Dear Parents:
I want to thank you all for your support this week. As you know, we had an incident on campus involving about a dozen students earlier in the week. No students were seriously injured. Any reports to the contrary are false. The students responsible for this fight have been identified, and will face consequences in accordance with district policy and state law.
As we have investigated this situation and related matters, we have learned that they result from small numbers of students behaving improperly and making inappropriate comments toward one another. While some of those comments have been racial in nature, they are not indicative of a heightened racial tension at the school. Instead, they are indicative of this small group of students not being able to work through their conflicts the correct way. Regardless, this conduct is unacceptable, and the school and district are acting accordingly.
We have already taken a number of actions to address this situation. We have increased security on campus, and continue to work closely with the local police. We held assemblies to remind students about proper behavior on campus, respecting one another, and the importance of working through conflict the proper way. Teachers and staff have assisted by closely monitoring students in between classes, at lunch, and after school.
In the coming days, we will be meeting with our students in small groups to discuss the issues that our school has faced. Our teachers, counselors, and staff will work together to teach students the importance of getting along, tolerance, and respect for one another. We will be partnering with organizations like the Museum of Tolerance to provide additional resources and support to our school as needed. We will also connect our students with student leaders and peer mentors from the Senior Campus to build culture and community. We will also hold a forum for parents to provide them with resources to help us with this work. Details on this will be coming soon.
Please know that student safety is our top priority, and that Paramount High School West continues to be a safe place for students, parents, and staff.
~Elizabeth Salcido, Principal