Babies and children in the United States are nearly twice as likely to die before reaching adulthood compared with their peers in other wealthy countries, according to .

The health of U.S. children has deteriorated since the early 2000s across a range of measures, researchers from Children鈥檚 Hospital of Philadelphia and the University of California, Los Angeles found. They published their findings last month in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

The study compared infant and child deaths in the U.S. with the figures from 18 other high-income nations between 2007 to 2023.

U.S. infants, children and teens were about 1.8 times more likely to die before reaching adulthood compared with young people in peer countries, researchers discovered.

For babies, the two causes of death with the biggest gaps between the U.S. and the other countries were prematurity 鈥� 鈥� and.

For children and teens, the biggest gaps were in firearm-related incidents and car crashes.

Since 2020, gun violence for U.S. children and teens. Firearm death rates among U.S. kids have

Many of the deaths from prematurity, firearms and sudden unexplained infant death, three physicians argued in an op-ed published after the new report.

Those three causes of death are among Black youth than their white counterparts.

The authors estimated the mortality gap between the U.S. and other countries claimed the lives of nearly 316,000 children and teens between 2007 and 2023.

The study also found that rates of chronic conditions including obesity, early puberty, trouble sleeping, limitations in activity, depressive symptoms and loneliness all increased in children during the study period.

Overall, Americans have than residents of other wealthy听 countries, even though the U.S. spends nearly twice as much on health care, relative to its gross domestic product.

To improve infant and child health, the authors of the op-ed proposed antipoverty measures such as child tax credits; social media restrictions; broader health insurance coverage; more investment in primary care; and more restrictive firearm laws.

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Stateline maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Scott S. Greenberger for questions: info@stateline.org.

As students across the country return to school, a mass school shooting in Minneapolis has again reignited debates about听听in the U.S.,听 鈥� and youth embrace of听

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz this week announced plans to convene a  in the wake of the Annunciation Catholic School shooting that took place while students attended an annual Mass to kick off the new academic year. Two children were killed and 21 people, 18 of them students, were injured.

Vice President JD听Vance and his wife went to the church Wednesday,听听and visited one of the hospitalized young survivors. The injured girl鈥檚 father,听Harry Kaiser, questioned Vance on whether he would 鈥渆arnestly support the study of what is wrong with our culture, that we are the country that has the worst mass shooter problem?鈥澨�

As has happened in shooting after shooting, attention quickly turned to the assailant鈥檚 online presence as people sought to understand what could motivate such a heinous act. On social media,  鈥� from anti-Christian hate to the radicalization of transgender people 鈥� reached millions of eyeballs.

The 23-year-old perpetrator died by suicide after the rampage. Like other shooters, the Minneapolis attacker  indicating mental health struggles, suicidal ideation and, perhaps most importantly, a . 

The attacker 鈥渁ppeared to hate all of us,鈥� Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said during a briefing. “More than anything, .”

In the news

A 鈥榗atastrophic鈥� hack:听Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit Wednesday against education technology giant PowerSchool, which fell victim to a massive cyberattack last year that compromised the sensitive data of some 60 million students and 10 million educators globally. The state alleges the breach, which affected some 880,000 Texas听teachers and students, occurred because PowerSchool 鈥渇ailed to implement even the most basic security features.鈥� |听

• The move is the latest in a slew of lawsuits from parents, students and school districts adversely affected by the massive hack. |听社区黑料
• Matthew Lane, a 19-year-old from Massachusetts, is scheduled to be sentenced in federal court next week after pleading guilty to the extortion scheme over the summer. |听

As Texas and other Republican-controlled states seek to erode the separation of church and state by endorsing Protestant Christianity over other faiths, Paxton has urged students to use a new law allowing prayer time in public schools to practice the Lord鈥檚 Prayer 鈥渁s taught by Jesus Christ.鈥� | 

Victims speak out: Haley Robson, who was 16 when she was first sexually abused by financier Jeffrey Epstein, recounted on Wednesday how she was forced to recruit young victims from her high school. | 

Florida鈥檚 surgeon general announced plans to end state vaccine mandates for children attending public schools, while officials in California, Oregon and Washington joined forces to preserve access to the life-saving shots. | 

The Los Angeles school district has settled a lawsuit filed by parents who allege the pandemic-era remote learning policies of the country鈥檚 second-largest K-12 public education system discriminated against students of color, English learners and those with disabilities. | 

The Walt Disney Company has agreed to pay $10 million to settle a Federal Trade Commission lawsuit over alleged children鈥檚 privacy violations after the entertainment behemoth improperly uploaded kid-focused videos to YouTube and enabled targeted advertising. | 

• Meanwhile, the FTC announced a settlement with a Chinese robot toy manufacturer accused of illegally collecting U.S. children鈥檚 location data. |听

Stainless steel water bottles made by Stanley and Yeti are all the rage. But this New York district says they鈥檙e a no-go on campus 鈥� claiming they pose safety risks. | 

Trump vs. trans kids: As the administration seeks to clamp down on districts that don鈥檛 inform parents when their children identify as transgender at school, the Education Department revived an obscure 12-year-old privacy case to access district emails. | 社区黑料

• Two Northern Virginia school districts have sued the Trump administration challenging the federal government鈥檚 assertion that policies allowing transgender students to use restrooms and locker facilities violate anti-discrimination laws. |听
  • The legal dispute has been fodder in the state鈥檚 gubernatorial race, in which Republican candidate Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears has placed anti-trans bathroom policies among her top campaign issues. |听社区黑料

• In South Carolina, state officials filed an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court after an appeals court blocked enforcement of a new law denying trans youth access to facilities that align with their gender identity. |听
• The Trump administration warned officials in 40 states they could lose federal funding unless they scrap lessons from sexual education materials that focus on LGBTQ+ issues. |听听

An online group that calls itself Purgatory has claimed responsibility for a string of swatting calls that drew massive law enforcement responses to college campuses at the start of the new academic year. | 

In a middle-of-the-night operation, the Trump administration scooped up 76 unaccompanied minors as they slept at federal shelters, in a deportation bid that was then temporarily blocked by a federal judge. | 

A new Florida law will require educators to get parents鈥� permission before spanking students as a form of school discipline. | 

• Student activists lobbied for the law after an investigation by 社区黑料 revealed that Florida educators most often used corporal punishment to address minor infractions like 鈥渆xcessive talking,鈥� 鈥渋nsubordination鈥� and 鈥渉orseplay.鈥� |听社区黑料听

ICYMI @The74

Confusion as Kids Head Back to School and RFK Jr. Calls the Shots on Vaccines

Kids Shouldn鈥檛 Access Social Media Until They鈥檙e Old Enough to Drive, Book Says

Emotional Support

Sinead ponders summer鈥檚 end while boating over Labor Day weekend.听: Kathy Moore

Imagine how much stronger our cities would be if we were to embrace an ecosystem of care, with faith institutions, businesses, and local organizations working alongside families and schools.  

Across the country, there is a deep youth mental health crisis that is fueling a trend of violence among our babies. In Denver, Colorado, an average of under 25 are affected by gun violence each year. In Alameda County, California, gun violence is the for children ages 1 to 17. 

According to Everytown statistics, are impacted by firearms every day in the United States. As parents and guardians, we pour our whole selves into our children. No one should ever have to endure the agony of losing a child, especially to something as preventable as gun violence.  

Earlier this month, in my community, Evette Jeffrey, a 16-year-old girl in the Bronx was fired by another teenager. As a mother, an educator, and a lifelong Bronxite, this tragedy was personal for me, and I saw firsthand the impact of this devastation across the borough. The following week, another two babies were victims of gun violence in Brooklyn. It is unacceptable that over 30 children under the age of 18 have been killed or injured in New York City this year alone.  

