Schools

Unreported BB Gun Incident Teaches Cuyahoga Falls School Officials a Lesson

To calm upset parents, who were not told about the Feb. 24 incident, the district has apologized and is making policy changes to improve communication.

 

Cuyahoga Falls City Schools learned a lesson from Bolich Middle School parents -- don't keep secrets. 

When a sixth grader brought an air powered BB gun and BB ammunition to school on Feb. 24, school officials handled it swiftly. They called police to arrest the boy and remove him from the school. Faculty and staff were made aware of the situation as well.

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But the district never told parents about it. And finding out about it just days after the Feb. 27 fatal Chardon High School shooting heightened the parents' concern. 

Word eventually spread and frustration quickly grew over the apparent lack of communication, said . 

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"If you don't let us know, it's like you're trying to sweep it under the rug and that infuriates us," said Deyoung in an interview this week. "These are our children and we entrust (the district) with our children, and we want to know immediately if they're in any kind of danger."

In response, Bolich principal John Musat called a meeting last week and invited parents to talk about the incident, according to Cuyahoga Falls Superintendent Todd Nichols. 

Nichols said school officials heard "loud and clear" from parents that mass communication is crucial in the event of an emergency incident or in regard to a need-to-know issue. 

The district will utilize its AlertNow call system to notify parents, students and staff of urgent issues, he said.

They used the automated calling system to send a message out Tuesday night with specifics on the BB gun incident and to apologize for the lack of communication, said Deyoung. 

And in school Tuesday, they practiced a lockdown drill during school hours at Bolich to keep students and staff trained on what to do in the event of an emergency, said Nichols. 

Later this month, the school will be performing a play called I Have a Secret on March 26 at the auditorium, he said. Given the content of the play, only grades seven to 12 will be allowed to attend with their parents. 

At the conclusion of the performance, a panel of local law officials, which will include Chief Tom Pozza, will take questions from the audience on bullying prevention and school safety. 

School Officials, Parents Combat Bullying at Bolich Middle School


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