Student behavior out of control, Newport News teachers and community members say

In a public comment session that lasted nearly three hours, teachers, parents and students spoke out in anger and frustration about what they say is an unsafe and unsupportive environment at Newport News Public Schools.

Speakers voiced their concerns during the emotionally charged meeting Tuesday night, the district’s first scheduled board meeting since the Jan. 6 shooting of Richneck Elementary teacher Abigail Zwerner.

Teachers and parents said student behavior is out of control at many schools, and consequences are minimal. Some teachers said they’ve been discouraged from making behavior or discipline complaints because suspension rates can affect accreditation.

Many teachers said they felt disrespected by administrators and top leadership in the district, and called for Superintendent George Parker to step down.

Nicole Cooke, who said she served as a co-chair on the superintendent’s teacher advisory committee, said dismissing the concerns of teachers is a form of disrespect.

“If Abigail had been respected, she wouldn’t be in the hospital right now,” Cooke said. “If the Heritage teachers had been respected, two students would not have been injured last year.”

Desire Yvette, whose 6-year-old daughter was in Zwerner’s class during the shooting, told the board her daughter was being bullied in school, and Zwerner was working with Yvette and administrators to resolve the issue.

“She’s terrified,” Yvette said of her daughter. “Because the person that was advocating for her got hurt. She got hurt.”

William Fenker, an eighth grade science teacher at Gildersleeve Middle School, said students do not feel safe.

“Our students do not wonder if there will be another school shooting,” Fenker said. “They wonder when and where the next shooting will be.”

Fenker acknowledged that top district officials have publicly stated they want to regain the trust of teachers.

“But our trust is not a ‘would be nice,’ it is a ‘must have.’ Without our trust and cooperation, this district will fail in its mission and further embarrass itself in the eyes of the community, nation and world,” he said. “My trust, our trust, is not going to be won back by showing us cherry-picked data that makes you look good.”

Dee’Jean Mendez, a teacher at Sedgefield Elementary, said closing Richneck for the week was the correct decision.

“But what about the rest of us?” she said. “We endured trauma. The target was us. I’m an elementary school teacher. The target was us. And we were expected to go to work as normal.”

Mendez said some teachers are angry, some are scared, and some are thinking, “I don’t think I want this job anymore.”

Cameron Bertrand, CEO of Violence Intervention & Prevention, said the community failed Zwerner, and also failed the 6-year-old student who police say shot her.

“To the student at a young age of 6 years old, that had no coping skills, no mental health support, no access to resources, impacted by generational trauma … we failed that young student,” Bertrand said.

He asked everyone at the board meeting to use the energy they brought to the meeting to make changes, whether through volunteering with students impacted by mental health challenges or donating to grassroots organizations that are working on solutions.

“Don’t wait on them,” Bertrand said, referring to the school board.

Earlier Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Bobby Scott held a roundtable with community leaders to discuss the shooting and ways to improve school safety.

During the roundtable, Parker said he learned in a recent meeting with the U.S. Department of Education that after an incident or crisis such as the one that occurred at Richneck, it takes a community over a year to 18 months to heal from the circumstances.

“And they also said there’s a higher probability that a similar incident may happen in your community after one incident occurs,” Parker said. “With that being said, when you think about the last 18 months, there have been several incidents that occurred in Newport News. We have not healed.”

During the discussion, several experts expressed the need for investments in students’ and staff’s social and emotional welfare. However, they also cautioned that metal detectors would not be effective in reducing gun violence. Newport News officials announced last week they would install metal detectors at every school in response to the Richneck shooting, which was the third shooting on district property in 17 months.

Jim Freeman, Director of the Social Movement Support Lab, said metal detectors are, at best, “a mild deterrent” that would only delay — not prevent — a shooter from causing harm. He also said metal detectors could have harmful effects.

Although Parker said he understands the research and believes “the research is valid,” he said he would continue to favor putting metal detectors in place. He said there have been multiple incidents, and “we have to share with our community that we are going to do everything possible.”

“But it’s not just metal detection,” he added. “It will also be behavioral specialists, building a strong youth culture in our schools, and many of the other things that we’re already working on, in addition to that added layer of support.”

Nour Habib, nour.habib@virginiamedia.com

Josh Janney, joshua.janney@virginiamedia.com