Southeast Raleigh Magnet High School -- and the Wake County Public School System -- should provide more counseling, conflict resolution and training, school community members said at a public forum Monday night at the school.
One week after the deadly stabbing at Southeast Raleigh High School, the community had the chance Monday night to talk to school leaders about the tragedy. After delivering brief remarks, Superintendent Robert P. Taylor, School Board Member Tara Waters, Raleigh Police Chief Estella D. Patterson and school Principal George E. Harden sat at a table while audience members could speak at microphones to them.
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Most school board members were also in attendance in the audience, including Chairwoman Lindsay Mahaffey, Vice Chairman Chris Heagarty, Monika Johnson-Hostler, Tyler Swanson and Sam Hershey.
Hundreds of people filled the school's auditorium and dozens stood in line throughout the meeting to make their statements. The forum lasted more than three hours, with roughly three dozen speakers.
Speeches were sometimes impassioned and directed at both school leaders and other audience members. The crowd was focused on school and community weaknesses -- a lack of resources and some insufficiently engaged parents -- while also noting the strengths of the school and community -- the extent to which many people deeply care about the community and want to work together.
They also expressed thoughts and prayers for both the two students who were stabbed and the student who is accused of stabbing them, as well as their families.
"Since 1966, I have never seen the community hurt like this," one long-time resident said.
Alex Williams, the school's student body president, urged parents to check in with their children, even if they seem fine. They might be hiding their feelings, he said.
And some kids are suffering from more than just the trauma of the Nov. 27 incident, he said.
"A lot of these students do not believe they have purpose in their lives, and I believe that they do," Williams said, to applause from the audience.
Family members of the student who died, 15-year-old Delvin Ferrell, also spoke Monday, calling for more action from the school and school board. Ferrell's uncle, Tedrick Martinez, asked the school board to allocate more funds to help address students' emotional struggles. Family also said the school should have intervened as soon as they were told the students' conflict was boiling over.
Bullying, like at other schools, is a major problem, people told the panel of officials. The school needs to do more to intervene and stop bullying, they said, including by exploring more disciplinary approaches.
Community members disagreed on some approaches to improving school safety, including physical safety upgrades. They largely supported expanded mentorship and emotional support for students, to enthusiastic applause. A few also said they supported adding metal or weapons detectors, to smaller applause.
Before the forum, Taylor said the high school will have another administrator to help the school process the aftermath of the Nov. 27 fatal stabbing of a student on campus.
The school system will also work alongside community organizations that are already working toward helping area kids and add what is needed to their efforts, Taylor said. Addressing what happens in school requires more than just in-school efforts, he said.
"It really requires an effort that needs to be addressed outside of school," Taylor said. "What happens in schools sometimes but not always can be a reflection of our community."
The school had 1,100 students in attendance Monday, Taylor said. The school enrolls about 1,300 students. Many students want to be back and believe in their school, Taylor said.
"One incident does not define a school," Taylor said.
Waters, who represents the school, said the school's magnet programs have made it a place she and many others want to send their children to.
"There are 1,000 stories of excellence that have come from his school," Waters said.
Audience members applauded officials' comments about how the school is more than the incident. At the same time, some said Monday night that they or their children did still feel rattled by the incident and nervous to return to the school.
One woman said she wished the community forum had occurred before the school reopened for classes, to considerable applause. The school reopened Nov. 30 after being closed Nov. 28 and 29.
Taylor is the one who made that decision, he said after the comment period ended.
"Part of the idea was we wanted to make sure we had children in school so we could address the issues we believed that they had," Taylor said. The school had brought extra counseling help for students.
If families or students want to submit tips to the school system anonymously, when they fear violence may occur, Taylor said, they can call 919-856-1911. The school system is moving toward using the Say Something anonymous reporting app soon, where people can submit written tips. Most other school systems in North Carolina use that app and have transitioned to it in recent years.
On Nov. 27, a deadly fight broke out in the gym at Southeast Raleigh High School.Video from inside the school shows Tyquan General Jr., 14, wildly swinging a knife, striking two students.
15-year-old Delvin Ferrell was stabbed to death. Another student was wounded and taken to the hospital.
Since General is accused of murder, District Attorney Lorrin Freeman said it is her intention to transfer this case to Superior Court to try the 14-year-old as an adult.