The pandemic lockdowns left our young people feeling isolated and emotionally adrift. The CDC reports the number of children experiencing persistent sadness or hopelessness remains than in 2013. For two years, we told our children that their entire lives are online, from their instruction to enrichment, and beyond. Now, we鈥檙e seeing the repercussions: Our kids don鈥檛 know who to talk to or where to go when they are in crisis.  

Teens are increasingly tethered to their phones 鈥� half of those aged 12 to 17 reported four or more hours of daily screen time between July 2021 and December 2023. Throughout the pandemic, our children were forced to live their lives through social media and virtual schooling. Now, as we bring them back to in person socialization, it鈥檚 no wonder that they鈥檙e ill equipped.   

As the leader of the nation鈥檚 largest school district, it is my responsibility to lead New York City Public Schools鈥� response to this mental health epidemic at its root. If we are to do right by our kids, we cannot just address the symptoms of this crisis. The solution lies in community interdependence.  

We鈥檝e seen glimpses of this kind of symbiosis at work in places like , which like New York City, is offering free online mental health counseling, or , where local nonprofits are supporting afterschool programs and other services at high-poverty campuses. We must continue to scale this work. 

In our schools, we must teach our kids how to use technology responsibly and appropriately. Devices can be used to enrich and support classroom instruction, offering real-time support in math class or opportunities to explore the world without leaving the neighborhood.  

We must also learn to take care of ourselves so that we can be better and stronger for our kids. We are role models, leaders, and safe, trusted grown-ups. Our students must be able to turn to us without judgement in times of need. 

But this goes beyond us. For this to work, I call upon our business owners to be more than just bystanders. When you welcome our kids by name when they enter your store, it shows that there are adults who care and who they can turn to when they need to feel seen, heard, and protected.  

I call upon our faith leaders to be active partners with the schools in their communities. If they see a child who is struggling, reach out so we can get them help before it’s too late.  

Robust in-school mental health supports are essential, but they can鈥檛 stand alone. We need community mental health partners to amplify their impact. Local universities, we need you to bolster the mental health worker pipeline and place young professionals-in-training in schools to build out capacity.  

We鈥檙e asking our community-based organizations and leaders with social capital in our neighborhoods to keep their ears to the ground 鈥� aware of brewing tensions, conflicts, and signs of distress 鈥� so we can act before violence erupts. 

The National Center on Safe Supportive Learning Environments that 鈥渄eveloping and sustaining comprehensive mental health systems should be a shared endeavor between schools and community partners.鈥� We all bear a collective responsibility in ensuring that every child gets the bright and bold future they deserve, and it is up to us to work together to identify at-risk youth and intervene early. As New York City mourns the loss of one of our own, I remain committed to honoring that life by protecting others. Our young people are crying out for help, and we must answer. It will take all of us. Let鈥檚 get to work. All of us 鈥� community members, business leaders, faith leaders, and families 鈥� need to rally together to make sure our students have a safe adult in their lives they can turn to in times of crisis. Let鈥檚 get to work.

was originally reported by Nadra Nittle of .

For almost three hours, last month in which senators pressed her on everything from to transgender athletes. But none from either party asked her about

That鈥檚 a glaring oversight, according to some leaders working to reduce , while others say that fears about the so dominated the hearing that there was little time to question McMahon about the full spectrum of education topics. , it鈥檚 unclear how McMahon will address the , but her previous comments on gun control and the White House鈥檚 actions on the issue so far suggest to prevention advocates that this administration won鈥檛 make it a priority 鈥� potentially endangering youth, domestic violence victims and other vulnerable groups.

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鈥淭丑别 No. 1 concern amongst American families is making sure we have safe classrooms,鈥� said Keri Rodrigues, president of the National Parents Union, a nonprofit organization working to improve educational outcomes and policies for children and families. 鈥淐an we keep our children alive in America’s classrooms? The idea that we would not even ask the next U.S. secretary of education about what she plans to do to keep our classrooms safer is ridiculous.鈥�

Rodrigues, who was in the room during the Senate confirmation hearing in February, said that President Donald Trump鈥檚 plans to dismantle the Department of Education make it imperative to know McMahon鈥檚 approach to school gun violence. On Tuesday, , nearly half of its staff, heightening concerns about its potential demise. Twenty-one attorneys general in Democratic-led states sued the Trump administration over the layoffs on Thursday, arguing that eliminating the staffers was 鈥渋llegal and unconstitutional.鈥�

Gun violence is the leading cause of death for children and teens, based on data from the Centers for Disease for Control and Prevention, and disproportionately kills youth of color. School shootings have steadily increased over time, with recorded this year, according to the K-12 Shooting Database, which tracks gun violence incidents on campuses.

McMahon should have been asked 鈥渉ow she plans to be able to address these very real and very serious issues without having a U.S. Department of Education that is working with states and working with districts,鈥� Rodrigues said.

The Department of Education did not respond by publication time to The 19th鈥檚 request for comment about McMahon鈥檚 plans on gun violence.

During her 2017 confirmation hearing, former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, a Trump nominee, suggested that guns might protect students from grizzly bears, leading to widespread ridicule. Last year, , or Extreme Risk Protection Orders (ERPO), that allow guns to be confiscated from individuals considered a threat to themselves or others.

ERPO, she wrote, 鈥渃ould easily be used to REMOVE Firearms from Law-Abiding Citizens. Chicago and NYC have some of the strictest 鈥榞un laws鈥� in the country and yet they also have some of the highest gun violence. Recently 9 people were killed in 24 hours in Chicago. A pregnant mom was seriously injured and her 11-year-old son who was trying to protect her was killed.鈥�

McMahon argued that it would have been more effective to keep the convicted felon who shot the mother and son in prison than risk removing firearms from individuals without criminal records. Her views appear to align with those of the president, who on directing the attorney general to review all regulations and policies created during President Joe Biden鈥檚 administration that purportedly infringe on the public鈥檚 rights to bear arms and to devise a plan to counteract such restrictions.

鈥淭his administration has made it pretty clear that it is not looking to prioritize gun violence prevention, whether that’s in the nominees that it has put forward, including the education secretary, or the executive order on the Second Amendment that came out of the White House,鈥� said Nina Vinik, founder and president of Project Unloaded, a Gen Z-focused gun violence prevention group. 鈥淭丑别 administration is looking to roll back the progress that’s been made over the last decade or more to reduce gun violence.鈥�

Noah Lumbantobing, former director of communications for March for Our Lives (MFOL), a student-led gun violence prevention organization, said he suspects Trump鈥檚 administration will reverse the policies the group supports to retaliate against the Biden administration.

鈥淚t’s so clearly about vengeance and not at all about children’s safety, so that’s scary,鈥澨齭aid Lumbantobing, who transitioned out of MFOL on Wednesday to step into a new role in the gun safety movement. 鈥淲e still don’t know what’s going to be on the chopping block, but we have no doubt that he’s going to undo a lot of the things that we spent a lot of time fighting for, and even more importantly, things that have saved lives.鈥�

In 2024, gun violence incidents on campuses dropped to 331 from 349 the prior year, according to the K-12 School Shooting Database. Lumbantobing attributes the decrease in shootings to the 鈥渃ommon-sense life-saving solutions鈥� the Biden administration adopted. That includes an executive order Biden issued that expanded the definition of a gun dealer since some gun sellers were not only going undetected but also neglecting to perform background checks on customers.

