Essential education reporting across America

School safety

Denver Superintendent Alex Marrero, left, speaks at a podium. Denver school board members, including Board President Xóchitl “Sochi” Gaytán in a red blazer, are standing to the right. The Denver Public Schools logo is visible behind them.
From Chalkbeat Colorado Gun Violence and Schools
Denver board splits on competing school policing proposals
Superintendent Alex Marrero had asked the board to make a decision before he finalizes a new school safety plan.
By Erica Meltzer
 
Police cars and ambulances are parked close together in front of Denver’s East High School.
From Chalkbeat Colorado Gun Violence and Schools
Denver Public Schools hires security chief after 6-month lapse
Greg Cazzell has worked 8 years as Aurora Public Schools security chief and 22 years on the Glendale police force.
By Erica Meltzer
 
Two police officers stand outside Denver’s East High School as students walk in the background.
From Chalkbeat Colorado Gun Violence and Schools
With safety plan in the works, Denver school board weighs competing police proposals
One proposal calls for training community resource officers who would respond only to emergencies and threats. Another would give Superintendent Alex Marrero discretion to station police inside schools.
By Erica Meltzer
 
A high school student lays a bouquet of flowers outside of Denver’s East High School.
From Chalkbeat Colorado Denver Public Schools
Police on campus: Denver schools’ new draft safety plan asks the board to decide
Superintendent Alex Marrero previously suggested schools should decide on SROs. Now he wants the school board to set policy.
By Melanie Asmar and Erica Meltzer
 
A boy wearing a hooded sweatshirt with his face obscured hugs his mom.
From Chalkbeat New York Student & School Performance
Success Academy calls 911 on students in mental health crisis, writing its own rules
Families say publicly funded, privately run charter schools in New York are allowed to punish and discriminate against students by calling in emergency services.
By Abigail Kramer, THE CITY
 
Students wait outside of Malcolm X Shabazz High School to head home after the school day.
From Chalkbeat Newark School safety
Artificial intelligence could come to Newark public schools. What does that mean for student privacy and safety?
As security surveillance technology evolves in schools, experts say oversight and community discussions of its implementation should grow too.
By Jessie Gomez
 
Advocates protest school suspension policy in August 2016
From Chalkbeat New York Leadership & Management
NYC school suspensions spike 27% during the first half of the school year
Suspensions are also up 6% compared with the same period in 2019, just before the pandemic hit.
By Alex Zimmerman
 
a man in a blue jacket and red cap wipes his eye while talking at a microphone next to a woman in a white suit.
From Chalkbeat Colorado Gun Violence and Schools
Father of Luis Garcia: If police had been at East High, ‘maybe my son would still be here with us’
The family is planning a wrongful death lawsuit against Denver Public Schools.
By Melanie Asmar
 
A police car sits outside East High School in Denver.
From Chalkbeat Colorado School safety
Denver school board to discuss ban on police in schools Thursday amid pushback on proposed rollback
Some students and advocacy groups are speaking out against permanently reintroducing police in schools. “We want to be students, not prisoners,” one student said.
By Melanie Asmar
 
People wearing teal “ServiceMaster Clean” tshirts sit in the Memphis-Shelby County Schools Board of Education auditorium.
From Chalkbeat Tennessee Politics & Policy
Memphis school district may drop ServiceMaster custodial contract as cleanliness concerns persist
Board members have asked the district to present options, including the prospect of bringing the work in-house.
By Laura Testino
 
A bunch of officials in suits and emergency personnel in uniform stand around outside a school in Denver.
From Chalkbeat Colorado School safety
Denver Public Schools has been without a safety chief for 6 months amid rising gun violence and concerns
A district document cites several reasons why it’s been difficult to hire a new chief, including media coverage of the school board.
By Melanie Asmar
 
A temporary shelter inside P.S. 172’s gym in Sunset Park, Brooklyn.
From Chalkbeat New York Community & Wraparound Programs
Seven school gyms are housing migrants or could soon. Parents and pols are pushing back.
Some 500 asylum-seekers slept in a school gym on Staten Island over the weekend. By Monday city officials had identified six more gyms, all in Brooklyn, to cope with an evolving emergency.
By Gwynne Hogan, THE CITY
 
A man with a red cap stands in the middle of a group of people under sky with heavy clouds.
From Chalkbeat Colorado Gun Violence and Schools
Dean Wayne Mason says there were ‘red flags’ before East High shooting, but he forgives the shooter
“The regret I have right now is that he’s not here for me to tell him that,” Mason said of student Austin Lyle, who took his own life after shooting Mason and another dean.
By Melanie Asmar
 
A man greets children outside of their school
From Chalkbeat Tennessee Gun Violence and Schools
Tennessee governor sets special legislative session for Aug. 21 after Nashville school shooting
“There is broad agreement that action is needed,” Lee said.
By Marta W. Aldrich
 
Police cars and ambulances are parked close together in front of Denver’s East High School.
From Chalkbeat Colorado Denver Public Schools
Smaller class sizes, more mental health workers should be part of safety plan, Denver teachers union says
Only 42% of respondents to a Denver teachers union survey said police in schools would make them feel safe.
By Melanie Asmar
 
