West Orange Students Hold School Walkout For Parkland Victims

WEST ORANGE, NJ — Students at West Orange High School held a walkout on Wednesday to show their support for the victims of the recent mass shooting in Parkland, Florida. The students won't be disciplined for the protest, the district's superintendent said.

West Orange High School Principal Hayden Moore posted about the protest on Twitter (see full Tweet with photo below). He wrote that he was proud of the students, who were attempting to show support for their peers at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School following a tragic shooting that claimed the lives of 17 people and injured several others.

• See related article: Accused Parkland Shooter Charged With 17 Counts Of Murder

Moore wrote:

“Proud of our West Orange High School #Mountaineers who hosted another peaceful protest/walkout to show their support for #StonemanDouglasHS #StudentsStandUp #ProudPrincipal"

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On Thursday, the office of Superintendent Jeffrey Rutzky provided Patch with the following statement about the walkout:

“It was a small group of students. The walk out took place during their lunch. The students remained on campus. The students expressed to their peers their desire to maintain a safe environment at their school. The staff was unaware in advance that it was taking place. The staff administrators monitored the demonstration for the safety of the students. Students will not be disciplined as is customary when a peaceful demonstration occurs at school.”

On Feb. 15, Rutzky wrote a letter to the school community about the Parkland shooting, which can be seen in full here.

“Our hearts go out to everyone affected by the tragic incident yesterday in Florida,” he stated. “As educators, each and every time this occurs, it cuts us to our core and we feel every one of these senseless tragedies incredibly deeply.”

Rutzky said that the safety of the district’s students and staff is of “the highest priority.”

He wrote:

“Please know that we regularly meet to review our District Crisis Plan and Emergency Response Plan. Each school has a crisis management team to evaluate security procedures. These groups include members from the West Orange Police Department. As required by the New Jersey Department of Education, each school must practice 2 safety drills per month, with one drill being a fire drill. We will continue to work with the police to have the most effective Emergency Response Plan possible and continue to annually update the district security equipment.”

The West Orange School District and the West Orange Police Department will host a public forum on "safety and security" in the district's public schools on Wednesday, Feb. 28 at 7 p.m. in the West Orange High School Auditorium at 51 Conforti Avenue.

The public discussion is open to parents, guardians, students, district employees and community members, school administrators said.

• See related article: West Orange Schools, Police To Host Public Forum On Security

• See related article: Walkout At Middletown South High School Over Gun Violence (Video)
• See related article: Walkout At Eastern Regional High School Over Gun Violence
• See related article: 200 Hazlet Students Walk Out After Florida Shooting

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