鈥淣ow, they do have to do background checks and to act responsibly,鈥� Lumbantobing said. 鈥淭hat’s going to get undone. So there’s a lot of danger here, both in undoing some of the laws and also just selectively not enforcing laws that are on the books. It’s going to kill children, and it’s just for partisan gain.鈥�

He also has concerns about how relaxing gun restrictions will affect victims of domestic violence, a problem the Biden administration addressed, in part, through tougher background checks.

鈥淭丑别 tightened loopholes for dating partners to not be able to obtain firearms and potentially harm or kill their partners,鈥� Lumbantobing said of the federal law passed in 2022 that provides states with funding to develop red flag laws and other interventions. If the Department of Justice “chooses not to enforce the laws on the books, no one’s looking out for victims of domestic abuse,鈥� he added.

At least 110 domestic violence-related shootings have occurred at schools from 1966 to the present, the K-12 School Shooting Database reports. The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act routes resources to intervention programs to reduce gun crimes, but Lumbantobing said he isn鈥檛 sure if that will happen under the Trump administration. He does give Trump credit, however, for supporting a ban on bump stocks, gun accessories that essentially turn semi-automatic rifles into automatic weapons. In 2017, during Trump’s first term, a gunman used bump stocks to kill 60 people and wound hundreds of others at a Las Vegas music festival.

鈥淪o there’s some hope that we have that he’ll not be as constrained by GOP orthodoxy there, but it’s not looking good,鈥� Lumbantobing said. 鈥淗e moves with the wind.鈥�

That the Trump administration has chosen not to continue the Office of Gun Violence Prevention established during Biden鈥檚 tenure has also worried gun control supporters. Although Trump did not formally eliminate the office, he has yet to hire personnel to maintain it, Lumbantobing said. The office no longer has a functioning website either.

鈥淲hat’s so dangerous is that we may not notice it today or tomorrow, but in a year, two years, whenever the next mass shooting happens, I think we’ll be able to look and see it’s because Trump stopped enforcing the law,鈥� Lumbantobing said.

The Office of Gun Violence Prevention represented a bipartisan approach to gun safety because it allowed the White House to focus on prevention in a holistic way that drew on government resources but did not require the creation of any new laws, Lumbantobing said.

鈥淗ow do we fix this 鈥� within the constraints that we have? They made massive progress on that,鈥� he said. 鈥淕etting rid of that office is a refutation of that very premise, and I think it is a real dangerous one. If you can’t agree with us that children dying is a bad thing, boy, are we in trouble.鈥�

Several states, including California, Massachusetts, Maryland and Wisconsin, have opened 鈥� or passed legislation to open 鈥� their own offices of gun violence prevention, suggesting that states and not the federal government will take the lead on curbing gun violence prevention during the Trump administration.

鈥淚 think we’re going to continue to see a world where gun safety exists in some places and not others,鈥� Lumbantobing said. 鈥淭hat’s not the America that young people deserve.鈥�

Although he would have liked to see senators ask McMahon more questions about school shootings during her confirmation hearing, he said their focus on the potential abolishment of the Department of Education was appropriate. Getting rid of that federal agency would be an attack on gun safety because of the work it does to reduce school shootings.

鈥淭丑别 Department of Education has a critical role in that work and could have a bigger role,鈥� Lumbantobing said. 鈥淛ust last year, we worked with Secretary [Miguel] Cardona to do a safe storage campaign to encourage parents. We understand that people are going to own guns. There’s nothing wrong with that if you own a legally obtained firearm. But it’s important that folks store those firearms safely because, otherwise, they show up in places we don’t want, in school shootings, in instances of domestic violence or interpersonal violence, even amongst young people or kids shooting themselves accidentally.鈥�

While March for Our Lives collaborated with Cardona on a safe storage campaign, Lumbantobing does not anticipate engaging in such work with McMahon.

鈥淪he has expressed no interest in that,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e would love to, but she won’t. Trump has come out and said that he wants to be the very best friend possible to the NRA [National Rifle Association], so we know how she’ll approach it, whether she takes an ax to the Department of Education or just starts to unwind some of the pivotal policies that the Department of Ed pushes to keep kids safe.鈥�

Trump鈥檚 Cabinet picks are not the only concern of gun violence prevention groups. They also fear the impact of the 鈥� recent decision that rescinded the federal restriction on 18-to-20-year-olds buying handguns. More than one mass school shooter has fallen into this age group. In 2022, an . Four years before that, a 19-year-old fatally shot 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. In 2012, a 20-year-old shooter struck down 26 people at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.

鈥淔or the Fifth Circuit to say that trying to address the scourge of gun violence and its impact on young people with reasonable age restriction on handgun purchases is not permissible under the Second Amendment is potentially a real setback in terms of trying to address youth gun violence in this country鈥� Vinik said.

Without being able to rely on government intervention or cooperation, gun prevention advocates are coming up with their own solutions to address youth gun violence. Project Unloaded, for example, hopes to shift the culture around gun use by providing young people with facts and figures about the drawbacks of firearms, including increased risk of homicide, suicide and accidents.

鈥淲hen we give them that information in a way that’s really engaging and accessible, they do increase their awareness of what those risks are, and it does lead them, in many cases, to shift away from a desire to use guns in the future,鈥� Vinik said.

Since young people often learn about guns online, particularly on social media or through gaming platforms, Project Unloaded recently launched a campaign called 鈥溾�� that involves a collaboration with about a dozen gamers who are also content creators on Tiktok, YouTube and Instagram. The campaign, Vinik said, aims to instill this message into youth: 鈥淧lay hard when you’re in a video game, but in real life, at home, in your community, you’re safer without guns.鈥�

They are journalism advisors, volleyball coaches, mentors, authors, learners, environmental conservationists, meditation guides, literacy coaches, and equity advocates.

Their communities range from a small island in America Samoa serving multilingual, Indigenous students; a rural town in Pennsylvania; an immigrant hub in Denver; to a proud but underserved Black neighborhood in Washington D.C. 

Though the communities they serve cover a broad spectrum, 2025鈥檚 Teacher of the Year finalists recognized by the Council of Chief State School Officers are united in their commitment to children. 

Chosen from a pool of 56 local winners,they have found ways to make kids excited about school in a particularly difficult period in public education鈥檚 history. 

The finalists, all English and history educators, have designed lessons and extracurriculars for students to reflect on some of the most pressing issues today: Gun violence, substance abuse, suicide, poverty, food insecurity, health and hygiene, and the environment. 

They acknowledge the world outside school walls, involve local organizations to expand students鈥� opportunities, and prioritize building relationships with kids and their families. 

鈥淪tudents don鈥檛 care how much you know until they know how much you care,鈥� said elementary teacher Jazzmyne Townsend, Washington D.C.鈥檚 finalist. 

Utilizing family interview projects, field trips to hydroponic farms and herbal gardens, all four find ways to bring students鈥� experiences, cultures and curiosities into the classroom.  

At a time when public education is under fiscal and political threat from the Trump administration, finalists share what has nourished their careers and how they keep joy in learning: 

Mikaela Saelua 

All of 鈥檚 high school students are learning English as a second language. Their mother tongue is Samoan – poetic, full of expressive vowel sounds and unique – leaving most words without a direct English translation. 

To break up the monotony of reading and writing, she launched a song translation project. In what culminates in music videos, students learn figurative idioms, metaphors and words to capture the soul of Samoan songs. 

鈥淭丑别 goal isn鈥檛 just to teach them English; it鈥檚 to help them appreciate and express themselves in a way that feels true to who they are,鈥� Saelua wrote in her finalist . 

Saelua encourages student expression outside the classroom as an advisor for a peer leader club, which with the help of a local nonprofit, performs skits at local elementary schools to discuss hard topics, from substance use to suicide. 

