- [Barbara] School is back in session, but kids have to worry about more than just learning.

- Next thing you know I heard gunshots.

And that's when we all just started running, everybody started screaming.

- [Barbara] Between shootings, bomb threats, and bullying, some parents and students feel anxiety about returning to the classroom.

- Kids and staff should be safe in school.

- [Barbara] News 3, WHRO, and iHeartRadio are partnering together to shine a spotlight on school safety in Hampton Roads.

We're hearing from parents, students, and educators on school safety concerns and the road to solutions in tonight's Community Conversation.

(urgent music) And good evening and welcome to an important community conversation.

We are your hosts tonight.

I'm News 3's Barbara Ciara.

- And I'm Randi White from iHeartMedia's 92.1 The Beat.

Kids are once again back in the classroom, but school looks different in 2022 than it did years ago.

Safety is a concern for parents across the country.

There's a conversation happening in our communities right now, and we're expanding on it with parents, students, and leaders in our schools and cities.

- Let's introduce our panelists first.

We have former Norfolk police chief, Larry Boone.

He's WTKR's law enforcement analyst.

We have Shawn Millaci, the principal of Churchland High School in Portsmouth.

And Shana Alexander, a parent of students at Achievable Dream Middle and High Schools.

Her two children are with her, Jaden and Kiara.

- [Randi] We also have Dr. Jennifer Moran, a clinical psychologist with CHKD's Mental Health Program, and Dr. T.A.

Warren, a Navy commander.

He has a PhD in Clinical Psychology and has worked locally as a psychiatrist.

And lastly, Rashard Wright, the Chief of Staff for Newport News Public Schools.

- We want to start with the concerns of parents, don't we, Randi?

- Sure we do.

And the students and what they're feeling right now.

Shana, what are you and your kids concerned about when heading to school?

- The most important thing that I am concerned about as a parent is the level of safety and in the school that my kids attend.

What is being done there to keep them safe on a daily basis.

That's my prime concern to know that when my kids leave in the morning to head off to school that they're going to be safe.

That's my number one concern as a parent right now.

- [Barbara] As a student, Kiara, I want to ask you.

You're inside the classroom.

You're back the first day of school last week.

What keeps you up at night with respect to school safety?

Do you have any concerns like the parents do?

- I would say concerns about just we never go to school thinking an emergency's going to happen.

We just need to know in the case that something does happen we know what to do.

So we just need to make sure we know those protocols when something happen and it's drilled into our brains.

Just drills on top of drills so that in case something does happen, just like the incident next door that became really real, we know what to do- - [Barbara] You're talking about Heritage High?

- Yes, ma'am.

I'm talking about the shooting at Heritage High School.

Which my school is Achievable Dream which is right next door.

That situation was really real for us, because it's really close to home.

And so practicing those drills beforehand really gave us the practice we needed to do lockdowns and the procedures we had to do, when there was an active shooter just next door.

- [Randi] Jaden, what about you?

What's your concerns?

- I would say my concerns are the people who I care about at school and how they're safe, including my sister, my brother off in college, but also my other friends at different schools, because you never know what can happen.

So you have to be aware of your surroundings.

But it's good to know that the people who you care about and are important to you are safe when they go to school.

- [Barbara] You know, it's good to hear from the students especially, because we want to hear from you and your parents.

I know your dad's in the audience.

We might get to him later.

But I mean, you're a parent.

I mean, is this also a concern for you when you're thinking about your kids going into a classroom?

- [Randi] Absolutely, after Uvalde.

Like that really shook me to my core.

So who am I dropping my kids off to?

And I actually am concerned about teachers, too.

Like they have to be like kind of force fields for these.

And can my child like speak up?

So yeah, totally concerned about that.

For you two, just as kind of an air of where you are with your school shooting protocols and the drills.

When I was in school, we did fire drills.

That's it.

How long have you been doing active shooter drills?

- So we call them our lockdown drills, and we've been doing lockdown drills since elementary school.

So the procedures of going into the corner and being as quiet as possible with the doors locked, and just following the teacher's instruction is something we've been doing for years.

So I feel like that's something that we're familiar with.

And if we need to do it for a real case, we would know exactly what to do.

- Well, let's turn our attention to Rashard Wright.

He's the Newport News Public Schools Chief of Staff.

I know that these things are under review probably constantly.

What are you doing in those meetings that I know you have to discuss school safety going into this school year?

- Thank you, Barbara.

Which I have to first obviously show love to Kiara and Jaden, our wonderful students and their mom.

The focus is consistency around communication, and making sure that our students and our teachers and our leaders know how to respond if there's an emergency.

And that's a process that obviously, as Kiara mentioned, that's something that we've been doing for a very long time.

So when that unfortunate case of the Heritage High School shooting, we were prepared.

And we're just going to continue to make sure safety is our number one priority and that again communication is clear.

We love our students, and we love what we do every day.

But we know that students are going to learn best when they feel safe and they're fed, and they're connected to their teachers.

So just consistent communication, Barbara.

So that's important.

- I think it's kind of sad, really, when you think about it.

Your priority should be making sure that those grade scores are up and that you graduate good citizens who can go on to other educational tools.

To that end, let me point to former chief, Boone, who is here to talk to us about this.

We've had many conversations about crime in surrounding communities, and now how it's infiltrated the school scene.

What can schools do beyond what they're doing right now to flag potential danger?

- Well, there's a host of things they could do.

And some of them are costly.

Some of them are not so costly.

