Good afternoon War Eagle families! Over the past several weeks our stakeholders
have had many focused discussions surrounding school safety and security. As a result
of these conversations and multiple inquiries, | feel the need to inform our families of
a security threat that occurred during the 2016-2017 school year. It is my hope that
sharing this information will help us all to understand Astronaut’s protocols for safety
and security.
In January 2017, Astronaut students and a teacher reported that another student
threatened to shoot people at school. Through strong relationships between our
teacher and students, as well as the Titusville PD, detectives acted promptly which
resulted in the arrest of two students who had allegedly conspired to harm our
students. A search of their homes found weapons that they could have used to carry
out an attack. The beginning and end of the investigation happened over a long
weekend. The students were investigated and under arrest all within that
weekend. The students were expelled from Brevard Public Schools and turned over to
the juvenile justice system,
We were asked by law enforcement not to publicly disclose anything during their open
investigation, and we cooperated for the sake of student safety. Many changes to
increase the level of security for our students at Astronaut have been implemented
since the threat. We want to communicate and emphasize the measures we had
taken to update and increase the level of security and thoroughness of our
procedures. Astronaut has worked closely with Titusville PD and the Brevard Sheriff's
Office to make our campus more secure and to keep our students safe.
|1am committed to prioritizing student safety and security as number one. Astronaut
has been recognized as a “flagship” school by the Titusville SWAT team, developing
exemplary processes and procedures that can be replicated throughout the county, in
the event of a threat to school security.
| need the support of all of stakeholders, students, families, and community alike, to
assist Astronaut in maintaining a positive learning environment that starts with a safe
campus. Please talk with and listen to your students. If you or they see something or
hear something, please tell someone! Please do not hesitate to schedule a meeting
with me if you would like to further discuss school safety. Have a great evening and
6000000 War Eagles!!!