'Physical Altercations' At Wheaton-Warrenville South Raise Concerns

WHEATON, IL — A string of "physical altercations" between students at Wheaton-Warrenville South has prompted Principal Lorie Campos to release statements expressing her "disappointment" and encouraging parents "not assume that rumors concerning student injuries are accurate."

Campos first issued an email to parents on Feb. 28 to share that "[o]ver the past couple weeks there have been a few physical altercations between students on campus." The principal went on to write that the altercations had been "targeted" and did not pose a threat to "the rest of the students or staff at South."

Campos wrote:

"As the Principal at South, I am deeply disappointed that these incidents have occurred as this type of behavior does not represent the school culture that we are proud of, or that we expect from our students. Please know that we will not tolerate these behaviors under any circumstances. We will continue to work with our students to help guide them in their decision making and help them find other ways to resolve conflict.The safety and security of our students, staff, and entire school community is always our top priority. With this in mind, we continue to encourage students and parents that if you see or hear something that doesn’t seem right, please say something. Students can report any concerns to any staff member in the building, the deans, or building administration."

Another email was sent to parents on March 2. In that email, Campos wrote that District 200 is "addressing the incidents," but added that officials are "limited in our ability to comment on the incidents or address the speculation and rumors that are circulating in the community" due to student privacy.

She wrote, "We can affirm that the District is actively engaged in addressing the incidents and ensuring the safety of its students. As we work through this process, we ask for your patience and that you not assume that rumors concerning student injuries are accurate."

Patch contacted District 200 after receiving a concerned email from a relative of a Wheaton-Warrenville South. A district spokesperson responded by sharing the following statement:

"Last week there was a physical altercation between students at Wheaton Warrenville South High School (WWSHS). We are deeply disappointed that this incident occurred at WWSHS and this type of behavior is not tolerated under any circumstances.

While we cannot provide much more information on this incident due to the ongoing investigation and student privacy, we want to assure the community that the safety and security of students, staff and the entire school community is always our top priority. Whenever there is any safety concern, the school and District have a comprehensive assessment process that we follow to ensure we, along with local law enforcement, thoroughly investigate the situation and take necessary disciplinary and legal action.

We understand that many parents and students are concerned about the safety and security at WWSHS as a result of the incident that took place last week. We will continue to respond to and work with any parents or students who have concerns or questions regarding the safety and security of our school. Please know, we have a School Resource Officer and a team of security personnel on campus on a daily basis. We will work with our security team and dean’s office to ensure we are continuing to monitor our building to keep our students and staff safe.

Again, we will continue working with our parents and students to address any concerns they may have as we continue to work through the details of addressing this incident."

Monday afternoon, Wheaton Police Chief P.J. Youker confirmed that there had been a physical altercation between "male juvenile students in a restroom on or about Wednesday, February, 28, 2024, at approximately 11:30am, which resulted in reported non-life threatening injuries."

Youker said the incident remains under investigation and that no additional information was available to be shared as of Monday afternoon.