One of the things they could do is create a mental health assessment team.

Who knows better than the teachers when little Johnny is having an issue.

They know most of the students.

That will require training, of course.

Let me just put this out here.

I'm not a fan of arming teachers.

Under conflict things go south, particularly if you're not a trained professional.

In addition to that, the responding officers may think that teacher is the suspect.

There's some low-hanging fruit with respect to communication with the responding officers.

For an example, if there's an active shooter.

And let's say if someone's calling from room A.

Outside that window you could put a placard room A so that the responding officers will, one, know where the shooter is, two, know how to get to that spot rather quickly.

There's discussions surrounding perimeter fences.

I know some folks don't like that idea, because it may present an image of a prison.

That's that could be problematic.

Another thing that could be implemented is a one-point entry where you're buzzed in, right?

And once you're buzzed in there's another entry level where you have to present an ID card.

And that ID card will be ran to see if you are a registered sex offender or someone that had previously been banned from the property.

There's a host of things that one can do.

I can't help but say, though, what a testament this is about our country, that we have to build forts and castles to keep our kids safe.

- Does it make sense to build forts and castles when sometimes that danger comes from within?

Which takes me to the mental health aspect of this.

Dr. Jennifer, a lot of times when we hear about these active shooters, some of them have been troubled kids.

Everybody ignored the signs.

And that kid came to school that morning.

And it wasn't some outside boogeyman, it was someone who actually went to the school.

Do we know enough about how to spot a kid who is troubled to the point to create a violent act?

- This is a really great conversation.

A really great question, because the answer is always, you know, it depends.

I think that's a great focus on both the physical, and then the psychological aspects of safety.

How can we help our students feel safe and perceive safety in this setting?

But then also you're speaking to that like psychological piece about that mental health assessment team, and being able to track the mental health and wellbeing of our community, our students.

So to make sure that we have a team who's aware of these different factors, the things to look out for.

And that communication piece to make sure that teachers, parents, students, when they hear something, they're comfortable and supported in their school climate to say something and move forward.

- But the thing with that is is that a lot of kids nowadays, they don't want to say anything, because they're going to be labeled as a snitch, or they're going to be labeled as, you know, telling on someone.

But if that person telling on someone is going to help protect my children's safety, I'm all for it.

You know?

And it really starts at home, honestly.

If you're not having that dialogue with your children to know what's going on, you know, how are you going to stop that active shooter from coming into that school and, you know, harming our children?

It honestly starts at home with the parents.

- [Randi] Actually, that's a great point.

- I mean, it does.

- That's a great point.

Now, when we talk to Dr. Warren, Dr. Moran, you guys are out in the medical field doing it.

When it comes to school counselors, do they have that conversation with parents?

Are they equipped to do that with their like master's?

Do they need to go above with their credentials to be able to do that?

Do they bring someone outside to do that?

Dr. Warren, if you want to answer first.

- Yeah, I think going back in line you said, a lot of times, like you said, with being labeled as a snitch, you have to continue to educate children in the home.

The teacher has to continue to educate them.

That old cliche, oh, you a snitch, because you told that John's having mental health issues.

We have to educate them that you're not being a snitch by actually telling a teacher or counselor that an individual student may be dealing with some particular issue.

So I think the community as a whole have to debunk that theory, that you're labeled as a snitch.

So that label snitch I'd say throw it away.

Educate your children, like you said, in the home, the teachers, the counselors.

We have to continue to, like I said, to pound it in their heads and tell them over and over again.

We were just talking earlier.

Rashard and I was talking.

That because of COVID, a lot of kids have missed two years of socializing.

You look at kids that was in the fifth grade.

They're not coming back in the seventh grade now.

So they missed two years of socialization on how to deal with their fifth grade problems, their sixth grade problems.

Now they're in the seventh grade dealing with real problems.

After that learning curve, they miss.

So educators have to actually reeducate those kids and let them know exactly what's going on, about what is to come as well, because again they missed those things.

And the schools will be challenged with those problems as we enter the year.

So the year is just starting.

So they will face those challenges.

- For example, what would you say instead of if the words and the mindset is this is a snitching thing, or this is something negative?

An example right now.

How would you switch that verbiage, Dr. Warren, Dr. Moran?

So that they know that it's not a negative, it's a positive.

You can save a life by see something, say something kind of.

- Well, I guess use real talk.

For example, in a scenario, I say, look, man.

Check it out, you're not a snitch, man.

You see Charles going through some issues.

You gotta let a brother know.

- Talk about it.

- You know, just let me know.

Let him know what's going on.

You come out and say, hey, look, I'm here for you, man.

You know, you gotta be there for him.

So he won't go out there and do something stupid and hurt somebody, hurt your friends, hurt someone's sister or loved one.

So we all wanna go home, at the end the day, we come to get an education.

So man, just come talk to us; let us know what's going on.

That'll be the type of conversation I have.

You put the books, everything aside, and just get real with the kid.

- That's great from the aspect of a kid who is going to display or ask the question, that kind of thing.

Very often, and I think that Shana brought it up very well about how it does have to come up in the home.

Many of these conversations are not happening at home, and they're left to simmer.

So I see you shaking your head, Principal Shawn.

So why don't you talk to me about some of those scenarios that you see in the school where it's hard to detect, because a kid might be a quiet storm?

- Sure, I mean, you never know.

But I think what was just played out here is what we want to see in our schools.

It's about relationships.

One thing we charge everyone in our school, every staff, is to develop a relationship with a student.

