Image from Isabella Shimizu.
Break-ins have been reported in multiple classrooms around the campus of Washington High School this school year. These incidents spanned from September to as recent as November. As of now, we do not know who or for what reason people have broken into the classrooms.
The classrooms that were broken into had doors that lock automatically when closed. These specific types of doors are good for schools with concerns about security, as they do not allow anyone who doesn’t have the correct key to enter from the outside; however, people still managed to break in even with these newly updated door locks. As of now, at least four teachers’ classrooms have been broken into, and the Hatchet was able to interview two of them.
Mr. Bullard, coach of the girls tennis team and teacher of special education, had his room broken into in November. His room is located near the entrance of the school and near the tennis courts. “A week ago, Monday, we left for the day, and then I was not there because of the MVAL tennis tourney, but on Tuesday, my aide came in and saw that my desk was tossed, and then the person who’s next door, her office was tossed as well,” Bullard said. “And ultimately, all they took was the gym keys, which is the problem. So, we may have to rekey the entire gym, just because we don’t know who has the keys.” Mr. Bullard also mentioned that classrooms at Centerville Middle School located just down the street were also getting broken into. Because of the nature of the door locks, Mr. Bullard believes that whoever broke in must have had access to a master key.
Earlier in September, Mr. Wu’s classroom was also broken into. Mr. Wu, leader of DECA and a math teacher, has had multiple break-ins occur in his room. “[When I went into my classroom] the next morning at 6:30 A.M. the first thing I noticed was that my door was a little ajar,” Wu says. “And then as I walked in, the back windows, which were always open, were shut. I bet somebody was in here and I checked my back cabinet, which I don’t usually lock up on the weekdays, and I discovered all the cash donations were stolen from my cash box. It was completely empty.” This was the money from DECA donations that students and parents gave to Mr. Wu for safekeeping. Some of the DECA parents heard about what happened and have donated more money to Mr. Wu for funds.
The second classroom break-in to Mr. Wu’s room occurred during Labor Day weekend. “I noticed the door was a little ajar,” he says. “And when I walked in, again, the back windows were shut. But now, the back closet was open. And I discovered all the AP Statistics candy was taken. And I had about 100 dollars worth of candy stolen.” Both times, Mr. Wu came to his classroom and found his door a little cracked open in the morning. He has had no issues since the break-ins because apparently he had a loose door, which was probably the reason they broke in so easily. An additional factor could have been where his classroom was placed. His classroom is near the parking lot, by most of the other math classrooms, and therefore can easily be accessed by someone walking in off of the sidewalk.
Though there have not been reported break-ins since Mr. Bullard’s classroom, it’s best to stay cautious of any suspicious behavior and to make sure to keep any valuables secure.
Makoa has lived in Fremont for all his life. He is going into his second year of journalism and will be the section editor for sports and health articles. He is also the video editor for the Hatchet’s online publications. Currently Makoa is on the varsity football team, and will be participating in basketball during the winter. He also likes to listen to music and edit pictures/videos for his youtube/instagram. He plans to attend Juco and then transfer to UH Manoa or San Jose State.