Oakhurst Intermediate Academy has issued a warning to the public and families of its students after recent concerning events earlier this month on social media.
By letter and social media release, Oakhurst officials issued highlighted copies of the school’s policies on cellular devices on campus.
The implicit but clear intent of the notice was to announce that the school will strictly enforce the highlighted regulations and accompany penalties.
According to the release, the renewed focus on the policy’s enforcement arose “out of caution and concern with recent student activity on social media….”
Oakhurst officials have not publicly disclosed either the nature of the recent student activity on social media that gave rise to the public notice or the number of students whose behavior contributed to the public warning.
The Clarksdale Municipal School District Code of Conduct provides that students violating the policy against unauthorized electronic devices on campus will potentially face penalties that increase for repeat offenders.
For the first offense, the unauthorized electronic device will be confiscated and returned to the student’s parent or guardian.
In event of a repeat offense, the device will be confiscated and returned to the student’s parent or guardian at the conclusion of the school year.
Any student refusing to surrender an unauthorized electronic device in response to a proper request by a school district employee faces a five-day suspension or other such action as deemed appropriate by the school principal.
Under the recently announced reorganization plan by the Clarksdale Municipal School District Board of Trustees, Oakhurst Intermediate Academy will become a school teaching third, fourth and fifth grade students.
The plan also provides that some faculty and staff from Heidelberg Elementary School, which is scheduled for closing at the end of the 2021-2022 school year, will be reassigned to Oakhurst.
As with all CMSD policy and procedures the safety and wellbeing of students is the top priority of school administrators and teachers.