We want every student to feel a sense of belonging.

Students will speak up.

Students all want to be safe.

They want to be taken care of.

And so when you build those relationships, true relationships, you're able to have that conversation with a staff member.

There's somebody that you can go to.

We want every single student to have at least one staff member in the building that they are comfortable talking to.

And staff members see, we see when kids come in if they're off.

If you're constantly working with students, you're talking to students, you're getting to know them, you know if they're off.

You can see certain things.

We talked a little bit about counselors.

Yes, our counselors are there as well.

I think we have to have these partnerships with the mental health professionals outside of our buildings, as well as law enforcement outside of our buildings.

All these things have to work together, the partnership with the parents, but it starts with those relationships with the students that we see every single day.

- Barbara, can I piggyback just for a second?

So when I was Chief of Police here in Norfolk.

I just want to give credit where credit is due.

Students would constantly snitch.

Okay?

And that's okay.

See something, say something.

You said that a few minutes ago.

That slogan started after 9/11, unfortunately, and it's carried over where we are today.

I can tell you just like this gentleman just said.

Students want to be safe.

And they have no qualms, most of them, in reporting.

I'll use Johnny again.

Excuse me if anybody's name is Johnny.

(panelist laughing) As the one that has a weapon.

And it happens enough that you got to ask the question, how are they getting the guns into school?

- But that part, how are the guns getting into school, if you're only running the metal detectors once or twice a week?

School started in Newport News August 29th.

I feel that from August 29th until the last day of school, those metal detectors need to be running every single day.

That's how you keep those guns out of school.

That's how you keep these weapons out of school is if you not just, don't wand my kids.

I need walk through that metal detector.

I need them to walk through that metal detector every day.

That's how I know that my kids are going to be safe.

- [Barbara] Well, let's talk about that with the two administrators that we have, with Shawn and Rashard.

Both of you address that, because that seems to come up every time we have an issue at a school.

Why don't all of the high school and middle schools have a metal detector?

- So all of our high schools and middle schools, they are equipped with metal detectors.

And I think I hear your concern.

And we have a relationship, as soon as I walk in, say, hey, Mr. Wright.

So I think what's key is that delicate balance.

And even you mentioned it, you know, do we have to build forts?

So it's a balance of we want to have random searches, and we want our searches and our metal detectives to be a deterrent.

But it's that decision-making process around is that something that we want to do every day?

Now if an incident happens over the weekend, all right, and this goes back to see something, say something, and we hear rumblings, or if it's reported through our reporting system, we absolutely want to communicate with our leadership team at that school, the security officers, the Chief of Police Steve Drew, that I have to say hello to, and thank you for your support.

And we will have a metal detector process take place early in the morning in that school.

But again, are we getting to the point where it's something that we do in schools every day?

That's a community conversation.

That's a school board conversation.

That's a cabinet and leadership conversation, principal conversation.

- But as- - Principal... Oh, go ahead.

- Oh, I'm sorry.

As a student, I would feel like having metal detectors every day would feel like the sense of the jail thing.

But if we are educated about having to know that if this is something we have to do to protect ourselves from being hurt, then we would have to get over it.

But I do feel like the sense of metal detectors like every single day is like extreme, I think.

Just the feeling of it is just like, whoa, we're coming in in a metal detector like we're kind of like criminals.

Like we're coming to learn and now we're getting checked.

But I do feel like if it's something that really needs to be done, or is heard about or reported about, like Mr. Wright said, I feel like that's something we should do to prevent any problems in our schools.

- And it brings up that question about student mental health as well, and what is the perception of safety and not safety when we walk into a school.

I think there was the institution or jail-like comparison before.

I think it is definitely a conversation that needs to take place regarding the physical safety.

But then also wondering, what is that perception when we walk into a school building and every day it's the metal detection?

What does that do to our students' anxieties, or their worries?

- Well, it's a good time for me to mention that, while some schools have metal detectors and others don't, we're going to take a deep dive into it at WTKR.

Tomorrow morning at 6:00 a.m., Jessica Larche, she is going to have a special in-depth story on metal detectors and how effective they are and how people feel about it, just the way you brought up some of the points of your discussion.

So I hope everybody tunes in for that.

But circling back to you, chief, and you, principal.

You both are sitting next to each other, and I could see that body language.

He was making some suggestions, and I could almost hear the cash register ring in your head about how much that would cost.

Is it a cost deterrent to have some of these things that law enforcement would like to see in some schools to keep them safer?

Or is it the lifestyle issue that a student has brought up here?

Is that the balance you're trying to strike?

- I think it's more the balance.

I mean, I think the finance part, that goes to Mr. Wright and his level.

But those conversations, as he said, are ongoing between administration, senior administration, again, the mental health.

It's everyone having a voice in that conversation about what is best for kids, safety and security of our students and staff.

And we say it all the time, and it's unfortunate, like you said before, that we have to say it, but that is our primary goal every day even though we're in the business of educating kids.

So it's a little bit of both.

A lot of the things that chief mentioned we do have in place at a lot of our schools.

It's just a matter of that balance, like you mentioned.

- [Randi] I hear that we have an audience question.

Do we have a question in the audience right now?

- [Barbara] Okay.

Now wait for the mic, and Lisa is going to come right on over to you.

- Yes.

My name is Charles, and thank you for being here.

I have a couple concerns.

First concern is I had my son come home from school and showed me a video of a student just whaling on another student.

