November 9, 2006

Dear ARHS Parents and Guardians,

I want to make you aware of a situation that came to our attention late Wednesday afternoon.

We received information about a potential conflict involving ARHS students. This information included the possibility of weapons being brought to school today. 

We assumed, as we must, that there was some strong measure of truth to this information and, therefore, we immediately contacted the Amherst Police Department.

Throughout the night, police detectives interviewed all of the students whose names surfaced as part of the conflict. And, by morning, we believed that we had a sufficient grasp of the situation to safely open school.

We took additional precautions to ensure a heightened level of security. These included a uniformed police presence at the school all day as well as an increased presence of ARHS faculty and staff in the hallways.

I am pleased to report to you that for the entire day, Amherst Regional High School looked like school. I have walked the entire building and observed teaching and learning going forward.

If there are any further developments, I will communicate them to you via updated postings on the ARHS web site.

Lastly, I will be available in the library tonight at 7 pm to answer questions about the events of the day. I encourage you to attend if have questions or concerns.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Mark Jackson
Principal