This week, a Freedom High School administrator in the City of Oakley was assaulted as he was attempting to break up a fight between two students on campus.
According to a video that was provided, it shows principal Steve Amaro being punched in the head area multiple times while he is on the ground. Once the video started making the rounds, it was stated Amaro was “jumped” and in the hospital.
During a phone call Tuesday night, Amaro clarified the incident.
“I was trying to break up a fight between two students when we fell to the ground after losing our balance, I was then punched a few times in the process,” explained Amaro who said he could not share any other details on the incident.
He did say the student, who is under the age of 18, has been identified and the school is going through proper disciplinary proceedings.
Amaro said he was not injured, but took 15-minutes to gather himself before trying to show up in as many classrooms as possible—he was met with support from students. He plans to show up to more classrooms on Wednesday.
“Students came up asking if I was okay and there was a genuine care and they know that kind of behavior is not okay,” said Amaro. “The incident was sad for me because I want all students to come to school and succeed. When this happens, it forces me on a reflection point to see what I can do differently when that doesn’t happen.”
He continued.
“My main goal is to keep everyone safe and help students understand if you make decisions and if you take actions with adult behavior it may come with adult consequences,” said Amaro.
Oakley Police were informed of the incident and took a report but have not released any information.
UPDATE via Oakley Police
Amaro witnessed a female student and a student who identifies as non-binary in a verbal argument in a hallway of the school. Amaro believed the argument had the propensity to turn violent due to the intensity of it so he tried to guide the female student away from the other student. In this process somehow he and the female student tripped and fell to the ground. At this point the non-binary student began punching Amaro for a total of what is believed to be up to four times. Amaro suffered injuries to his face and ribs. To my knowledge Amaro has not needed medical care, but I plan on reaching out to him later today to check on him.
Our SRO took a report and that report is being forwarded to the District Attorney’s Office with a recommendation of a felony filing against the non-binary student.
Coffee With the Principal
On Thursday, Freedom High School will host its monthly coffee with the principal at 9:00 am for open discussion with staff or answer any questions form parents or students–on Thursday, they will be providing data on a variety of topics from discipline, attendance and other areas.
“Once a month we hold coffee with the principal. Sometimes topics are around colleges, school safety or testing. It’s an open discussion for anything to be discussed. Its an open forum about multiple topics. We hope to answer parents questions and create a strong relationship with students and parents so we can all work together and find successes,” said Amaro.
Note
The assault of Amaro comes a month after the Oakley Police Department announced a student at Freedom High School was arrested for having a firearm in a vehicle on campus. The student was a 17-year-old.
3 comments
Remember when Oakley was safe? The hood has migrated. Keep telling me how great your City is! Lol
“Non-binary” ? Sad place our society is at. Hold on to your britches, its gonna get worse.
“Students came up asking if I was okay and there was a genuine care” how special.
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