So fights in school is a concern for me.

I think that's part of the culture that breeds, you know, more.

It's like it's okay to fight in school.

And the other one is mental health.

You know, my son, he had an IEP, and I spend a lot.

I go to all the meetings.

And what I really now have been able to discern is that what my son had was a mental illness, as well as an IEP, all right?

But nobody was able to distinguish that.

And I think that's an important thing, that could lead to suicide.

And I don't hear a lot of conversations about that yet.

So that's an important concern I have, too.

- [Randi] Thank you so much for your question.

Let's talk about the first thing if we're going.

We talked about school shootings, and we'll talk about that a little bit more.

But the hand-to-hand combat, the fighting, the bullying.

- The viral videos of fighting.

- The viral videos of fighting.

Let's go to Principal Millaci, and then we'll head over here with the mental health, too.

- Sure, I mean, not gonna sugar coat.

It does happen.

We follow student code of conduct.

Every division has a student code of conduct, and we do follow that, and investigate every situation.

We enact discipline in accordance with the student code of conduct.

It is not something that we condone in our schools.

But to say that it doesn't happen, is not gonna happen.

I think in the age of viral videos you see it much more.

It's much more sensationalized.

So it's in your face all the time.

And it's posted on social media and shared.

And again, one of the things that we encourage our students to do is not share.

If you see something, say something.

Don't share it, because by sharing it, again, it becomes sensationalized.

And it can lead to further things down the road, both for the students that are involved and other students that are around it, and families even.

- And I think that we all have to pause and accept and realize it's been a very challenging three years for us, right?

And part of school is engagement and familiarity.

And our young people came back to school after a year and a half, and they didn't know how to deal with conflict.

And they were on social media, and they were using their phones.

And conflicts that may have been verbal, once they were together in person, they didn't make the best decisions.

And then if you add that with the social media era, and our young people unfortunately are recording everything, it really did paint us all in a very difficult light.

Schools are safe places.

And our professionals are trained to deal with that conflict mediation dynamic.

Our counselors and clinical licensed psychologists are there for that.

And I'll tell you, and Mr. Millaci mentioned it, school feels different this year.

School feels different this year.

We've had time to make adjustments.

Relationships are paramount.

And we're going to focus on now how do our students deal with conflict?

And fighting's not the way.

Physical contact's not the way.

A video with you whaling on someone's not the way.

Let's talk about the root cause of why you're in pain and why you're upset.

And that's something that we really focus on in Newport News Public Schools.

And I think our students would agree.

- Yeah, if I may say, I will say that during quarantine a lot of people were spreading things on social media that wasn't beneficial for everybody.

But throughout that time, they also lacked an authority.

And you know, especially, with some people's parents being at work a lot.

I know with my parents they made sure I was like doing what I was supposed to on school and stuff.

But you have to think that not everybody has that.

So especially with people just having their own freedom.

You can go on social media, do whatever you want and nobody's being checked.

So I think most of the problems that have led to schools now, nowadays, now that we're back in school, like fighting and stuff like that, it's been spread through social media but it's gone unchecked.

Because before, we were in school for most of the day, so you didn't really have much time to say whatever you wanted to say on social media.

And if you did have a conflict, it was addressed by an adult and an authority figure.

But when you're at home, it's you, your parents, if they're active, and the other parties involved.

So it really all comes down to like, I feel like if you take more time to stress to students how to resolve a conflict properly and not always resorting to violence, then that'll like cause a better shift of functions from students to faculty to safety.

- And that's a conversation I had with my children's teachers in the beginning when they were in elementary school.

Their job is to go to school to learn.

I look to my teachers to teach my children.

And not all kids are going to be perfect.

There are going to be kids with behavior problems, but I want that teacher to call me if there's a problem with my child.

And to you being involved.

And, you know, you stated that you went to have IEP for him.

There's not a lot of parents that are there for their kids.

And we know our kids.

It's the parents that are trying to be more of a friend to their child than being a parent.

And that time is going to come.

But we have to make sure that we have that rapport with our teachers, have that rapport with our administrators to know that we are there to support them.

If the teachers and the administration don't feel that they have the support of the parents, then there's going to be times where that child, you know, Billy is going to act up and I don't know why.

- [Barbara] And there are no consequences.

- And there's no consequences.

You know?

Some parents don't even want to go to the parent-teacher conference.

Both of them are top 10 in their respective classes.

I still want that parent-teacher conference.

I still want to know what's going on with my kids.

I still want to, me and my husband, and I let them know me and my husband are going to support you in whatever you do in regards to our children, because the teachers are the first people that they see when they go to that school.

That's where they're learning from.

We are who we are because of our teachers.

We are who we are because of our leadership, you know?

So at the end of the day, again, it just goes back to the root is home.

The root is at home.

- [Randi] It really is.

- And I think there's a lot that can also be done at school, in conjunction.

Thinking about how difficult these three years were, you know, are, still continuing.

And thinking about an emphasis with our school leadership to work on social-emotional learning within the classroom to kind of highlight those things that are happening at home, but also to highlight them, bring them into the classroom.

Conflict resolution.

What happens?

How do we use a coping skill when we get too upset?

And then what happens after, right?

There's going to be an instance where, unfortunately, there is a fight.

But what happens after?

How do we have some restorative practices to help teach our kids, you know, what else they can do and how to apologize?

- [Barbara] For our educators, is there a system, protocol, training in play right now that speaks to what he was talking about?

And that is conflict resolution.

