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| District takes steps for safer school campuses |
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| Written by Maddy Houk / Patterson Irrigator / | |
| Wednesday, 03 October 2007 | |
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“This is a community-wide issue that’s now on our campus. If everyone can help out, we can resolve a lot of issues.” - Superintendent Patrick Sweeney Patterson Unified School District has stepped up safety measures after a fight broke out Sept. 19 at Patterson High School during a morning fire drill. After the fight, the campus was locked down for more than three hours while police searched for weapons. Over the next few days, more than 10 students were suspended and now face expulsion. Police suspect those who started the fight were members of the Runners gang. “This is a community-wide issue that’s now on our campus,” Superintendent Patrick Sweeney said. “If everyone can help out, we can resolve a lot of issues.” At Monday night’s school board meeting, trustees heard about how the district is doing its part. Sweeney announced that more campus supervisors will soon be in place at the high school, and a school resource officer will be there five days a week. Creekside Middle School will also have a school resource officer on campus five days a week. Several parent meetings will be scheduled, and guidance and learning counselor Diane Vargas will schedule counseling, character education and speakers on campus. Motivational speaker Michael Pritchard will be at the school today to encourage students to do the right thing. The district has applied for a school safety grant through the county, and a group of parents and students called PHS Safe Haven continues to meet. Meanwhile, Sweeney said, good things are happening at the high school, too. Eighty-six percent of Patterson High’s 2007 graduates are attending post-secondary institutions, with 60 percent at community colleges and 26 percent at four-year colleges. Graduates earned more than $900,000 in scholarships. More students are taking Advancement Via Individual Determination classes, Sweeney said. AVID targets academically average students who want to go on to higher education and who have at least one parent who did not attend college. The high school recently received a six-year Western Association of Schools and Colleges accreditation, the best possible, and has 22 clubs and 20 interscholastic teams for students. The school district is also working with local businesses to employ teenagers. “Not only does it give them a job, but creates mentors for them,” Sweeney said. The district and city recreation department are planning after-school activities for students. One possibility, after football season ends, is to open the community stadium for families to use a couple of nights a week. The district and the recreation department are also working together to show movies at the high school auditorium once a month. The future Walnut Grove School, on Walnut and Hartley avenues in east Patterson, will have a gym shared by the city and the school district. The gym will have a stage, for example, that can be used by performing arts groups. It is expected to be ready by 2009. “There’s still a lot to do,” Sweeney said. “We’re working with the city and law enforcement to get kids on track.” School board highlights
To reach Maddy Houk at the Irrigator, call 892-6187 or e-mail her at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
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