Students and their teacher balance their notebooks on their heads during class on the first day of school.
From Chalkbeat Detroit Detroit Public Schools Community District
Detroit district faces scrutiny from parents over cellphone towers on school grounds
DPSCD has 29 cell towers across the city, with some towers reaping as much as $2,000 per month for the district.
By Ethan Bakuli
 
Three police officers stand in front of steps of East High School in Denver, Colorado, after a shooting there on March 22, 2023.
From Chalkbeat Colorado School safety
Each Denver school would make its own decisions about police under draft safety plan
Denver district would retrain all employees in safety procedures and will focus on mental health and equity, its draft safety plan proposes.
By Jason Gonzales and Melanie Asmar
 
Street view of a multistory building, the offices of Denver Public Schools.
From Chalkbeat Colorado School safety
Release recording of closed-door Denver school board meeting on policing, lawsuit demands
Colorado’s open meetings law declares that the “formation of public policy is public business and may not be conducted in secret.”
By Erica Meltzer
 
An overhead view of the NY Assembly room with red carpets and rows of yellow chairs
From Chalkbeat New York Gun Violence and Schools
Amid mental health concerns, new bill would allow NY students to opt out of lockdown drills
“If you enter the school system as a 3-year-old, and you exit as an 18-year-old, you will have done 60 lockdown drills,” one parent said. “This is not about making anyone less safe — this is about being smart about what is the best mediated solution.”
By Julian Shen-Berro
 
momument circle in Indianapolis
From Chalkbeat Indiana Campaigns and elections
Where Indianapolis mayoral candidates stand on education issues: an election guide
The mayor has a significant impact on crime, the economy, and housing in Indianapolis — all of which affect the educators and students who go to school here. Here’s how the candidates plan to tackle these issues, and more.
By MJ Slaby
 
Children and adults stand on stairs in front of a set of red double doors with glass windows above it.
From Chalkbeat Philadelphia School safety
Could an independent agency solve Philadelphia’s school facilities crisis?
Councilmember Isaiah Thomas wants to discuss creating a new authority to manage school construction and repairs, although a similar approach in New Jersey has fared poorly.
By Carly Sitrin and Dale Mezzacappa
 
A man wearing a suit and standing in front of a desk speaks into a microphone in a legislative chamber.
From Chalkbeat Tennessee Gun Violence and Schools
Tennessee legislature dismisses gun bills in rush to adjourn, defying protests after school shooting
“They are shrugging their shoulders at us,” said one Nashville mom, “but we are not going to stop.”
By Marta W. Aldrich
 
In a classroom sits an empty blue chair next to a wooden desk.
From Chalkbeat Detroit Teaching & Classroom
Detroit district fires elementary school assistant principal accused of choking a student
It’s the latest in a string of disciplinary actions against district employees over alleged mistreatment of students.
By Ethan Bakuli
 
Murphy Robinson speaks in this file photo.
From Chalkbeat Colorado School safety
DPS contracts with safety expert to help draft districtwide plan
Murphy Robinson will assist in “evaluating current building infrastructure, systems, policies and training, as well as the safety culture.”
By Chalkbeat Staff
 
A group of people sit around tables that form a U. A screen at the front of the room shows a person’s face.
From Chalkbeat Colorado Politics & Policy
Many Denver voters have unfavorable view of school board, survey finds
Nearly 63% of respondents said board members care more about their own political ambitions than about improving educational outcomes for children.
By Erica Meltzer
 
A woman dressed in a red shirt holds up a sign calling for the Denver Public Schools board to resign while cars pass by.
From Chalkbeat Colorado Gun Violence and Schools
Protesters call for Denver board to resign, Marrero promises public input on safety plan
The Denver district plans to release a first draft of its safety plan May 1.
By Jason Gonzales
 
A red and brown brick building with a wide red brick path to the right.
From Chalkbeat Philadelphia School safety
Damaged asbestos closed three Philadelphia schools this year. More could be coming.
The district has come under fire for failing to present a long-term plan for students if more schools shut down.
By Dale Mezzacappa and Carly Sitrin
 
Students leave Denver’s East High School after a shooting there on Wednesday, March 22, 2023.
From Chalkbeat Colorado Meeting the Moment
Expulsions are low in Denver, and that’s how it should be, district officials say amid new scrutiny
“We are a welcoming environment,” a top Denver administrator said this week. “We really want students to be in their school environment.”
By Melanie Asmar
 
Four high school students stand in a line smiling at the camera.
From Chalkbeat Indiana Gun Violence and Schools
‘I need a plan.’ As NRA convention begins, Indianapolis teens share fears about gun violence
Students discussed their constant worries about gun violence and the disconnect they feel from those welcoming the NRA to town.
By Amelia Pak-Harvey and MJ Slaby
 
A high school student walks down a dark hallway in a public high school, silhouetted by daylight spilling in and reflecting off of the floor and lockers.
From Chalkbeat Colorado Meeting the Moment
Students facing expulsion would get more protections in Colorado bill
Proposed law would clarify the burden of proof, require training for expulsion officers, and give families two days to review evidence.
By Erica Meltzer
 
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