Wichita Public Schools superintendent sends letter to parents about ‘rash of incidents’
Following the third brawl at a Wichita high school this week and news of a second student being arrested with a gun, the Wichita Public Schools superintendent sent parents and guardians a letter about the “rash of incidents” this week.
“Public attention has been drawn to fights and students gathering to video the incident, as well as incidents of students bringing a weapon to school,” superintendent Dr. Alicia Thompson said in Friday’s letter. “Thankfully there have been no threats with the weapons, and no injuries during the fights, but we take each of these incidents seriously. The actions of a small number of our students who cause commotion and fear in our schools is completely unacceptable, and it must stop.”
Tuesday was the only day this week where there weren’t publicly-reported incidents of a brawl or arrest at a high school.
A 16-year-old boy was arrested Monday at Wichita West High School after he was found with a gun.
About seven or eight students were involved in a brawl Wednesday in the cafeteria of Southeast High School. A school security officer used pepper spray to break up a crowd.
There were two brawls outside of Wichita West High School on Thursday, one involving six to eight students and another brawl with three others. One student was arrested.
A 16-year-old student was also arrested Thursday at Wichita East High School for having a handgun. The gun was found on the boy after a school resource officer got a tip from staff about a student having a gun.
On Friday, a large brawl at Wichita South High School had an extra scare when students threw poppers in the hallways and yelled “gun,” according to district spokesperson Susan Arensman.
Arensman said the fights and arrests are not related.
“It is not normal for this many incidents to happen in one week, but sometimes incidents come in waves,” she said.
Thompson asked parents to remind their children that “disruptive behavior that threatens the learning environment of their school, and causes fear or disruption, will not be tolerated in our schools.”
She said a school official will update the school board at the Sept. 12 meeting about current safety precautions and ones “we will be excited to bring to our schools.”
