Teen apologizes for vandalism

MAT-SU — One of two teens accused of vandalizing Willow Elementary School has apologized; meanwhile the school has been cleaned up and is back to normal, or close to it.

“We’re trying to get it as back to normal as possible,” Principal Alberta Nordberg said Monday.

The school’s computer lab is back up and running, and every teacher has a working computer in his or her classroom. Overall, an estimated $150,000 in damage was done during the April 12 incident. Most of the school’s classrooms were vandalized, including throwing computers and other equipment to the floors. Some items, like a deeply gouged electronic wipe board in the library, will have to be replaced over the summer. But most of the paint has been washed off the walls and dust from exhausted fire extinguishers swept, shampooed and vacuumed away.

Alaska State Troopers have said two teenagers, ages 13 and 14, are responsible for the vandalism. Both have been charged with criminal mischief, burglary and terroristic threatening. The threatening charge relates to a bomb threat scrawled in marker in the school’s hallway.

Nordberg said she received a one-page apology letter from one of the boys. She put an excerpt from the apology in the school’s bulletin late last week.

“I’m sorry I vandalized the school,” the teen writes. “I know that I did wrong. I don’t know why I vandalized the school. All I know is that I was being careless, heartless and thoughtless for what I did. I messed up. There is no reason why I vandalized the school. I would like to apologize to the students of Willow Elementary, and I’m also sorry that I hurt your well-being.”

Nordberg said the first week back since the vandalism was discovered April 12 went pretty well. That first Tuesday, a lot of students stayed home, she said. Parents were worried about air quality in the school. But by that Wednesday, the school was up to normal attendance levels.

“I think they could see that things were clean, the air was clean,” Nordberg said.

She said air quality reports show the school is cleaner than usual — the air is at least 15 times cleaner than the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s permissible exposure levels. First thing April 15, the first day of classes following the vandalism, the school held an assembly, which Nordberg said went well.

“Those kids, I think you could’ve heard a pin drop in that assembly, which is very unusual,” Nordberg said. Three classes were displaced, but the kids didn’t seem to mind.

“Teachers could take lessons from the kids on how to be resilient,” she said. “They thought it was an adventure.”

Among her staff, Nordberg said the consensus is that it’s time to move on, but to make sure the two teens aren’t ostracized.

“We need to figure out some way to let these kids know that we still know that they’re decent human beings and let their families know that we would like to help support them in getting these kids back on the right track,” Nordberg said.

She also hopes with everything returning to normal the school can get back on track toward a good end to the school year.

“At the end of the school year I’d much rather have a celebration than have to clean up the school like we did,” she said.

Contact Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiers-man.com or 352-2270.