NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- More than a hundred parents and teachers showed up to the first Newport News School Board meeting on Tuesday night after police said a 6-year-old student intentionally shot a teacher during class at Richneck Elementary School.
Community members packed the boardroom on Tuesday night to the point that it forced staff members to open up an overflow room and cancel the rest of the items on the agenda.
Parents and teachers could be heard cheering in agreement throughout the meeting after expressing their concerns to the school board. Many of the concerns centered around safety issues that they say haven't been addressed.
One parent said they felt all levels of trust in the district had been lost while a mother shared through tears how scared she and her kids are that something is going to happen during the school day.
"I send my child to school praying they will return," Evelyn Cox, a mother, said.
Since the shooting, the school district has shared that they searched the six-year-old student's backpack for a gun earlier in the day but hadn't found anything. Since then, they have announced additional safety measures, including adding metal detectors to all 90 schools in the district.
Despite this development, many at Tuesday's meeting vocalized that this step simply scratches the surface when it comes to addressing safety concerns.
"I've had a kid reach out to me who was in the classroom last week and he's having nightmares. How are you going to tell me metal detectors are going to make the nightmares go away? It's not."
In their three minutes of speaking to the school board, teachers expressed what they believe needs to change in order for safety in the district to improve. Many said they believe a lack of accountability in discipline is creating unsafe environments.
"We have failed our students under the guise of grace, under the guise of showing grace, and this grace has turned into enabling. We have failed our students,” one teacher added.
Others shared how they feel disciplinary incidents and concerns aren't being listened to or properly reported. One teacher received a loud round of applause from fellow educators after she said teachers know that the number of disciplinary incidents is on the decline because these incidents are not always officially reported.
Others in attendance on Tuesday night called on the school board and the superintendent to resign and also urged an outside investigation. They said that at a minimum, they are expecting leaders to listen to them and make changes to help make schools safer.
“How am I supposed to convince a board of adults to make changes when they won’t listen to other educated adults who are standing here talking?” one student said.
After over three hours of public comment, the school board shared new action steps with the community that they will be taking at Richneck Elementary. These include full-time security guards, a fully-staffed front office, additional doors to the quads in the second-grade wing, metal detectors and access to security wands. They also said they are considering requiring clear bags and adding security and mental health services.
The district has yet to announce when school will resume. However, they said factors that will help them make this decision will include taking a look at staffing, convening parent focus groups and orientations for students and staff on campus.