Are they even taught about conflict resolution?

I know Jaden was bringing that up, that he hears it from his parents.

But all parents don't have those kinds of conversations.

Is there another layer of education where this is talked about or practiced?

- Yeah, I think the social-emotional learning that she mentioned is something that has become so much more a part of what we do.

Education has changed from when it was 20 or 30 years ago.

We, as educators, serve as the parental figures for a lot of our students.

And so finding different ways, like social-emotional learning.

How do we infuse that into our first weeks of school, our first days of school, again, to develop those relationships with students so that they know they have someone that they can come to talk to?

I think school divisions are trying to think of different ways.

Conflict resolution is a big one.

How can we be preventative, get in front of any problem?

Not only so that it can be reported if somebody hears something.

But also if there's conflict brewing, that we know about it, and we can work with our students to work through that process, because ultimately they have to be in that building with those same students.

We're all in one place.

And as Mr. Wright said, we've been out for two and a half, three years, where we didn't have to face that person that we may have had conflict with.

Now we're going to be face to face with them several times a day.

- But what happens when that student has that issue?

And that principal or that assistant principal, but mind you, that's definitely not the issue at my children's school.

But what is...?

If you're not available, then who can my child talk to if the principal has gone to a meeting?

Or, you know, if they're-?

- Sure.

- I think that's where it comes to that it's not just the principals and assistant principals.

This is a team effort, every single- - Who is available for my children?

- Sure.

- [Larry] I guess that would, is there a process?

- Because principals have that limelight like, you know?

That limelight where some students feel like they may not be able to talk to their principal.

I'm blessed to know that my children do have that rapport with their principal and assistant principal.

They can talk to them, but a lot of students don't have that.

So as a principal, what do you suggest you can do to give our students that ease that you're there, that you're not just an authority figure, but you're also there to guide them as well?

- I mean, I can't speak for every principal, but I mean, I think for me, and I think from our senior leadership in all divisions, our job is to develop relationships.

And it's to do that with all of our staff.

We have school counselors.

We have assistant principals, we have teachers.

We have an office in Portsmouth of Youth Risk Prevention, where we have different folks that are dispatched to buildings.

So there are a ton of people that are there.

And I think it's our job in each school as administration in our open houses, our welcome backs, to have those conversations with parents, to outline what resources we truly have so that parents are aware of them and students are aware of them.

So that if there is an issue, there is a ton of people that they can go to.

It's not just one person.

- And some people are becoming aware right now, just hearing you say that those resources are available.

We do have an audience question.

- Hi, my name is Erica.

And I'm really grateful that everyone is here tonight, so we can have this conversation.

I do think that I'm really glad to hear that a lot of you are talking about mental health support, because that's going to be really important, especially post-quarantine.

But I also want to make sure that we aren't stigmatizing mental health issues, because not everyone who struggles in that area is going to become violent.

So what I want to talk about is what adults are doing to prevent gun violence, specifically?

What policies can be implemented at the local, state, and federal levels to reduce those kinds of incidents?

- [Randi] So let's start with you, sir.

- So it's no secret.

During my tenure, I was passionate about guns.

The challenge is this.

In our country, it's simply too easy to get your hands on a weapon.

Up until June of 2021, you could buy as many guns as you wanted every day.

And if you decided you didn't want those weapons, you could get rid of them to anybody.

Just a year ago, I think we went to the one gun a month.

The problem is, during those two or three years, gun sales soared.

So what can we do?

It's going to take some courage to implement policies that restrict certain folks from getting their hands on guns.

That's a political hot point.

And let me just say this.

I embrace the Second Amendment, because if I don't say it, I'll get beat up.

I embrace the Second Amendment.

I have several guns, but there are folks out there that should not have guns.

And to answer the young lady's question, it is going to be insurmountable to stop these shootings that you see in Hampton Roads and across the nation, because there are just so many guns out there in the wrong hands.

And that's being real frank with you.

- I'd like us to talk more about the gun issue, but we do have a Facebook question that relates to another issue in our schools in terms of safety.

And it says, several Facebook comments that say guns and violence aren't the biggest threat to students.

It's drugs.

How do drugs play a role in school safety and security?

Anyone.

- There's middle school kids that are vaping.

Why?

Why are middle school children?

You have to be 21 to purchase tobacco.

So why is a middle school child vaping in the bathroom?

Why?

As a parent, I want to know why is that going on?

And what is being done to change that?

Like seriously, what is being done?

- [Barbara] And you students, are you aware of drug use in school?

- Yes, I am.

I will say that it is truly sad.

But like Mr. Boone said with guns, drugs are also getting just as easily attainable and getting into the wrong hands, that people who shouldn't have them.

And especially with the urbanization and sprawl of social media, it's becoming more popular, and they're seeing it in places that they shouldn't see it.

And they think like, oh, it's a trend.

It'll make me cool.

It's funny.

Or a way to escape from reality and relieve stress.

But honestly I will say that you just need to monitor certain places in schools that are common to sneak away to, so to say.

So like the bathrooms.

Vaping in bathrooms.

At my school, we have a security guard that goes by, and checks the bathroom periodically to make sure there is nothing going on in there that shouldn't be.

But really it's just being aware if you hear something, even like with the teacher.

I know teachers, they hear stuff and they have to report it to our administrators.

And then you go from there.

So if you hear something and you see it.

A student, too, like if you hear about somebody having edibles or a vape or something like that, tell an adult.

It doesn't have to be like public.

