Gloomy is the best word to describe the mood within the D.C. public schools this week — for principals, students and parents across town. One of our own went down.
The slaying of Brian Betts was a kick in the gut. Betts, the popular leader of Shaw Middle School, was found shot at his home in Silver Spring last week.
His family held a private funeral in Manassas on Thursday. D.C. schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee was invited and attended. The schools are scheduled to hold a memorial for Betts on May 1 at Cardozo Senior High. Police are still trying to find his killer.
Betts’ soul-shaking death was compounded by an abduction over the weekend of a Wilson Senior High School teacher. She was in Adams Morgan on Saturday night when two people approached her car, demanded she move from the driver’s seat and drove off with her. One of the abductors turned out to be a student at Wilson. At this writing it appears the student’s participation was a criminal happenstance.
Though the Betts tragedy and the abduction took place far from school campuses, they once again raise these questions: Are D.C. schools safe?
Can violence in the streets migrate to the halls and ball fields? With all the focus on the teachers contract and school politics and test scores, are the schools under Rhee secure places to send our children?
From all indications, official and anecdotal, the answer is yes. There are bullies in every school, and schools in tough neighborhoods are surrounded by dangerous streets, but the city’s schools this year have been relatively serene.
According to raw figures DCPS has yet to release, assaults and major crimes are way down.
Anacostia High School used to be known for knifings and gunplay in the halls. On a recent visit to the school, I asked students whether they could report any fights or violence in the school or on the ball fields. They said there had been none. Under the new management of Friendship Public Charter Schools, kids reported that parties in the halls were a thing of the past. Fighting in the halls, too.
Across town, Wilson High has had its share of crime. Last year, when my daughter was a senior, I would check in after school. “Any fights? Any knifings?” I would ask, joking, kind of. Wilson is a truly integrated school, with about half black kids and the rest white, Latino and Asian. It can be a toxic mix. There were some fights between students; Principal Pete Cahall had to break up at least one.
But from what I can gather, from students and teachers, Wilson is much more safe and orderly this school year, in large part because of Cahall. A large, imposing fellow — he played football at the University of Virginia — Cahall walks the halls, demanding that students stay on schedule and don’t hang out. Wilson isn’t a “peaceable kingdom,” but it is a safe place to learn.
Brian Betts left Shaw with the same sense of calm.