America Samoa for suicide for over 20 years. Saelua鈥檚 school in particular has lost two students in the last three years. Their teachers are learning to spot warning signs in things like journal entries. 

Saelua, a proud product of America Samoa鈥檚 public education system who returned after  a spell of homesickness in California, is the first finalist from the seven islands in the program鈥檚 history. 

鈥淚’m carrying that with me and I don’t carry it lightly,鈥� she said. 鈥溾�� it’s more than just me. It’s now me and all of American Samoa.鈥� 

Ashlie Crosson

As wildfires raged in Los Angeles earlier this year, two former students ran into 鈥檚 Pennsylvania classroom, cell phones in hand. 

The sophomores shared headlines about the Trump administration鈥檚 – exclaiming how taking away resources during a catastrophe was exactly like what they鈥檇 read in Dry by Jarrod and Neal Shusterman. 

They were curious: How was the media covering this? What would happen next? 

Dry was the only fiction text from their course Survival Stories, a half-year elective designed by Crossen for students to build media literacy and talk about what they see happening in the real world. And though they鈥檇 read it months earlier, they were making connections and eager to chat.

In Survival Stories, they鈥檇 discussed humanitarian crises through the lens of young people surviving them – such as and stories about families navigating the Dari茅n Gap. 

Survival is not new to their community, deeply impacted by the opioid epidemic. 

Crosson brings in texts that show them 鈥渨hat you鈥檙e experiencing here isn鈥檛 isolated. These are problems that exist all over the place. Your hometown is not the 鈥榩roblem.鈥欌�� 

Now in her fourteenth year teaching, she stays attuned to body language, emotional reactions, attendance. A kid鈥檚 experience in her classroom clues her into their world.  

She has also found ways for young people growing up in poverty to challenge negative associations with their area and build hope for future careers by .   

鈥淚 teach English, but I can’t really get to that content if I don’t have a rapport and understanding of my students and what their needs are,鈥� Crosson said. 鈥�… There’s no content mastery happening in American schools right now if we’re not evaluating and meeting the needs of students and families.鈥� 

Jazzmyne Townsend 

Coming from a family of teachers, wanted to carve her own path in business. 

But today the Washington, D.C. Teacher of the Year is a self described 鈥渂ig kid鈥� – eager to be on the floor, immersed in sand, Play-Doh, and paint, modeling active listening and motor skills.  

鈥淚’m willing to hold your hand and walk you through it until you are in a place where I can release you to do that independently,鈥� the special education teacher explained about her approach with her second and third graders. 

She鈥檚 the teacher that knows their families and weekend plans, who notices their haircuts and new shoes, who shows up to games that are important to them. 

Townsend launched a , a place for kids to gather twice a week to chat about their bodies, social media, healthy relationships and whatever was weighing on them. 

She makes a point, too, of sharing her experiences with kids so they can dream big. A children鈥檚 book author, she explained the process of drafting a manuscript, pairing with an illustrator and publishing. 

Her kids then became authors and illustrators themselves. Their book publishing project became a community showcase, with one student choosing the ability to manage the world鈥檚 trash, to keep the planet clean and healthy. 

鈥淚’m showing you in my actions, how we interact and how we engage,鈥� she said. 鈥淚’m showing you that I’m invested in you鈥� Kids need people who are irrationally passionate about them.鈥�

Janet Renee Damon

After 25 years in the classroom, high school history teacher finds herself working at a transfer high school, a culmination of 鈥渁ll of my skills, all of my heart and all of my joy.鈥� 

She spends her days joking and encouraging introverted, empathetic 鈥渄iamond souls,鈥� kids who鈥檝e faced undue pressure who are still shining through parental death or incarceration, the trauma of immigration, homelessness, gun and gang violence and teen pregnancy. 

Over half of Damon鈥檚 students are immigrants, from Rwanda to Honduras and Iraq. All have mourned someone killed by gun violence. 

She guides students in breathing and meditation exercises, a tool for emotional regulation. They create 鈥渓ife maps,鈥� imagining how to prepare for life鈥檚 milestones, like renting an apartment. 

She explores, 鈥渉ow history has impacted your own community, your own family.鈥� After a project where students explored how the body鈥檚 DNA is impacted by generational trauma, one student told her he never used substances again. 

She and her administrators are committed: When kids don鈥檛 show, a team goes looking, conducting home visits. 

Damon also helped students鈥� bridge past and present through an ongoing podcast program. Students researched the history of mental health disparities and called attention to their high needs for support amid clinical shortages, landing on Colorado Public Radio.

Only 5% of registered psychologists nationwide speak Spanish. After their podcast went on air, a Therapists of Color collective reached out to provide care free of charge. The student podcast project led another to discover her family were survivors of the federal government鈥檚 Indian Residential Schools. A different high schooler interviewed a relative about his history with incarceration. Both said the work was 鈥渉ealing鈥� and helped them feel closer to their families and identity.

鈥淲e have to make school a place where kids want to be,鈥� Renee Damon said, 鈥渘ot just have to be.鈥�

There are things bigger than politics, state legislators declared on the floor of Michigan鈥檚 state House, as legislation to implement school safety requirements and mental health assessment standards passed Tuesday evening with bipartisan support.

It鈥檚 been just over three years since by another student who brought a gun to school and opened fire on the school community. Just as the loved ones of Tate Myre, 16; Hana St. Juliana, 14; Justin Shilling, 17; and Madisyn Baldwin, 17, will never forget the pain of the Nov. 30, 2021 killings, neither will lawmakers, Rep. Luke Meerman (R-Coopersville) told members of the state House.

鈥淲e must show the people of Michigan, we as lawmakers can come together and produce solutions that address real need in the state,鈥� Meerman, who is a sponsor of the bill package, said. 鈥淔rom where I stand, these bills are long overdue. I鈥檓 grateful to vote yes on these bills today.鈥�

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Michigan state Rep. Luke Meerman (R-Coopersville) speaks in support of a school safety package on the House floor on Dec. 10, 2024. | Photo: Anna Liz NicholsMeerman, along with Rep. Nancy DeBoer (R-Holland) on House Bills and which would replace the with a School Safety and Mental Health Commission housed in the Department of State Police.

The would-be-replaced School Safety Commission was created under Gov. Rick Snyder, after the deadly Parkland High School shooting in Florida in 2018 where a 19-year-old opened fire, killing 17 people at the school. The commission has been charged with evaluating safety measures in Michigan schools and making recommendations for improvements.

Codifying a School Safety and Mental Health Commission is being pursued by lawmakers in recognition of . The commission would specifically examine and make recommendations to improve school safety measures and mental health support, with members consisting of experts in law enforcement, education, mental health, school threat assessments and community programming with youth, as well as having a current student or recent high school graduate on the commission.

House Bill and House Bill received 89-19 votes, passing with widespread bipartisan support and with two members not voting.

Amongst the 鈥渘o鈥� votes was Republican Rep. Josh Schriver who represents Oxford and voted against every bill in the package Tuesday

Under House Bills and , all schools in Michigan would be required to adopt uniform terminology for emergency response starting in the 2026-2027 school year.

Michigan State Police would be mandated under the legislation to create language all schools use, so terms like 鈥渓ockdown鈥� and 鈥渟helter in place鈥� mean the same thing across the board and law enforcement can respond accordingly should there be an emergency.

House Bill received a 94-15 and House Bill received a 93-16 with one lawmaker not voting.

In the face of the threat of school shootings, it鈥檚 important to note that , Rep. Kelly Breen (D-Novi) told lawmakers Tuesday. But students don鈥檛 always feel safe while they鈥檙e trying to learn.

