[StonyPointEagle] Announcement from the Superintendent of Albemarle Schools-Dr. Pam Moran

Fri Feb 17 09:00:54 EST 2006

              ALBEMARLE COUNTY

             PUBLIC scHOOLS

                     Office of the superintendent

                     website:  www.k12albemarle.org

Important Announcement from Superintendent Pamela Moran 

February 16, 2006 

Dear Albemarle County Public Schools Community, 

Earlier this month Albemarle County Public Schools faced a safety threat
directed at two of our high schools. On February 3, 2006 I reported to
you that Albemarle County Police Department had arrested three of our
students and charged them with criminal offenses in connection to an
alleged plan for violent acts on the Albemarle and Western Albemarle
High School campuses several months from now. At that time, I made a
commitment to share information with our community when serious safety
issues arise. In keeping with our commitment to inform you of changes, I
am providing this update to share facts about a new development. 

Today the Albemarle County Police Department announced it arrested and
charged with criminal offenses a fourth student in connection with the
alleged plan first reported on February 3, 2006. The student is a
13-year-old male from Jack Jouett Middle School who was arrested on
campus February 15, 2006 before school was dismissed for the day.  The
Police Department arrested the student within an hour of receiving the
Detention Order that allows the arrest to be made.  The student was
charged with two felonies and is in custody at the Blue Ridge Juvenile
Detention Center.  He is charged with "conspiring, confederating, or
combining with another to commit a felony, to wit: by use of any
explosive device; destroy, in whole or in part, a schoolhouse" and
"conspiring, confederating, or combining with another to commit a
felony, to wit: murder." He also faces disciplinary action from the
School Division per policy. The name of the arrested student will not be
released because he is a juvenile.

Earlier this month, one Western Albemarle High student, one Albemarle
High student, and one Jack Jouett Middle student were arrested in
connection with the alleged plan. Western Albemarle High School and
Albemarle High School were identified in the alleged plan as the
locations for the violent acts to take place. No other campuses were
identified as possible locations and no specific individuals were
identified as possible victims. Yesterday, the Western Albemarle High
student had a third felony charge placed against him for "conspiring,
confederating, or combining with another to commit a felony, to wit: by
use of any explosive device, destroy, in whole or in part, a
schoolhouse." The others face two felony charges each. All four students
arrested this month by police remain in custody at the Blue Ridge
Juvenile Detention Center.  

The Police Department has assured us that at no time during the
investigation were our students and staff  in immediate danger. 

The most recent arrest was announced by the Police Department at 2:30
p.m. today by sharing a news release with local media. The news release
is posted on the Albemarle County Public Schools website at 
www.k12albemarle.org <http://www.k12albemarle.org/> . The School
Division immediately notified school principals and additional steps
were taken at Jack Jouett Middle School to inform staff and parents. Our
teachers and guidance counselors remain focused on addressing any
student concerns. We will continue to closely monitor our students and
staff to meet their needs. If you are a parent with a child who is
unusually upset over these events, please contact your student's
guidance counselor or the school office immediately and request support.
We will work with you to meet your child's needs. 

The Police Department today said it has exhausted all current leads in
this case. The Police Department welcomes any additional information and
will investigate new leads as they arise. People with information to
report should contact Detective Gary Pistulka at 296-5807. 

In criminal investigations like this, the Police Department is very
limited in the information it can provide to the School Division and
public. We again express our appreciation to the Police Department for
working cooperatively with the School Division throughout the
investigation and for being supportive of our desire to share the
information we were authorized to release with our community as quickly
as possible. We will maintain our close working relationship with the
Police Department. While we welcome questions about the School
Division's response to this issue and our safety plans, we are not able
to answer questions about the investigation. We ask for your
understanding in this regard. 

Safety issues are taken very seriously in Albemarle County schools. We
are taking actions at the Division-level to learn from this experience
and improve: 

*	Nationally known threat assessment expert Dr. Dewey Cornell,
director of the Virginia Youth Violence Project and a professor at the
University Of Virginia Curry School Of Education, will work with school
site and Division administrators to conduct a review of its crisis
prevention and response procedures. 
*	Albemarle County Police Officers trained as site security
specialists will work with school staffs to conduct safety reviews of
campuses. 
*	The School Division and police department are partners in a
grant that will provide funding to expand and upgrade campus video
security systems at the comprehensive high schools and middle schools.
Each year a school's video security system will be upgraded. 
*	Electronic communications were an issue in the investigation of
the arrested students which prompted the Division to develop an
information sheet with online safety tips for families. This week the
information sheet will be posted to school websites and the Division
website to help parents and students learn how to navigate the Internet
safely. 
*	Every school in the Division maintains a crisis plan to outline
roles and procedures for coping with a variety of incidents from natural
disasters to on-campus violence. We are constantly reviewing each
school's plan to ensure they are up-to-date based upon these kinds of
situations. The plans can be viewed in school offices. 

Of all the prevention and intervention measures, the most important is
to have open lines of communication between home and school. We ask
parents to talk with their students about these recent events using the
facts provided in this publication. It helps to combat rumors and assure
students of their safety while at school. Events like this continue to
remind us that the most important thing a student, parent, staff or
community member can do to help us keep our schools safe is to share any
information about possible safety issues with an administrator,
counselor, or our School Resource Officers.  

We all share a strong commitment to provide students with safe learning
environments. It is a priority because we believe when students feel
safe they are more focused on learning. We welcome your continued
partnership in keeping Albemarle County Public Schools safe places for
students to learn. 

Sincerely, 

Dr. Pamela Moran

Superintendent 

Ron

Ronnie J. Price Sr.
University of Virginia
Darden School
Abbott Center-Rm 256
P.O. Box 6550
Charlottesville, VA 22906-6550

(434)924-6302
(434)924-1451 (fax) 

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