Virginia: The community in this shipbuilding town close to the coast of Virginia was shocked when a 6-year-old boy shot and wounded his first grade teacher.
However, the sentiment has turned to anger, especially from parents and teachers, with many criticizing school administrators Tuesday night for what they called a misguided emphasis on attendance and other education data over the safety of students and staff. .
The long-swinging pendulum in American schools is swinging away from suspensions and expulsions, according to experts, which is why anger is rising in Newport News. However, some school districts continue to seek a "happy medium" between strict punishment and a kinder approach.
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Newport News teachers and parents said during a three-hour school board meeting devoted entirely to public comment that students who physically abused staff members and classmates were often allowed to stay in the classroom .
He claimed that if it were not for a toxic environment where teachers' concerns were routinely ignored, the shooting of Abigail Zwerner could have been avoided.
High school librarian Nicole Cook told the board that teachers, students and other staff members are hurt every day in each of our schools. He gets hit every day. They have been bitten. They are injured. And we let them be so that our statistics look good.
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Cook told Superintendent George Parker, "If Abigail had been respected, she would not be in the hospital now." On January 6, Zwerner was shot while leading a first-grade class at Richneck Elementary. According to police, the 6-year-old pointed the gun at his teacher and there was no sign of a struggle or before firing one round. Zwarner was shot in the hand and the bullet entered in her chest. Before being taken to the hospital, the 25-year-old forced his students out of the room.
The mother of a 6-year-old legally purchased the gun, but Newport News police said it was unclear how her son got it. Leaving a loaded firearm where a child under 14 can use it is a misdemeanor offense in Virginia that carries a maximum sentence of one year in prison and a $2,500 fine. At this time, the mother is not being charged.
The community reaction turned to anger late last week when the superintendent revealed that Richneck's administrators knew the child might have had a weapon before he was shot. The staff searched his bag but did not find the 9 mm pistol.
According to Amber Thomas, a former school psychologist in Newport News, Zwerner's shooting was "completely preventable—if the red flags had been taken seriously and the proper procedures had been clearly communicated and followed."
After working there for ten years, Thomas retired from the educational system last year. He recalled an instance in an interview with the Associated Press in which "a teacher was assaulted by a student – and that student did not face any disciplinary action".
Despite not working at Richneck, Thomas, a school counselor who served three elementary schools at once, said, "A school counselor and I were often called upon to intervene in explosive behaviors." The administrator will see what is happening, turn around and move in the opposite direction.
Middle school teacher Cindy Connell, who also spoke to the board, claimed school administrators are focused on limiting punishments such as suspensions for fear of upsetting parents.
She claimed that they were concerned that removing the children from the classroom would jeopardize the school's accreditation. Connell claimed that there was "immense pressure" on administrators to make things look better than they actually were. The shooting of Zwerner did not surprise Connell.
She said, "I have friends who are teachers who have been hit by kindergartners, kicked by kindergartners, punched by kindergartners, and stabbed with pencils by kindergartners. The fact that this child's home But had access to a weapon, the only difference is, so I'm not surprised if you combine those two things.
The Associated Press sent an email to Michelle Price, a spokeswoman for the school board, seeking comment on various criticisms made Tuesday night. Price did not immediately respond.
According to William Kosky, a Stanford law professor and director of the school's Youth and Education Law Project, many American schools in the 1990s had strict zero-tolerance discipline policies.
However, nearly ten years later, as concerns grew that suspensions and expulsions were failing to help students, feeding the school-to-prison pipeline, and disproportionately affecting black children, these Policies began to change.
"You are just more likely to go down that path, to not graduate, to end up not being a very productive person if you get expelled a lot," Koski said.
The focus of educators is now on fostering a secure and encouraging school environment while focusing on the underlying causes of behavioural issues.
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Koski claimed to comprehend the annoyances experienced by educators in Newport News and elsewhere. According to him, some school districts might still be looking for a "happy medium" between the two strategies.
However, it appears that Republicans in Virginia's House of Delegates want to swing the pendulum back. According to a bill introduced last month, the state Department of Education must set up a consistent system of student discipline.
It would specify requirements for how disruptive students should be removed from class, with removal becoming mandatory if the behaviour involves violence.
With about 185,000 residents, Newport News is a multicultural city with a roughly 45 percent white and 41 percent black population. It is located along the James River close to the Chesapeake Bay. It is probably best known for its sizable shipyard, which produces other US Navy ships as well as the country's aircraft carriers.
According to data from the US Census, about 15% of the population is considered to be poor. According to FBI data, more than 400 of the city's nearly 1,000 violent crimes in 2021 involved a handgun or other firearm.
William Fenker, a science teacher of eighth-grade students, told the board that "gun violence has become a constant for our students." It has been a prominent issue in our community for some time, and it has even entered the national conversation.
In a little more than a year, there have been two additional shootings at Newport News schools.
Two 17-year-old students were shot in a crowded high school hallway in September 2021 by a 15-year-old boy who had gotten into a fight with one of the students.
In the parking lot of a different high school following a football game, an 18-year-old student fatally shot a 17-year-old two months after that shooting. Before fighting started, according to the police, the teenagers made "gestures" in the gym.
Fenker assured the board that "our students do not wonder if there will be another school shooting." "They speculate about the timing and location of the next shooting."
90 walk-through metal detectors will be installed in schools throughout Newport News, starting with the one where Zwerner was shot, the school board announced last week. But at the board meeting on Tuesday night, many parents were unsatisfied.
Doug Marmon, a parent of two school-age children, called for the dismissal of the executive management of the educational system as well as increased security measures. He also wants the way the system deals with inappropriate behaviour to change.
No matter their age or situation, he said, "students need to be held accountable for their actions—not transferred to another school or placed in a different classroom."
David Wilson, a different parent, asserted that the issue originates at home. He did, however, also raise concerns about the effects of taking kids out of the classroom.
Wilson said, "We can start suspending more kids and sending them home, which is what everyone wants to do. So you just stopped a school shooting, but you just started a shooting at a 7-Eleven, he said. "You didn't find a solution. You changed the focus of the conversation.