鈥淎 few years ago, my daughter asked me one of the worst questions a child could bring a parent, 鈥楳ama, what do I do if my teacher tells me to run and I can鈥檛 find my little brother?鈥�,鈥� Breen told members of the state House. 鈥淣o parent ever wants to answer that.鈥�

Michigan was once again rattled by another school shooting in 2023, when three students on Michigan State University鈥檚 campus were killed by a gunman the evening before Valentine鈥檚 Day, Breen lamented.

After the tragedy at MSU, lawmakers passed several gun violence reforms including and implementing .

And as survivors of school shootings in Michigan and the families of the students the state has lost demand justice and change, Breen said lawmakers have the opportunity to stand alongside them.

Breen鈥檚 bill in the package, House Bill , requires all schools to create a behavior threat assessment and management team by October 1, 2026. The team would have to define prohibited or concerning behaviors that are indicative that a member of the school community might hurt themselves or others. The team would also be expected to perform monitoring for such behaviors, creating reporting mechanisms for members of the school community to identify concerning behavior and facilitate the school鈥檚 responses to intervene.

The team is required to have a school administrator, a mental health professional and a school resource officer or another member of law enforcement.

While the other bills in the package cleared the politically divided state House with the vast majority of votes, House Bill cleared with a 57-51 vote, with one lawmaker not voting.

Rep. Gina Johnsen (R-Odessa) unsuccessfully proposed an amendment that would have allowed non public schools to opt out of creating behavior threat assessment and management teams and would have specified that members of the clergy could be eligible to fulfill the role of the mental health professional on such teams if non public schools wanted to participate.

The bills will now head over to the state Senate in the final days of the legislative session.

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Michigan Advance maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Susan J. Demas for questions: info@michiganadvance.com.

In 12 days, it will be three years since the deadly Oxford High School shooting robbed Michigan of the lives of four students. Parents of the victims of the shooting gathered Monday in Oxford for a news conference to call on the state to open an independent investigation into the events that led to the shooting.

The gunman, who was a student at the school when he opened fired on students and educators on Nov. 30, 2021, was at the end of 2023 for the deaths of four students. The shooter鈥檚 parents, James and Jennifer Crumbley, were also held legally responsible for the shooting in a landmark criminal prosecution for their role in making it possible for their 15-year-old son to commit a mass shooting. The parents were sentenced earlier this year to 10 to 15 years in prison for involuntary manslaughter.

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But as other families prepare for Thanksgiving and start early Christmas shopping, parents of the shooting victims are imploring the state to investigate other entities 鈥� namely the school鈥檚 leadership 鈥� into what their role was in not preventing the tragedy.

鈥淲e are not going anywhere. We will do whatever it takes to drive change, because it鈥檚 not a matter of if a school shooting happens again, but when,鈥� said Steve St. Juliana, father of Hana St. Julianna, a student who was killed in the Oxford shooting at age 14.

It鈥檚 not enough that the shooter and his parents have been held criminally responsible. The parents of the victims said much more needs to be done to understand what happened at Oxford and how other families can be spared the pain of another school shooting in the future.

had the school responded appropriately to the shooter as a potential threat as he gave several warning signs, asserted one investigation by Guidepost Solutions which concluded in 2023. Nearly half of the individuals investigators requested to talk to did not speak with investigators. Lawyers for Oxford Community Schools, as well as the teachers union discouraged school employees from cooperating in the investigation, the report said.

To implement real change, not simply gun safety legislation as the Michigan Legislature has enacted, the state must find out exactly what happened that permitted a 15-year-old student to open fire on his classmates and teachers at school where the community should be safe, said Buck Myre, father of Tate Myre who was killed in the shooting at age 16.

鈥淭his has always been about change 鈥� period 鈥� nothing else. It鈥檚 time for our state government to investigate this. Stop hiding; stop making excuses. A Michigan public school was the scene of the shooting. Kids鈥� lives were lost. Kids were shot. A teacher was shot. Every kid in school that day has a shooting badge, a shooting badge that they will heavily carry on their chest for the rest of their lives,鈥� Myre said. 鈥淒on鈥檛 we want to learn from this?鈥�

There is an epidemic of school shootings that are killing children, St. Juliana said. And if the state doesn鈥檛 want more carnage, state agencies need to work together, stop pointing fingers, and get to work on a revelatory investigation.

鈥淲e should not have to be sitting up here repeatedly saying, 鈥楧o a damn investigation.鈥� I鈥檒l paraphrase the governor of Michigan 鈥榝ix the damn system,鈥欌�� St. Juliana said, referring to Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer鈥檚 signature call to 鈥渇ix the damn roads.鈥�

鈥淔orget about the roads. Keep our kids safe,鈥� St. Juliana said.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel responded to the parents鈥� requests for a state investigation, pointing out that her office has offered several times to perform an investigation and the Oxford School Board, Oakland County Prosecutor鈥檚 Office and Oakland County Sheriff鈥檚 Office have rejected her requests.

The parents of Tate Myre, Hana St. Juliana, Justin Shilling and Madisyn Baldwin are not simply calling for further prosecutions, but for the state to examine the systems that could prevent a future shooting. Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald said in an emailed statement after the press conference Monday that a comprehensive, state-led investigation has the potential to provide that.

鈥淲e are not aware of any mechanism for our office to refer a matter to the Attorney General鈥檚 office when it has not been presented to our office,鈥� McDonald said. 鈥淎nd what the families are asking for is much broader. We are not aware of any action needed by my office to activate the Attorney General鈥檚 authority, but we will do everything possible to enable such an investigation. And my office will fully cooperate with any such investigation.鈥�

Nessel said the protocol for her office to perform an investigation is to respect local authority, not use her jurisdiction to supersede local or county level criminal investigations. She added that the Attorney General Department will only join or take on leadership of a criminal investigation or prosecution after local authorities have referred the case to her office.

Both McDonald and Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard have her personal phone number, Nessel said, but neither have requested the attorney general鈥檚 involvement, although she is still willing to investigate

鈥淲e share in the families鈥� fatigue over the constant finger-pointing and scapegoating in these investigations and wish our offers to participate at any level had been accepted years ago for my office to conduct an investigation,鈥� Nessel said. 鈥淎t this point, nearly three years after the tragedy [it] will definitely be more difficult than if it had been allowed to begin when our earliest or repeated offers were initially made.鈥�

McDonald sent a letter and legal opinion on Oct. 9 to St. Juliana in response to his and other families asking for criminal charges against Oxford District members. In the documents, which were provided to the Michigan Advance by St. Juliana, McDonald says Nessel has the authority to perform an investigation without an invitation.

鈥淭丑别 Attorney General鈥檚 Office holds a wide range of powers, which include the investigatory powers that were held at common law. In addition to the investigatory powers, the Attorney General鈥檚 office is equipped with its own Criminal Investigations Division 鈥� meaning it not only has the authority, but also the resources to investigate potential violations of Michigan law,鈥� McDonald wrote to St. Juliana.

Parents on Monday talked about the Attorney General鈥檚 Office鈥檚 ability to subpoena some of the individuals within Oxford Schools who did not talk with Guidepost Solutions鈥� investigation. Nessel addressed what she called confusion over what her office is allowed to do. She said her subpoena power can only be triggered when there is to believe criminal acts were committed.

In McDonald鈥檚 letter to St. Juliana, she says although parents have requested charges be filed against individuals at Oxford Schools, she has 鈥渘ot seen evidence that would allow me to bring charges against any of those individuals.鈥�

鈥溾�� neither my office nor Guidepost can conduct a criminal investigation,鈥� McDonald said in the letter to St. Juliana. 鈥淚 can only make decisions based on the information provided to me by law enforcement, and Guidepost must rely on the cooperation of individuals who have information to share that information.鈥�

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Michigan Advance maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Susan J. Demas for questions: info@michiganadvance.com. Follow Michigan Advance on and .