You know, you could just anonymous tip, but still you have to say something.

You can't just sit there and let it go by, because then someone can get seriously hurt.

- [Randi] Dr. Warren, you've been a psychiatrist.

Have you seen like younger, in the teens and younger, the drug use?

Have you seen it shoot up?

And there's different levels, right, of drug use and where it goes.

What have you seen in your experience?

- My past experience, I've seen that a lot.

As the legalization of drugs continues to go across the country, therefore a lot of teenagers start using drugs.

And actually to be frankly honest, you know, marijuana use, we used marijuana probably age 12, 13, back in the '60s and '70s.

However kids now are educated about the effects of them, how it affects learning, how it affects your mood swings, your behaviors and things of that nature.

And what happened like, I mean, Jaden said earlier, it's one of the things you want to be cool.

You're part of the cool crowds.

What happens?

Again, that cool crowd, you follow the crowd.

However, with security it costs, and I know there's a balance.

The school has to pay the security guards.

You'd have to have multiple security guards in school to walk around to those spots that kids normally hang out at.

So those things that will cost a lot more to the school system.

Getting more in the political realm, that, and the finances.

What is the sacrifice?

Do you sacrifice a teacher for two security guards?

Or do you not?

So you got to find that balance there in order to minimize that approach.

So what issue do you want to tackle?

Do you want to tackle the drug issue?

Do you want to tackle the mental health issues?

What do you want to tackle, because the teachers now, we're asking a lot more of teachers.

Like with Chief Boone, same thing with police officers.

You ask a lot for police officers to do a lot more.

They're the first responder.

A teacher is a first responder to that particular student.

And at the end of the day, it all goes back to building relationships.

What a lot in panel don't know I'm a retired police officer.

So therefore one of the things that we did, and Chief Boone during his time, we always practiced building relationships.

And you have to do that with schools, because again those kids, sometimes they come to school hungry.

Disturbed if mom didn't come home, dad didn't come home.

Those issues they have to deal with.

So who's the first person to deal with that kid?

The teachers are, so the teachers are dealing with that, but yet they still have 15 other kids.

They have to teach the curriculum.

So it's the teachers have to find that balance.

So at some point the school has to figure out, hey, how am I going to balance between mental health, the bullying, the drug use, the safety?

So I have to find that fine line.

I have to find that balance of what I'm going to do.

- [Barbara] And you bring up a good point.

There are so many layers to school safety, right?

It makes you wonder how in the world can school administration, principals, students, parents, law enforcement, how do you prioritize all of this?

I'm going to leap into this, because what do we hear about even more frequently that affects school safety?

Bomb threats.

That's happening so often, yet we don't hear a lot about the consequences.

I'd like to hear from the school administrators how often these happen, how often you catch them, and what are the consequences.

Because are people being held accountable for this disruption of the day?

- Absolutely, students that make that bad decision are being held accountable.

Unfortunately, it will result in them being removed from a traditional school if they make that choice.

So we have an active code of conduct, and Mr. Millaci spoke to the code of conduct with Portsmouth Public Schools.

And it's key.

And the chief asked about the process.

And the process looks like this.

On the elementary level, you have responsive teaching.

Which is a morning meeting where we talk about character development, and we talk about getting along, conflict resolution.

We also reemphasize to students who to communicate with if something happens.

On the middle school level, you have grade-level meetings, where the sixth, seventh, and eighth graders meet that grade-level assistant principal.

But also, Barbara, the grade-level security officer, because we have three security officers in our middle school.

On the high school level, we have town hall meetings, where each grade level, you know, we will have that reinforcement of what's expected.

You'll know who that security officer is.

We talk about high visibility.

We talk about it's okay to let someone know if you hear about a gun or if you hear about drugs.

And we have a SpeakUp system through Gaggle, 24 hours, where our students can report threats, bullying, if they've heard about a gun.

And to your original question, if there's talk about a bomb threat.

And typically when we see something about a bomb threat, it's on a social media screenshot.

So I would implore our families and everyone, if your child sees something on social media, have them screenshot that.

And let's get that to a leader so that we can respond.

And we are responding.

We're holding students accountable.

- [Shana] Y'all are.

- And what a beautiful point, too, to think about where to put resources into prevention.

I love all that.

The social-emotional learning, the positive behavioral interventions and supports, increasing our teachers' capability to kind of prevent.

And it is a lot of pressure on teachers, but it's also the whole community, the whole system working together from that preventative aspect and really bolstering our school climates.

- We had one of our largest school system recently restrict cell phone use in the classroom to diminish some of what I believe our young guests are talking about with social media activity during classroom time.

Is it a good idea?

How much deterrent is it with respect to that viral sensation that sometimes happens when something bad happens in the school?

Anyone want to tackle that?

- I have something.

As a student, phones and social media is a big thing.

It's inevitable.

It's something that we see every day.

It's something we use.

So instead of trying to take it away, I would say try to find ways in which we can use it in a positive way.

I feel like taking phones away during class, or just like telling a kid that uses their phone all day not to use their phone for an hour.

It might not seem hard, but that's something that we do all day.

Like teachers know that's something we do.

Just use it in a way that will help us positively in the classroom.

And if we know that social media's something big and trends are something big, why don't we just make positive trends and reverse the bad things, and make the bad things less looked at, and make the good things what we really want to focus on and make those things trends?

- That's true.

And I will also say like with the recent ban of phones in classrooms, it doesn't really help students.

