Morning” to you everyday, we are there to watch
who is coming on campus and observe behaviors.
Director of Campus Safety and Events – we have just created a new
administrative position with staff support geared specifically at
focusing on campus and event safety.
Increased security on campus and at events – we have added more
staff during the day and at all school events.
Evening security company – we hired a security company to monitor
the campus throughout the evening hours from the time school campus
safety staff leaves in the evening at 9:00 p.m. until 5:00 a.m. when
school staff arrives on campus.
Security company on campus during construction – during
construction on Santiago Blvd. during the fall, we contracted with
our security company to provide security around the clock.
Security cameras – we have added enhanced security cameras
throughout campus not as an attempt to try and catch students doing
something wrong but to ensure campus safety.
Keeping doors shut and locked – while it is often inconvenient to
walk around the campus to the unlocked open doors near the Success
Center and Athletic hallways, we want to minimize the number of
entrances to our school campus so we can monitor who is entering and
exiting our campus. You can help by not propping open the doors and
making sure they close behind you.
We have increased the number of emergency drills so we are prepared
in the event of an emergency.
We continue to work with law enforcement to identify ways to be more
proactive in maintaining a safe campus environment. We have a strong
relationship with the Orange Police Department, and they continue to
be very responsive to our school. We are grateful for our partnership
with them.
Uniforms – we considered school uniforms last year as a means of
identifying “strangers” who might come on campus not dressed in
uniform but recognized your (students’) input that uniforms could
actually provide an easy way to blend with the student body and
therefore create complacency.
Lanyards – we continue to consider the possibility of requiring
students to wear their identification cards on a lanyard so they are
visible at all times making it easier to identify those people who
are “supposed” to be on campus.
Discussion of a campus entry and exit gate – we continue to
consider the possibility of enclosing our campus with security gates
at the entrance and exit of our campus.
“Rachel’s Challenge” (Columbine) Assembly in April – the
Student Leadership Team has already scheduled the Rachel’s
Challenge Assembly based on the Columbine tragedy for Thursday, April
22, 2010 to raise awareness of campus safety, kindness, and
forgiveness.
There are a number of lessons we can learn from this incident:
Safety is everyone’s responsibility – we all have to be aware of
who is on our campus and at our events and be proactive in responding
to something that “just doesn’t look right.”
Informing an adult is absolutely appropriate when you are concerned
about the safety and well being of yourself and/or others. THANK YOU
to the students who reported this concern; this is not an act of
“snitching” but rather courage in doing the right thing – you
never know when you could be saving someone’s life!
Threats are never appropriate and are an unacceptable response. It
is essential that you don’t make a threat; besides school and
family consequences, threats can be punishable by the law. Because we
report any and all threats to the police department irrespective of
whether or not we think the threat may or may not be viable, you
should know that you could be prosecuted by the law for such actions.
If you have a situation going on and you need help, please don’t
make threats, but rather go talk to someone you can trust so you can
get help and work it out in a healthy appropriate manner.
It’s important that we all remember the significance and
importance of simply being kind. In this instance as well as many
others, this person’s message albeit inappropriate and
unacceptable, was a response to unkind words and actions by others.
Inappropriate things said and done to him elicited an inappropriate
response from him. Again, while there is no excuse for making a
threat, we can all be part of the solution by simply being kind and
compassionate to others.
Rumors are unkind, hurtful, and unnecessary. You can help by not
spreading rumors, and if you want to know something that is going on
here at school, please ask us. I try to be as visible and accessible
as possible for you. While we will always seek to protect privacy, we
will be honest with you especially as it relates to your well-being
and safety.
Finally, allow me to make a comment about Facebook. I have to admit,
that I don’t really get it. As someone who strives to maintain
privacy and stay out of the public eye as much as possible, I cannot
figure out why you would want to be that public with your life. More
importantly, however, I have to admit that I am often shocked and
disappointed when I hear of what many of you post on your Facebook. I
encourage you to be the same person on Facebook as you are with your
teachers, with your parents, and in the presence of God.
Thanks for your attention today and for your help in keeping our
school safe.
