Dear OJR Families and Staff,

As we shared earlier, we are very happy to report that law enforcement successfully apprehended an escaped inmate from Chester County Prison in our community.

We want to re-emphasize our sincere appreciation to our brave police and law enforcement officers for everything they do to ensure the safety of our school community. After discussions with state and local law enforcement, I am also happy to share that all schools and offices in our district will reopen tomorrow morning, with classes and transportation continuing as regularly scheduled.

Moving forward, law enforcement may still have a presence in our community as they continue their investigation. Starting this afternoon, high school athletic and extracurricular programs may resume their practices and activities (scheduled games and events for today are still canceled). High school coaches and advisors will share additional information as needed. Middle school athletics and extracurricular programs remain canceled for today, but will resume starting tomorrow.

We understand that the search for the escaped convict was stressful and upsetting for our entire community. We offer our thanks to everyone for banding together in strength and unity, and for your unwavering support. We firmly believe that our schools remain one of the safest places in our community to send your child, thanks to the support of a team of trained professionals and a dedicated school security and police department. 

As we prepare to come back to school, we encourage parents and guardians to talk with their children and provide reassurances about safety. They might feel nervous or worried - and that’s normal.  Many helpers and trusted adults are available if anyone needs to talk. In addition, we will have counseling available to any student at our school wishing to speak with a trained professional. We also want to provide a list of helpful resources for families who may be seeking strategies to engage with their children about what has transpired.

We look forward to resuming our work to provide all of our students with a safe, high-quality learning environment, and we welcome your continued partnership in K-12 education. Thank you once again for your patience, support, and understanding throughout this challenging situation. Please do not hesitate to reach out to your child’s school if we can be of any assistance.

Sincerely,

Will Stout

Superintendent

Owen J. Roberts School District