Signs saying “Richneck Strong” and “We believe in you” adorned the sidewalks near Richneck Elementary School as it opened for its first day of classes following a shooting of a teacher by a 6-year-old child earlier this month.
The Newport News, Virginia, elementary school opened on Monday, with both new security measures and a new school administrator after the school cut ties with now-former Superintendent George Parker last week.
NEWPORT NEWS POLICE CHIEF SAYS 6-YEAR-OLD SHOT TEACHER WITH LEGALLY PURCHASED GUN
First-grade teacher Abigail Zwerner was shot by her student on Jan. 6. Zwerner was in the hospital for two weeks but is now recovering at home. The principal and assistant principal have also left the school.
The school board had announced earlier in the month that it purchased 90 metal detectors to be installed at Richneck Elementary and every other school in the district.
Two metal detectors have been put in place, and two security officers have been stationed at the school. The security officers will have a detector wand, as well. New doors have been installed in the classrooms without doors, and other doors have been replaced or repaired, according to school district spokeswoman Michelle Price.
Signs with the encouraging words and red hearts were accompanied by several police cars stationed outside of the school, according to the Associated Press. Mayor Phillip Jones, police officers, and other adults were standing outside to greet the children.
James Graves, head of local teachers union Newport News Education Association, said several teachers weren’t ready to return to the school and have been told that they must use their personal leave time or the Family and Medical Leave Act. The act provides some employees with up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave for certain family and medical reasons.
“There are teachers who are glad to kind of go back because they care about the kids, and there are teachers who cannot handle trauma and stress the way other teachers can,” Graves said. “I want to make sure the teachers who cannot handle that stress because of what happened, that they are taken care of.”
School Board Chairwoman Lisa Surles-Law said roses were given to students and therapy dogs are available for all first-grade students.
Zwerner is suing the school district after it was revealed the school was warned three times about the student and received a tip the day of the shooting that he might have a weapon in his backpack. School officials said they checked his bag but did not locate a weapon, so it is unclear how the weapon got into the classroom.
The classroom where the shooting took place is closed, according to Surles-Law. Students from that room will be moved to another room that was painted and made to feel welcoming.
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The shooting was the school district’s third shooting in 16 months.
The child who shot Zwerner has an acute disability, according to his family. The gun was legally purchased by his mother and was “secured.” The family’s attorney James Ellenson said that, to his understanding, the gun was in the mother’s closet on a shelf well over 6 feet high and had a trigger lock that required a key.
