This letter was sent to Heights High families and staff on January 26.
Dear Heights High School Families and Staff,
On Tuesday night after a basketball game at Heights High School, a fight broke out in the parking lot, during which Cleveland Heights police requested mutual aid from local law enforcement. During the incident, two police officers and two 19-year-olds were reportedly injured. Thankfully, no one was seriously hurt. The District is working to determine to what extent students from the CH-UH district were involved, and appropriate disciplinary actions will follow per the Student Code of Conduct if violations have occurred.
Out of an abundance of caution, we have added additional protocols that will be in place for the home basketball game on Friday, January 27:
- Tickets will be limited to family members of Heights High School and Maple Heights High School players/cheerleaders only (three per player/cheerleader).
- The Cleveland Heights Police Department will have an increased presence in the building and on campus.
- Additional police will aid security personnel in monitoring for loitering outside of the building and on campus.
We will continue to enforce our standard security protocols for athletic games, examples of which are below.
- Metal detectors at the entrances.
- Security monitors posted at doors and throughout the venue, actively monitoring the space.
- Spectators are not permitted to park in the lot between the football stadium and the school building. Only the athletic staff working the games, administrators, coaches, security and police officers are allowed to park in this lot.
- At the conclusion of the game, the gym is emptied immediately.
It’s worth noting that there were no issues inside of the school during the game on Tuesday. This is a reflection of the expertise and professionalism of our security team, athletics department, and Heights High School staff, as well as the overall respectful nature of our students and the other game attendees.
We will provide additional updates as needed. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.
Sincerely,
Superintendent Liz Kirby
Principal Dr. Alisa Lawson-McKinnie