Because eventually you're not going to have your phone in class, but when you go home you're going to see the stuff.

So stuff like that it's kind of inevitable.

You can't control what every single person on social media posts.

There's millions of social media users out there, so stuff is going to spread.

But when you ban it in classes like permanently, or not permanently, but like all day, that makes students more inclined to use them.

So you're deprived of them for so long you want to use it more.

And it makes you sound like you're addicted, but some people actually use their phones to unwind, to keep calm, to talk to people who they care about and stuff like that.

And me personally, I like my phone.

I use it to relax, watch TV, talk to my friends.

And when I'm not allowed to use it in class, I get there's a place for education and everything, but also it'd be better if we could incorporate, like she said, incorporate our phones in the classrooms more.

I always hear don't take out your phone unless you're instructed to.

You have to be honest.

When are you really going to be instructed to actually use your phone in class, unless it's take a picture of notes, send these notes to someone?

You don't really use them a lot as a curriculum.

- [Randi] So for an old like me, Kiara and Jaden, can you give me an example of what you think?

Because back in my day, we didn't do that.

We just threw letters at people, you know?

- [Shana] Mm-hmm.

- Hey, you know, pass the note.

We get upset, because you do want to talk to your friends in class.

You do want to talk about your crush, and all that other stuff.

But you're saying incorporate it into what's going on, which I think is great.

What are you thinking when you say that?

What do you mean, what can Facebook or Instagram be?

How can it be used to help you with your education?

- Yeah, what does that look like?

- I can tell to what it looks like.

So TikTok is something that's really big right now.

- [Randi] Oh, that's right.

Sorry.

- What?

TikTok.

And so making TikToks is something that kids do outside of school.

But I feel like when incorporated in school, as any platform, it could be used to spread.

So if teachers are like, well, let's do a TikTok that has something educational or something that's positive.

Something that will create a different trend, like I said, just to change the narrative.

Because we know we're going to use it, it's just what we use it for.

- And then as a parent, when Newport News had the ban on the cell phones, my concern was, well, what if something happens at the school and they're not able to use their phone to reach me?

That's my concern.

I'm okay with the you know, we all know our kids.

I'm okay with that, the ban.

What if that day comes that they're not able to use their phones, but there's a lockdown?

- [Barbara] I'll let our two administrators or principal administrators speak to that.

- Well, our focus is on instruction and ensuring that our cell phones aren't a distraction.

And I think that we really wanted to start the year and get that refresh and that reboot.

You'll notice that many school divisions, and I know we did this in Newport News with that reemphasis on protocols and what we expect in the classroom.

And I think that goes back to building relationships, building relationships on day one.

And I think we all know, as adults and with our kids.

I know my sons grew up with iPads in their hands.

Sometimes I've heard that rule about phones going the middle of the table in the bucket.

So that we can be truly present.

We want our students present.

I hear you, and I think that that's why we have our student advisory councils and your principal has a principal advisory council, and let's keep having that conversation.

Let's keep having that conversation about how you all feel about this new policy that we have, because we didn't implement this policy to hurt you.

We implemented this policy to focus on instruction.

- That's true, and I will say like with the being present thing that you said.

I noticed when I didn't have a phone, like when I was younger, and people around me did have phones, they were majorly like on their phones instead of actually being in person.

But now that I have my phone and I see it.

I was like, well, maybe being present is having your phone, because some people you're not always around.

So you have a relative in a different country or something, or a friend that lives in a different state.

Sometimes you need to be present by FaceTiming or texting.

- [Randi] But in the middle of class?

- [Kiara] No, not in the middle of class.

- [Randi] Not in the middle of class.

- Go ahead, Jaden.

- Because sometimes just your friend may miss class or whatever.

What's a little FaceTime during those times?

(audience laughing) - We need a teacher on this panel.

- I think he's making his case.

He's making his case.

- One thing I want to point out and go back to is, Erica brought it up, this gentleman brought it up, back to mental health.

And we're talking about security a lot here.

And you see, I keep going back to mental health.

I am the daughter of an educator for 31 years who was a school counselor.

So she was a school counselor for a lot of times in middle school.

And they saw her, like even kids who had bad relationships with their parents, they saw her as that person.

You talked about who do they go to?

The school counselor.

I asked you what more can school counselors do?

And then she went up to like vice principal and stuff.

And the kids, they're still around, by the way.

So they won't go anywhere.

What do you think, administrators, psychologists, Chief of Police, law enforcement?

What if we replace security with actual mental health professionals?

And it's not putting a stigma on it, but if we start with it, it's stressful.

Life is stressful, right?

So who do we talk to?

We don't want to put it on teachers, because they still have to teach weird stuff like algebra.

So what do you think about replacing a ton of security with mental health professionals-?

- Or additional mental health professionals in each school?

- Barbara, that's a much easier question.

Because the replacement question brings up just so much, again, about that physical versus psychological.

But I think that idea of mental health in our schools not to stigmatize, not to be like, oh, this is a mental health problem.

But instead to understand that coming off of the pandemic, we're looking at exponential rates of just mental health concerns, not necessarily violence, but just feelings and reported symptoms in adults and children, by the way, of anxiety, depression, loneliness, difficulty with coping.

And so the idea of, you know, I think we talked about it earlier that a child can connect with anybody in a school.

Definitely we have our school counselors.

I used to be a school psychologist.

So working within that mental health framework.

But also your kid, you know, that relationship really might be with a janitor.

It might be with someone who works in the cafeteria staff, who is just there for them and supportive, and when they need someone that's their person.

