NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — The recent shooting at Richneck Elementary School sparked a three-hour session with the Newport News School Board Tuesday night.
Calls for increased security and mental health resources echoed in the chambers as administrators listened.
The school board meeting came about 11 days after Newport News police say a 6-year-old boy shot his teacher, Abby Zwerner, inside Richneck Elementary.
"The email telling me that staff and student safety are our top priority are only words to me...and I need actions," said Susan Montgomery, a Newport News Public Schools teacher of 17 years. "Teachers...we're not trained to deal with that kind of behavior. We're trained to teach. So, these students need to meet with counselors and psychologists before they are allowed to come back into that classroom."
Other parents and teachers called for solutions beyond metal detectors and a police presence, including addressing disrespectful behavior from students.
"What I have not felt supported in is behaviors in the classroom," said one teacher from Dutrow Elementary School.
A mother of a fifth-grade student who was inside Richneck Elementary at the time of the shooting said her son now worries about returning to school, saying, "When he heard the shot and the students huddled in the corner and the teacher barricaded the door and the texts that followed, saying, 'Mommy, I'm scared. I love you.'"
James Graves is the president of the Newport News Education Association.
After attending the meeting, he said he is now working with the school board to find longer-term solutions, including his proposal for an alternative school for students with behavioral problems.
"You have counseling, conflict resolution, anger management after the time you get out of school," said Graves. "It helps the parents out because parents are trying to work."
He said it's one way to address a problem he's seen in the school system for years.
"We're [Graves and school board] going to take all these concerns we heard last night and we're going to get them addressed," said Graves.
In the meeting, Newport News school administrators said they are speaking with the school division's principals and other workers to hear their concerns as they work on new safety protocols.
13News Now reached out to all the Newport News Schools Board members who have referred us to Chairwoman Lisa Surles-Law for comment. We have not received a response from Surles-Law regarding Tuesday night's meeting.