As a graduate of St Paul's Harding High School, I was shocked and devastated over the recent news of a stabbing death at the school. Sure, in my time at the school from 1983 thru 1987, I witnessed my fair share of tussles, some of which turned bloody. But the idea any could have wound up in someone's violent death was foreign to me. Sadly there's almost an air of inevitability when a student's death occurs these days.
In an interview with the St Paul Pioneer Press in the aftermath of 15-year old Devin Scott being stabbed to death, a handful of Harding's teachers aired their frustrations over the lack of response to their sounding the proverbial alarm bells.
In separate interviews, each teacher said the school has grown increasingly dangerous in recent years. Between 40 and 70 students routinely roam the hallways instead of going to class, they said, and harassment and drug use in bathrooms is common enough that many students either hold their bladders or go to the nurse’s office.
Teachers, students and parents complain to administrators, but efforts to clean things up, such as requiring ID badges and bathroom passes, are quickly abandoned or inconsistently enforced.
“The issue at Harding has been an absolute profound lack of leadership, a distrust between the administration and teachers, no support,” one teacher said. “We’ve been saying this for years: Somebody’s going to get hurt because there’s no control in the hallways.”
Asked what Harding had done before the stabbing to address safety concerns, district officials pointed to the addition of school and community support liaisons, the district employees who have taken the place of contract security guards and school resource officers and who are expected to build relationships with students.
Officials also said staff and administrators have received new two-way radios and extensive safety training. And the district last fall brought in a community mentor to help Harding students de-escalate conflicts plus a full-time therapist for mental health support.
“SPPS strives to create welcoming school environments where each and every student is seen, known and valued. We continually work to build positive school cultures and to hold students accountable for inappropriate behavior,” the district said.
It's time to be brutally honest: the feel good crap from "community support liaisons" who "build relationships" with students needs to be replace with armed resource officers. Just the knowledge that an adult proficient in firearms is present in the hallways would be a remarkable deterrent to violent situations which have the potential to spin out of control. A family member of the slain young man concurs.
Henry Scott, the cousin of Devin Scott, who was stabbed to death at Harding High School last month, calls for putting school resource officers back in schools.
— Alpha News (@AlphaNewsMN) March 1, 2023
"Their presence makes a difference." pic.twitter.com/uzXnX3VDWQ
Just last week the Pioneer Press published a story on how public school enrollment has declined over the past few years, while registration for charter and private schools has significantly increased. That trend will only accelerate in light of what has occurred at Harding High.
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