The presidential election hasn鈥檛 focused much on education 鈥� but the nation got to witness an in-depth debate this week on the partisan responses to school shootings. 

Democratic VP candidate Tim Walz, who said his 17-year-old son witnessed a shooting last year, focused on limiting guns used to perpetrate mass attacks. JD Vance highlighted how schools could better defend against their bullets. Heightened physical security, Vance said during the Tuesday evening vice presidential debate on CBS, is the key response to school shootings. 

鈥淲e have to make the doors lock better, we have to make the doors stronger, we鈥檝e got to make the windows stronger and, of course, we need to increase school resource officers,鈥� he said. 

Yet, while school shootings have reached record levels in recent years, so too have the number of campuses that deploy various forms of campus hardening, including locks, perimeter fencing and armed police. 

The market for school-hardening products is fast and growing: AI-enabled notification systems, panic buttons, bulletproof windows, bulletproof marker boards, bulletproof shields, bulletproof blankets and even bulletproof hoodies with a guarantee: 鈥淚f you get shot (God forbid) with our hoodies on, we鈥檒l send you .鈥�

I made this handy chart 鈥� based on 鈥� to show how school security measures have changed in the last two(ish) decades (1999-2000 and 2021-22). 

According to the latest data, 45% of campuses 鈥� and 63% of high schools 鈥� had sworn police officers. That tally doesn鈥檛 include non-sworn security personnel. Random contraband sweeps are conducted in more than half of high schools. 

Nearly all schools 鈥� 97% 鈥� control access to buildings with locks and monitors, and a similar number require visitors to sign in and wear badges. Security cameras have been installed to monitor 93% of schools. 

The feds have since expanded the types of hardening measures they track. According to the most recent data, 76% of schools have locks on classroom doors and 43% have silent alarms directly connected to the police. during last month鈥檚 mass shooting at Georgia鈥檚 Apalachee High School. 

Though there are a handful of cases where school police and other security prevented or mitigated mass shootings, research suggests they鈥檙e ineffective at preventing attacks overall and . Armed guards were stationed on campus during a quarter of school shootings over a 30-year period.  

Vance said during the debate that 90% of 鈥済un violence in this country is committed with illegally obtained firearms,鈥� likely of federal prison inmates who possessed guns during their offenses. Yet of mass shooters obtain their weapons legally. School shootings 鈥� the topic at Tuesday鈥檚 debate 鈥� are by aggrieved students who get guns from their parents. 

In the news

High schools have become a 鈥渃esspool of sexually explicit deepfakes鈥� as AI-generated images of child sexual abuse flood the internet. |

Hoax threats of shootings and bombings have caused disruptions in schools nationwide, a majority of which have been spread by teens on TikTok and Instagram. |

A new California law to standardize active-shooter drills bans simulated gunfire after the use of a masked man with a fake gun stirred controversy. |

• President Biden signed an executive order last week that seeks to ensure active-shooter drills are effective without traumatizing students. | 社区黑料

Indicted New York City Mayor Eric Adams is in no shortage of controversy. Add this to the list: The school district is piloting school bus surveillance cameras from a company run by a former high-ranking administration official. |

As a ransomware group takes credit for a cyberattack on the Providence, Rhode Island, school district, school officials have kept quiet. |

District leaders can assess their schools鈥� cybersecurity vulnerability with a new resource guide from the Education Department and Federal Communications Commission. |

A Florida father notified the police after his 10-year-old son threatened on Snapchat to shoot up a high school. |

ICYMI @The74

• Feds Zero in on Maker of LAUSD鈥檚 Failed AI Chatbot, Hint at Criminal Charges

• Under Tennessee鈥檚 Stricter School Library Law, Some Books Quietly Disappear

• Study Finds COVID Harmed Cognitive Skills of Students 鈥� and Teachers

Emotional support

We could all just use a nap. 

It鈥檚 once again a harrowing week in America, as the nation grapples with yet another mass school shooting 鈥� the campus gunfire incident this year, according to a tally by the folks at the K-12 School Shooting Database. 

Two students and two teachers were killed in Wednesday鈥檚 attack at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, the latest victims in a campus firearm death toll that鈥檚 surged in the last few years. 

During a campaign stop hours after the attack, Vice President Kamala Harris called the incident 鈥渁 senseless tragedy, on top of so many senseless tragedies.鈥� 

鈥淲e鈥檝e got to stop it.鈥� 

鈥楤uilding leaders for 2050鈥�

Six and a half years after David Hogg survived one the nation鈥檚 deadliest campus shootings at his Parkland, Florida, high school, his latest campaign to bolster the country鈥檚 gun laws has drawn major support from deep-pocketed donors and Democratic Party bigwigs. 

Hogg co-founded Leaders We Deserve, a political action committee that鈥檚 raised more than $8 million in the past year to help elect young Democrats who support gun control, abortion and other progressive causes. 

My analysis of Federal Election Commission filings and the PAC鈥檚 digital ads offers insight into how Hogg has leveraged the trauma and lessons of surviving Parkland to create a well-connected operation to influence state and national elections across the country in November. Leaders We Deserve has already claimed some electoral wins for candidates in Virginia and deep-red Texas.

But the effort, former education secretary and PAC adviser Arne Duncan told me, is much bigger than the upcoming high-stakes presidential election. It鈥檚 about building the next generation of Democratic lawmakers. 

鈥淭hat鈥檚 what David鈥檚 play is about,鈥� Duncan said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not about, 鈥榃e鈥檙e going to change the entire world tomorrow,鈥� but it鈥檚, 鈥楥an we plant a whole bunch of amazing seeds, nurture them, develop them, support them and see what happens.鈥欌�� 

Read the full analysis here

More on the Georgia shooting

They lost their lives: The victims are two 14-year-old students, Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, and math teachers Christina Irimie and Richard Aspinwall. |

The perp: A 14-year-old student accused of carrying out the attack was taken into custody and will be charged with murder as an adult. | 

The police response: Minutes after the shooting was reported, two school resource officers and other law enforcement arrived on scene. One of the school-based cops confronted the shooter, who was armed with an AR 15-style rifle, and forced his surrender. | 

An emergency alert system created by the security vendor Centegix was credited with alerting first responders to the shooting. The system includes a lanyard with a button that teachers can push to report danger. | 

Police interviewed the alleged gunman and his father more than a year ago, after the FBI received several tips about someone threatening to 鈥渟hoot up a school鈥� on the social media platform Discord. 鈥淭丑别 father stated he had hunting guns in the house, but the subject did not have unsupervised access to them,鈥� according to the federal agency. 鈥淭丑别 subject denied making the threats online.鈥� |/

Just months after an unprecedented parental conviction in Michigan, Georgia prosecutors allege the father鈥檚 actions led to the mass school shooting | 社区黑料

The shooter purportedly had a keen interest in past school shootings, most notably the 2018 attack in Parkland. | 

The big picture: This Georgia school shooting was, in many ways, a repeat of past tragedies. The most common scenario is 鈥渁 surprise attack during morning classes committed by a current student who is allowed to be inside the school.鈥� | 

In other news

California lawmakers passed a first-in-the-nation bill that would prohibit schools from serving food with artificial color additives that officials have linked to hyperactivity and other behavioral effects in children. |

A 33-year-old Latvian hacker has been extradited to the U.S. on charges of being a key player in the cybercrime group Karakurt, which has launched wide-scale ransomware attacks on K-12 schools. |

