Principal: Students Must Be in Class

By Dakarai I Aarons aarons@commercialappealcom

Ridgeway High School principal Jim Long has a simple message for parents – please bring your students back to school, and do so today.

Nearly half of the school’s 1,500 students stayed home on Thursday, a day after an avalanche of threatening text messages caused a panic among parents, who pulled students out of school in droves.

Even after word was spread through local media outlets and a letter home to parents that the text message threats were false, many students continued to pass the false messages on well into the evening.

“I think because of the sheer volume (of messages), everyone thinks this is a valid threat,” Long, said. “We try to respond cautiously. We don’t want to take any unnecessary chances with people’s safety.”

The problem started on Monday when a group of students began taunting another student during an afternoon class.

The bullied student threatened to kill the other students, and word of his threat was passed along by students who overheard and sent text messages on cell phones, which they are not supposed to bring to school.

The students involved in that initial dispute have been suspended, and the student who made the initial threat was taken into police custody Tuesday.

With the state Gateway exams coming up next week – a graduation requirement – Long is concerned about the amount of time students are spending away from school, missing valuable prep sessions.

“The students need to be in school,” he said. “It’s absolutely critical.”

Extra security was present at the school Thursday, in an attempt to allay the fears of parents and students.

Students will be held accountable for the work they missed Wednesday and Thursday and the absences are not excused.

– Dakarai I. Aarons: 529-6515

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