Monday, March 11, 2024

Hello Paul Robeson Malcolm X Academy Parents,

I am contacting you on an issue important to everyone in our school environment and that issue is school safety. Concerns about school safety have never been higher, we have all heard of the stories about school shootings, physical violence, and the students and staff that are tragically injured and at times lose their lives. Following these incidents there are always solutions identified in hindsight that unfortunately do little for the families whose loved ones are injured and or loss. The reason for this note is to inform parents that Paul Robeson Malcolm X Academy school administration and staff want to be proactive rather than reactive in preventing any incidents of school violence. Cell phones are usually involved in 90% of the situations involving fights and disagreements and disturbances between students during the school day. Every week my staff and I spend precious time investigating inappropriate messages, threats, and photos sent between students most of which occur when students are not in school. At the beginning of the school year, I requested that parents not send their student to school with cell phones, parents who need to contact their student during school hours can simply call the school.

Recognizing situations for which parents find it necessary to provide their student with a cell phone, effective Monday, March 4, 2024, any student who brings a cell phone to school and fails to secure it in the main office when they arrive until the end of the day will receive a 2-day suspension and a mandatory parent conference with Dr. Robinson before they are re-admitted. Furthermore, any student found responsible for sending threats of violence or photos meant to intimidate, bully, or imply violence will be put on immediate suspension pending a hearing for expulsion from Paul Robeson Malcolm X along with a referral provided to DPSCD Public Safety for investigation of the parents and or individual responsible for providing the student with the cell phone.

As principal I take responsibility directly and indirectly for everything that happens during school hours and that for which I am responsible I must also be accountable by putting protocols and procedures in place to make our school as safe as possible for everyone. Good schools are not known for following trends; they are known for setting them. I thank all PRMX parents in advance for cooperating with me in setting a trend of school safety that will benefits students, staff, parents and the surrounding school community. Be well. 

Sincerely,

Jeffery D. Robinson, Ph.D., Principal