Four states suing the Education Department over new rules to protect LGBTQ+ kids from discrimination have 鈥渁 substantial likelihood that they will prevail on the merits,鈥� according to a federal appeals court. |

Meanwhile, the Justice Department and 16 states have weighed in on a lawsuit that charges a Georgia book ban targeting LGBTQ+ literature is unconstitutional. |

Nearly 4,000 鈥渄angerous instruments鈥� 鈥� including almost 300 weapons 鈥� were seized at New York City鈥檚 public schools last year. 鈥淒angerous instruments鈥� is a weird way to say stuff like box cutters and pepper spray. |

Despite school discipline reform efforts, racial disparities in student suspensions persist. |

After six people were killed in a Nashville school shooting last year, Tennessee lawmakers passed zero-tolerance rules mandating a one-year expulsion for students who threaten mass violence at school. As a result, students are being expelled 鈥渇or mildly disruptive behavior,鈥� ProPublica reported, even when officials found 鈥渢he threat was not credible.鈥� |

ICYMI @The74

• Immigrant Advocates Call on Massachusetts AG to Probe Enrollment Discrimination

• One New York District鈥檚 Old-School Approach to Support Kids鈥� Well-Being

• Ohio School-to-Prison Pipeline Bolstered by 鈥楨xclusionary Discipline,鈥� Absenteeism

Emotional Support

Mika, 社区黑料 editor Nicole Ridgway鈥檚 pup companion, found a comfy spot on the beach to soak in some of summer鈥檚 final rays. 

The 54-year-old father Friday morning on second-degree murder charges that stem from allegations his 14-year-old son carried out the attack and later told investigators, 鈥淚 did it.鈥� 

The father, prosecutors allege, was the gun supplier. Gray bought his son an AR 15-style rifle as a holiday gift in December 2023 鈥渨ith knowledge he was a threat to himself and others,鈥� according to an arrest affidavit obtained by CNN. Then, the boy used that same gun, police allege, to kill his classmates and the two teachers and injure nine others. Like those before it, the shooting left a much wider swath of trauma that District Attorney Brad Smith referred to Friday.

鈥淵ou don鈥檛 have to have been physically injured in this to be a victim,鈥� Smith said 鈥淓veryone in this community is a victim. Every child in that school was a victim.鈥�

The charges fall in line with a law enforcement strategy that鈥檚 emerged in the last year to thwart a record number of mass school shootings, which federal data show are most often carried out by aggrieved students with guns obtained 鈥� either as a gift or without permission 鈥� from close family members. 

Prosecutors have turned their focus to the killers鈥� parents. 

Just months ago, in early April, Michigan parents Jennifer and James Crumbley were each given decade-long prison sentences in first-of-their-kind convictions: They were held directly accountable for a school shooting that was carried out by their 15-year-old son in 2021 that killed four students. 

In both cases, according to prosecutors, parents gave gifts to their kids that were later used to commit mass murder despite knowing that their children were on the brink of acting violently. Still, legal experts said the Crumbley prosecution 鈥� which Georgia officials have set the groundwork to replicate 鈥� reverses a bedrock legal principle that people cannot be held liable for the actions of others. 

鈥淟ook, I thought this case could go either way and still when the result came out I was a bit stunned because it鈥檚 such a deep legal principle,鈥� Ekow Yankah, a University of Michigan law professor, told 社区黑料 in February after Jennifer Crumbley鈥檚 landmark conviction. 

鈥淢aybe this kind of case will have an effect,鈥� he said. 鈥淢aybe parents will be more attentive.鈥�

In Michigan, the shooter 鈥� to life in prison without parole after pleading guilty 鈥� was gifted a 9-millimeter pistol for Christmas that he later celebrated online as 鈥渕y new beauty.鈥� In Georgia, that Gray allegedly gave to prosecutors puts his gift weapon purchase just months after investigators questioned the father and son about reported online threats of a school shooting. 

Last year, the Federal Bureau of Investigation that the then-13-year-old posted on the social media site Discord a threat to 鈥渟hoot up a middle school.鈥� Local police investigated the tip but failed to link the Discord comments to the teen, even though the account traced back to the boy鈥檚 email address. The boy denied making the threats and claimed he deleted the account because it kept getting hacked. Written in Russian, the translated to the last name of the shooter behind the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Connecticut. 

The New York Times reported this week that police searching the teen鈥檚 room found evidence of his interest in , particularly the 2018 killings in Parkland, Florida. 

Meanwhile, Colin Gray acknowledged to police he had hunting rifles at home but that his son did not have 鈥渦nfettered鈥� access to them. 

Charges filed against Gray include four counts of involuntary manslaughter, eight counts of cruelty to children 鈥� and two counts of murder in the second degree. His son, whose age makes him ineligible for the death penalty, will be tried as an adult, prosecutors said, and faces life in prison on four counts of murder. Lawyers for the father and son did not seek bail and the two

Though the Crumbley case in Michigan presented a novel conviction, it wasn鈥檛 the first time a parent has been held legally responsible for crimes committed by their children 鈥攊ncluding in helping their child secure a firearm later used in a mass shooting. Last year, an Illinois father pleaded guilty to misdemeanor reckless conduct on charges stemming from a shooting that his son carried out in 2022 at an Independence Day parade in suburban Chicago. That case centered on how his son, who was 19 at the time, obtained a gun license.听

In Texas, meanwhile, survivors of the 2018 shooting at Santa Fe High School to hold the gunman鈥檚 parents accountable for the carnage. In a civil case filed by survivors and victim鈥檚 family members, a jury found Antonios Pagourtzis and Rose Marie Kosmetatos were not liable of negligence after being accused of failing to secure their guns at home and ignoring violent warning signs before their 17-year-old son opened fire at his high school and killed eight students and two teachers.听

Outside of courtrooms, other firearm measures passed at the state level in recent years have sought to tackle parents鈥� role in mass casualty events carried out by their offspring. now have laws requiring gun owners to keep their weapons locked up or that penalize them if a child gains access. 

Georgia lacks both secure storage and child-access laws, according to an . A new state law, however, seeks to incentivize parental responsibility. 

, the new law who purchase firearm safety devices like gun safes and trigger locks. A similar incentive was rolled out in Virginia in 2023, providing a tax break of up to $300. In its first year, accepted the deal.  

In a video posted to YouTube, 24-year-old school shooting survivor David Hogg points to a whiteboard and outlines a five-step plan to reshape America.听

Ever since Hogg survived the 2018 Valentine鈥檚 Day shooting at his Parkland, Florida, high school, which killed 17 of his classmates and educators, he鈥檚 become a national leader in the push for gun control and a formidable up-and-comer in Democratic politics. His latest effort is , a political action committee formed in 2023 that has raised nearly $8.5 million in the past year to elect Gen Z and millennial progressives to state and national office. 

The PAC aims to find young Democrats running for office, flood their campaigns with cash, offer strategic advice, provide a team of volunteers and work with the candidates to build a winning platform.

The strategy, Hogg explains in the YouTube advertisement designed to attract donors, has already met with success in Texas: 鈥淲e just did this, electing the youngest person to the Texas state Senate, Molly Cook,鈥� the state鈥檚 first openly LGBTQ+ senator. Leading up to the May election, Hogg鈥檚 PAC bolstered Cook鈥檚 campaign with $300,000 in financial backing, money used to blanket her district with mailings and digital ads.  

