Update on Delridge/Juneau “disturbance”: Principal’s note

| Delridge | West Seattle news | West Seattle schools

Posted online, and also forwarded to WSB in e-mail: A letter from Chief Sealth High School principal John Boyd, to students’ families, following the incident covered here yesterday. (We checked with Seattle Public Schools‘ media team at the time and their response indicated it happened off-campus, but Principal Boyd’s note mentioned a “fight … on campus during lunch.” In response to our request for clarification, he tells WSB, “To clarify, while there was a fight that occurred on campus yesterday, the issue that sparked large scale police response occurred off campus.”) He also writes, “Those students known to be involved in the incident have been disciplined according to District policy,” notes today’s meeting with police (reported here this morning), and says Sealth will be in a “closed campus” situation for the rest of the week. P.S. Sealth/Boren updates are part of the North Delridge Neighborhood Council agenda for tonight (7 pm, Delridge Library).

Mike Dady October 1, 2008 (5:31 pm)

Thank you Principal Boyd for keeping parents and neighbors informed. Very much appreciated.

As for the Sealth/Boren being on the agenda at tonight’s meeting of the North Delridge Neighborhood Council, we are going to be talking about the future use of the Boren site. More than a year ago, DNDA asked the North Delridge Neighborhood Council to support their long term effort to try and acquire the Boren property from the School District. DNDA had a concept and vision of pairing up with a for-profit developer and together they hoped to redevelop the site for shopping, business and housing. We haven’t heard anything from DNDA since, which has me and other people wondering what is going on….

WSB October 1, 2008 (5:34 pm)

Thanks for the clarification, Mike! We’re planning on being there for the meeting, see you then.

mellaw6565 October 1, 2008 (9:20 pm)

I talked to one of the students today and it was a fight between “blacks and mexicans” (according to the student) which was a carryover from a fight last school year. She said that the campus has been closed for the next week as a “punishment”.

Her words, not mine.

epl October 1, 2008 (10:55 pm)

Ah, nice to see that SCHOOL is back in session! Wonder how many cops “get to” sit outside the school at lunch time this year. Last year’s watch was three cops a day! Oh, joy.

JimmyG October 2, 2008 (7:53 am)

It wasn’t a disturbance, it was a gang fight.

But the school won’t call it that.

WSB October 2, 2008 (9:22 am)

“Disturbance” was actually the word used by Lt. Paulsen as per my original report, fwiw.

JimmyG October 2, 2008 (10:18 am)

Yes, “disturbance” being the PC name for a gang fight.

West Seattle Mom October 2, 2008 (11:33 am)

Disturbance is not SPD’s attempt at PC, it’s their official reporting term.

homesweethome October 2, 2008 (12:47 pm)

Is this really the state of our public schools? What a sad thing, and utter waste of public resources that teachers, administrators and police, must spend so much time on violence, truancy, and general disregard by students that school should be a revered place of learning. I went to public school, and we certainly didn’t have officers just keeping watch outside the school, just in case.