MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Students at Freedom Prep Academy High School are in the middle of TNReady testing, and school officials say the last thing they need is to lose any computers that are used to take exams.
“Especially not charters schools. We are non-profit, so we are very lean from the start,”
Police say that’s exactly what Gary Jackson was after when he broke in to the school early Wednesday morning.
They say he got in through a window was found lying on a classroom floor.
It’s not something parents want to hear.
“It’s always scary for somebody to break into the school. We just have to stay vigilant,” a parent said.
Police say they fond a trash can full of items the suspect planned to take – including two Ipads, a laptop, a recorder and some food.
Officers say when they caught him he was wearing a Freedom Prep jacket.
School officials say they sat down with the students and told them about the incident. A letter was also sent home to parents.
Parents say they are just thankful it happened well before schools started and that the burglar was caught in the act.
“If there was an active threat we would send a robo call, but we didn’t think that was needed at this time,”
The charter school was able to counter the bad news with some good news.
For the second year, every single senior has been accepted to a four-year college, “ranging from Agnes Scott, CBU, Howard University and Rhodes College.”
Still they’re doing everything they can to make sure the school is safe and secure.
Freedom Prep says it appears Jackson is homeless, which speaks to a bigger problem in the city.
Jackson is charged with burglary and theft.