May 13, 2009 — We take students’ safety very, very seriously
Dear Editor,
An incident occurred outside Will Rogers Junior High (as reported in the Progress on May 7) and I want to use this opportunity to thank the people involved who every day make a difference to the safety and security of our school children.
Todd Steidley, CHS principal, was the first to observe the suspicious young man walking down the street during school hours.
He immediately notified the Rogers County Sherriff’s deputy who is assigned as a security and resource officer at the junior high school.
Deputy David Book and WRJH Athletic Director Jason Rhoten, responded by approaching the young man outside of the school building and questioning his presence. When Deputy Book noticed the backpack he was carrying had weapons, he immediately detained him while Mr. Rhoten contacted the Claremore Police Department and Officer Robin Blair, the resource officer for Claremore High School.
Upon their arrival, the police officers immediately placed the young man under arrest for possession of weapons on school property.
One of our highest priorities at Claremore Public Schools is the safety of our children – I will not compromise on that. We take very seriously any threat or perceived threat to our students, staff, faculty and visitors.
In light of the unfortunate incidences in schools across our country, it has become a necessity to implement procedures for various emergencies.
Today all schools must have an active plan for creating and maintaining a healthy and safe environment for students and faculty.
The procedures that Claremore Public Schools have in place were well executed on Wednesday at the Junior High and I wish to take this opportunity to commend those who handled the situation - every action was followed as planned.
Indications we have received from the police department are that the student did not intend to cause harm to anyone, and simply used poor judgment in accessing school property with the weapons in his backpack.
We were pleased that had this been a true threat, the situation was minimized and the procedures were carried out effectively.
Mike McClaren Superintendent
Claremore Public Schools
