Dear Colleagues,
Last Monday, we learned that a 16-year-old, a former SPPS student, was shot and killed in a Saint Paul alley during the school day. On Friday, a 16-year-old student at Johnson High School was charged with the crime. It has been reported that students involved in this incident brought guns into the school. We are working with SPPD to fully investigate this report.
This was not the only shooting that made the news last week. A 24-year-old was killed in an unrelated shooting in Frogtown. A conviction was made in the murder of a former Central student last spring. The accidental death of a Washington Tech seventh grader on a hunting trip, while not related to the above examples of community violence, compounds the trauma we are all feeling.
It is difficult to grieve all of these tragedies at once. One of the most discouraging outcomes of these awful situations is the normalization that takes place almost immediately after. Another shooting leads the news the next day, and the one before it is forgotten. Young people are losing their lives every day, and it can feel like there is nothing we can do about it.
Instead of these young Black men finishing school and living their lives, they are statistics. What happened to get to this point? Where did we, their community, the trusted adults in their lives, fail them?
It’s human nature to point fingers and assign blame: It’s the parents (or assumed absence of them). The guns. The police. And yes, some will blame the schools. As educators, we know that a school is a microcosm of the community: What happens outside the school comes through the doors and goes right back out.
In many cases, school is the safest place for our students to be. We have dedicated staff in every one of our buildings who work hard to make this statement true every day. School safety teams, teachers, social workers, intervention specialists, paraprofessionals, administrators and district leadership: It takes all of us working together, communicating openly, being adaptive and supporting each other so we can keep our students safe when they are in our care.
It is my commitment to be proactive in how we handle crises and manage the ongoing perception of safety in our schools. I am part of the Violence Reduction Leadership Group working with a wide range of partners and providers in Ramsey County. In addition, SPPS was just awarded two new federal grants from the Department of Justice to address school and youth violence from a place of prevention and restorative practices. We are also expecting to receive additional funding from the U.S. Department of Education under the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act.
We’ve awarded $7 million in ARP funds to community partners to help us do the important work of serving youth and families both in and outside of school. It will continue to be my goal and commitment to invite all stakeholders and partners to contribute to our collective success as a community.
Today is the start of Safe Schools Week. I hope you will have conversations about youth violence and school safety with your colleagues and communities. If you suspect anything or ever have concerns, tell someone immediately or use the Send a Tip tool and it will be reviewed and acted on right away. If you need support in grieving these losses, please take advantage of the Sand Creek Employee Assistance Program that is available for all staff.
Nelson Mandela said: “Education is the most powerful weapon to change the world.” He was right. Think about the number of lives that you impact in a positive way. I know that you interact with former students and their families as you do our community’s most important work: educating and caring for our young people. Thank you for all you do to keep our schools, students and each other as safe as we can be.
In Partnership,
Joe Gothard, Superintendent
