Parents and teachers speak at Virginia school board meeting

Brut America

After a six-year-old shot his teacher at a Virginia school, teachers and parents had this to say at a school board meeting.

Transcript

00:00I don't want to have a family dinner where I talk about where my kids will hide in their school.

00:06I would rather be discussing archery practice.

00:14I hope that none of you ever have to receive a text message from your elementary school child that is terrified.

00:22I did not hear from the school until I was already there.

00:25My daughter was a student of Richneck.

00:28She was in that classroom. She's six.

00:31She's terrified because the person that was advocating for her got hurt.

00:36I send my kids to school and find myself praying to God that they will return home safely.

00:42They will go through live shooter drills in which they are instructed to wait quietly at their desks.

00:47When asked about these drills, my seven-year-old daughter says that she sits with her head down

00:52and cries because she wonders if she will be able to hug her mommy again.

00:55I personally demand that the tears of all the students scared to go through the day

01:00and the system that you are charged with protecting will haunt you until you make this right.

01:04The comment you made after the incident, today the students learned a valuable lesson.

01:09Gun violence, you don't say that.

01:11They're six. They're six years old.

01:14And seven, you don't say that.

01:17They witnessed the person, their teacher, get hurt.

01:23And she still managed to protect them while hurt.

01:26Listen to your teachers when they have concerns.

01:30Please, listen to them.

01:32All right?

01:33Don't have them get in trouble for opening their mouth.

01:36Okay? Because they're in the classrooms.

01:38Y'all are not.

01:39Some of us scared.

01:41Some of us angry.

01:43Some of us trying to figure out, I don't think I want this job anymore.

01:46We getting hit, kicked, punched, cursed, threatened.

01:52We get all kinds of kids and we welcome them.

01:54We love them.

01:56But you're not listening to us.

02:00Our students view school as an obstacle, not a place of growth.

02:05And our students do not wonder if there will be another school shooting.

02:10They wonder when and where the next shooting will be.

02:14As a parent, I am concerned.

02:16As an educator, I am equally as concerned about the means in which this incident was handled.

02:22Teachers, bus drivers, and other school staff have already brought up the issue of behavior for years.

02:29This is not a new problem.

02:31While I understand that students and parents should be held accountable for their actions,

02:37we cannot forget that our schools need the support of their administration.

02:41In this situation, the school administrator was notified of a potential weapon and did not follow the safety protocol.

02:47Why did it take negative national attention before you took this seriously and actually re-evaluated?

02:53I think it's time the citizens and parents of Newport News who did not elect you to re-evaluate your services as our, our superintendent.

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