On Halloween night, two unidentified costumed individuals broke into Jackson-Reed’s portable trailers. They left after a few minutes of tampering with school property, and nothing of significant value was damaged or taken.
The incident follows a series of school security issues, as previously reported on by The Beacon. A student’s handgun was confiscated at security in September during school hours, and JR was also alerted of an anonymous threat against DCPS schools a few days later.
The two individuals trespassed school property by entering through the perimeter gate and the door to the portables, which were both left unlocked. They also entered many of the classrooms, as some teachers in the portables left their doors open or unlocked. “I usually leave my door open because I don’t have a [fob] to get into my room,” explained social studies teacher Michael Petillo.
While some teachers have fobs to access their classrooms in the portables, newer teachers, like Petillo, do not. The portable doors lock automatically when they close, so teachers have resorted to leave their doors propped open.
Petillo said that his room “was not the same as [he] left it,” but that “it could’ve been a lot worse. [The break-in] was sort of just one of those little lapses in the system.”
According to Strategy and Logistics Coordinator Brandon Hall, the MPD was notified following the incident. However, the individuals could not be identified in the security camera footage due to their costumes and have not been apprehended. It is unknown whether the individuals were Jackson-Reed students.
Following the break-in, Brown said that the administration “reviewed our safety protocols and expectations with staff.” He emphasized that “maintaining a safe learning environment is important to us.”
Many students were unaware that the break-in took place. “I didn’t know anything about it at all,” said junior Charlie Hall. He said that he was surprised as to why anybody would want to break-in.
An anonymous freshman also said that they weren’t notified about the incident. “I feel like we should up the security,” they said.
Hall was indifferent about being notified about the break-in but mentioned that he thinks “it’s probably for the better, so that people don’t start getting bad ideas.” In contrast, sophomore Eva Steinman said, “I think our school needs to do a better job of informing the students.”
“I think it was a wake up call for everyone, if they smashed the SMART Board or stole something of value, that would’ve been really bad,” said Petillo.