So I think helping, you know.

Even going back to the cell phone conversation, we have to remember that we are teaching.

We're teaching our algebra, we're teaching our geometry, all of those other maths.

But thinking about the other things that we're teaching are, you know, how to be a responsible person.

How to grow up in our society.

How to make responsible decisions, whether that's when to pull out our cell phone, or whether that's when someone really says something that you're really upset about, how do you respond?

And I definitely think school counselors and even teachers play that role.

- Some of the layers that everyone's talked about here go to societal issues and societal problems, which don't begin at the school, but certainly are present there.

Very often when I would talk to Chief Boone when he was Chief of Police in Norfolk, he would visit different communities and would speak to some cultural issues that were happening in economic distressed communities that were then reflected in the school.

Which is difficult I think for many of the administrators, counselors, students to deal with, because is there going to be that one person in class who is disruptive because they're having issues, that's impacting your education?

And how is that managed on law enforcement side and with the school administration?

- So one of the things I wanted to get off the ground when I was chief was a program called Handle With Care.

And what that looked like was if an officer went to a neighborhood where there was violence and the kid witnessed the violence, we would get the child's information, parents' information, and report that incident to the school system to let them know.

I'll use this word again.

Little Johnny witnessed some trauma.

He may be off today.

I think that will put the school system or the teachers on notice, so that they would be able to deal with whatever little Johnny's dealing with.

I'm not sure if we ever got that off the ground, though.

- [Barbara] I know you had- - Barbara, just really quick.

Before Dr. Moran was saying in reference to like the question to get rid of the security guards and replace them with counselors.

I don't think that would be the right thing to do.

I think if anything you have to basically work within the boundaries of your finances, and just simply educate them.

Provide some type of training to the security guards, to the teachers, to the school counselors, in order to be that first responder in school to be able to deal with the initial onset of some kid dealing with a particular type of a mental health issue or whatever it may be.

But I think if you educate that security guard, that teacher, that counselor, to be that first responder for a school, I think that probably could maximize your resources, which you have, versus getting rid of the security guard.

- And that- - That's- Go ahead young lady.

- With that prevention aspect, too, the idea of providing some psychological first aid as well.

So when we have the Handle With Care, a child who we know has had a difficult evening or event that's happened that's been really disruptive, understanding, you know, in Psychological First Aid.

It's a free online training that anybody can take, but having awareness for how to recognize signs of trauma, how to respond with validation and support.

I think that's additionally helping our security staff be prepared in those ways as well.

- And Newport News last year did something that I thought was phenomenal, and that was had days off for just, you know, mental health, or I forgot what they were called during the school.

What were they?

- [Kiara] Asynchronous days.

- Yes, those days.

(panelists laughing) But those days, you know, they were helpful.

They were definitely helpful to... More or less to piggyback on what you were saying about mental health and it's more than just safety.

My daughter's a senior now.

And being a senior is a lot.

And within the last week of school, she's felt some sense of overwhelmingness because scholarships, college applications.

Just being a senior, you know?

We have to teach our kids just enjoy being a student.

Like she said earlier about the security, not feel like you're walking into Fort Knox but still feeling like you're safe.

And I really appreciated Mr. Wright last school year when we had those days off.

We had a little more early release days than normal, or you know?

It really helped.

And I really think that if we have more time just like a day off of school once a month for the teachers to recharge,- - A mental health day.

- for the students to recharge.

And it's really helpful, and it would really help a lot.

- [Jaden] That's true.

- I would say as a student, if we don't want to take those whole days off away from school, just have those moments during school throughout the day.

It goes back to that relationship-building.

Every student in the school has a teacher.

So every teacher should be looking at each student, learning each student and how they learn.

Not only how they learn academically, but how they are as a person.

And learning them and how they are inside of school and outside of school, because who they are outside of school is brought into school.

So I feel like just doing those relationship-building and not always focusing on the academic ways of, or getting to the next grade, but also those non-academic like relationship-building.

Just taking that time to just woosah during the day and just breathe and keep going.

- [Jaden] We have the reference.

- And that'll have to be the last word here.

I am so happy that you two students were here to help educate some of the older generation about your feelings.

And I hope you feel validated.

We definitely hear you.

- That's right.

Thank you guys so much.

Thank you all for taking your time to be here and join us.

I love the conversation.

We could have this conversation like literally every night.

Book me, please.

Thank you.

We could do that, but thank you guys for coming out to talk about school safety.

The first step in making a change is starting a dialogue about the problem and where we need to go in the future.

And now we're calling on you to action.

- Take action.

- That's right.

To keep this conversation going in our communities.

- Creating a conversation surrounding this topic is certainly important to News 3, WHRO Public Media, and iHeartMedia.

News 3's Vice President and General Manager Adam Chase made this statement today.

And I quote, "As leaders in the community, our key function is to support and inspire the communities we serve.

Violent crime is at an all-time high in Hampton Roads and it is imperative that media leaders come together and identify solutions," like we heard here, "to keep our community safe.

And I'd like to thank all of our partners at WHRO Public Media, iHeart, for joining us in putting an end to this senseless violence."

- That's right, thank you so much to our panelists.

We appreciate you sharing your viewpoint, all of you guys.

And we want to thank everyone for their partnership tonight.

Again, this was all a partnership with News 3, WHRO Public Media, and iHeartMedia.

Thanks again, and you guys have a great night.

(urgent music) - No, thank you.