Incident outside JSIS

It’s every mother’s nightmare: you’re walking down the street with your child, when you hear tires squeal and a shout “Police! Get on the ground!”

As if the terror of being caught in a potential crossfire weren’t enough, the scene, involving five police cars and drawn guns, unfolded right outside the John Stanford International School as children were leaving the school building: how to protect yourself, your child and children a half a block away, and far beyond shouting range? Mrs. Wallyhood, the mother in question, was shaken almost to tears.

When we passed the scene at about 3 pm on Friday, things had settled a bit: a red “muscle truck” was being searched by officers while the tattooed driver sat on the bumper a squad car, arms crossed but uncuffed, surrounded by police. Oddly, halfway down the block another man sat on the curb between cars, adjusting his pants and belt with difficulty for several minutes.

We don’t know exactly what happened, but have sent an inquiry to the police and let you know what we find. When we asked the police at the scene, we were waved away with a dismissive “everything’s fine”. We did note that after about 20 minutes of searching, the driver of the car was allowed to return to his vehicle and drove away.

Jesse Alverez, the JSIS Principal, sent this note to parents:

To: John Stanford International School Families, Students, and Staff
From: Jesely Alvarez, Principal
RE: Security Incident

Good Afternoon:

I am writing to you with information regarding a suspicious circumstance in the community that affected our school this afternoon.  Seattle Police informed us that a potentially serious situation was happening near our school and as a precaution, we decided to “shelter-in-place”.  This is a routine measure that our district uses to protect students and includes locking all exterior doors, limiting the movement of our students, but continuing education.  After about a half hour, the police gave us the “all clear” and we resumed our regular operations.

I want to commend the students and staff of John Stanford International School for their response to this incident.  I was very proud of the way students took seriously the directions given them during our shelter in place, and even more so, of the actions of our staff for their quick and professional response to this incident.

Parent/guardians, many of you were preparing to pick up students during this incident, or were witness to the starting of our shelter-in-place.  I hope we were able to answer your questions and reassure you of your student’s safety.  At the same time, I hope all of you can understand why we were not able to have extended conversations, allow entry/exit, or provide specific details during the event.  I am meeting with the staff this afternoon, to debrief our response, etc.  I would encourage you, if you were here during any part of the incident, to provide your perspective on our actions by contacting me [at email and phone provided].

As always, our emphasis remains on providing a safe place to learn.

Sincerely,

Jesely Alvarez
Principal