鈥淲ith Molly, we found in our poll that she was behind by 2%, so we came in and we found that she was ahead by 5 after we informed voters about her background,鈥� Hogg says, adding that his team knocked on the doors of more than 1,000 potential voters. 鈥淲e got her on MSNBC as well and worked with her on her messaging and the result is that she ended up winning by 62 votes.鈥� 

As Hogg works to 鈥渆lect a ton more Mollys around the country,鈥� an analysis by 社区黑料 of Federal Election Commission filings and the PAC鈥檚 digital ads offers insight into how he has leveraged the trauma and lessons learned from surviving one of America鈥檚 deadliest school shootings to build out a well-connected, generously funded operation to influence elections. 

The urgency of his key issue remains unabated: were killed and at least nine others injured Wednesday in a shooting at a Georgia high school. During a presidential campaign stop Wednesday afternoon in New Hampshire, Vice President Kamala Harris called the shooting outside Atlanta “a senseless tragedy, on top of so many senseless tragedies.”

“It’s just outrageous that everyday in our country 鈥� in the United States of America 鈥� that parents have to send their children to school worried about whether or not their child will come home alive. It’s senseless,” Harris said. “We’ve got to stop it.”

Leaders We Deserve has pumped millions of dollars 鈥� and resources from Democratic power players 鈥� into the campaigns of young candidates who support progressive causes like gun control, reproductive rights and protecting public school funding. Its efforts going into November will almost certainly be strengthened by Harris鈥檚 presence atop the ticket, an event that has .

Joining forces with Hogg, a recent Harvard graduate, is Kevin Lata, the former campaign manager of U.S. Rep. Maxwell Frost, a Democrat from Florida who, at 27, is the first member of Gen Z to serve in Congress. Hogg and Lata didn鈥檛 respond to interview requests.

鈥淎s a generation, we鈥檝e collectively been told to run, hide and fight over and over during active shooting drills, and our generation has learned that along with our ABCs,鈥� Hogg says in one ad. 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 time that we repurpose the meaning of that. We need to start running for office. We need to stop hiding from the responsibility that we have to protect future generations.鈥�

Cook has received the largest share of direct campaign cash from Leaders We Deserve, according to the PAC鈥檚 most recent federal financial disclosures, which cover the period from June 2023 to the end of July 2024. In that time, the group has helped finance the campaigns of 16 candidates, primarily at the state level, including in Pennsylvania, Alabama, Florida and Ohio. 

Funding has gone to the Georgia House race of a seventh-grade math teacher in Atlanta, a former Miss Texas vying for a state House seat on a gun control platform, a 28-year-old in Pennsylvania whose run for the state House is centered on , and a 28-year-old mother running for a House seat in Tennessee after the state .

鈥楶ain into purpose鈥�

Though young candidates are underrepresented in public office across the country, and they tend to face steeper financial barriers than those from older generations, FEC data 鈥� and Hogg鈥檚 five-step plan 鈥� show the PAC offers more than money to its endorsed candidates. It has ties to some of the major players in Democratic campaign operations. 

Its 59-person advisory board encompasses education leaders, gun control proponents, youth activists and two former law enforcement officers 鈥� 鈥� who defended the U.S. Capitol during the January 6, 2021, attack by a mob of Donald Trump supporters. Democratic politicians, half of them 35 or younger, make up the largest share of advisors. 

Among the more seasoned advisors is Arne Duncan, the former education secretary for President Barack Obama. Duncan now has his own group 鈥� Chicago CRED 鈥� which provides job training and other resources in a bid to stem gun violence in his hometown. 

Duncan told 社区黑料 that he and Hogg communicate regularly to discuss their shared goal of thwarting gun violence. Duncan said that his 鈥済eneration has failed鈥� to confront the issue in a meaningful way, leaving young people 鈥� including the ones Hogg is working to elect 鈥� to devise solutions. 

鈥淚 hate the leadership that David has had to provide on this issue. I hate the trauma that he and his classmates and his school and his community have been through,鈥� Duncan said. 鈥淏ut I so appreciate him turning that pain into purpose and really fighting to change things.鈥� 

Hogg鈥� who co-founded the gun control group in the Parkland shooting鈥檚 immediate aftermath and has campaigned in previous elections for candidates who support new gun laws鈥� has garnered financial support for his political committee from marquee donors. The bulk of donations 鈥� more than $4.3 million 鈥� come from undisclosed individuals contributing less than $200, but the largest single contribution of $300,000 is from Ron Conway. The Silicon Valley venture capitalist and gun control proponent served on the advisory board of , which has sought to reduce campus gun violence in the wake of the 2012 mass shooting at the Newtown, Connecticut, elementary school. 

Other prominent donors include reproductive rights activist Phoebe Gates, the daughter of Microsoft founder and philanthropist Bill Gates, who gave $75,000, and actress Kate Capshaw and her husband, the director Steven Spielberg, who donated a combined $25,000. 

That support, federal election data shows, has translated into significant spending, with nearly $3 million going to advertising via text messaging, digital ads and campaign mailers. Nearly $1 million 鈥� the PAC鈥檚 second-largest expense 鈥� was used to purchase lists with the contact information of potential voters. 

The PAC鈥檚 expenditures also reflect the web of influential players working behind the scenes. Leaders We Deserve paid nearly $130,000 in legal fees to the Elias Law Group, the firm of Democratic election lawyer Marc Elias, who and is now assisting with the party鈥檚 vote recount strategy for November. Other top payments were to prominent political fundraisers and strategists, including The Hooligans Agency, with using Hollywood tactics to make viral political ads.

PACs like Leaders We Deserve have faced criticism for injecting smaller races with big money from interest groups and out-of-state donors. Leaders We Deserve has found its greatest success raising money from donors in California, Maryland, Massachusetts and New York, federal data shows. The group hasn鈥檛 contributed to candidates in any of those states. 

Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers and a Leaders We Deserve advisory board member, said the PAC offers Hogg a strategic advantage.

鈥淗e did this in a way so that he wasn鈥檛 constrained by party,鈥� Weingarten said. 鈥淗e understands and knits together policy and politics.鈥� 

鈥楢 big barrier鈥�

Even with its list of established connections, Leaders We Deserve faces headwinds in driving change. 

Young people are 鈥渧astly underrepresented on the ballot鈥� and run for public office at much lower rates than older adults, according to from the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning Engagement, or CIRCLE,  a nonpartisan youth-focused research organization at Tufts University.

As of 2021, millennials 鈥� those born between 1981 and 1996 鈥� made up a quarter of the voting population yet  of lawmakers in Congress. Researchers found that financial insecurity and structural inequities 鈥� not apathy 鈥� were behind the divide. 

While more than 20% of young adults 18 to 25 said they would consider seeking public office 鈥� and an increasing number of them have followed through in the past decade 鈥� the encouragement they receive varies widely by race and gender. Younger candidates are more diverse than those from older generations, but while Black and Latino youth are more likely than their white counterparts to consider an election bid, they are less likely to actually run. 

The data drives home why groups like Leaders We Deserve are critical to improving civic engagement among young people, said Sara Suzuki, a senior researcher at CIRCLE.

鈥淭hat gap between interest and actually running can be filled by organizations like Leaders We Deserve and other organizations across the spectrum because financial support is a big barrier,鈥� Suzuki said, adding that the PAC鈥檚 explicit encouragement of young candidates could lead more of them to enter politics. 

Getting the necessary votes is another story. Suzuki said it鈥檚 plausible that a candidate鈥檚 age is one of the factors that young people consider at the ballot box, but that they are primarily driven by specific issues rather than individual candidates or parties. 

鈥淭丑别y really vote as a way to make change happen on issues that they care about,鈥� she said, 鈥渁nd those issues tend to be economic issues like cost of living, climate change is a big youth issue, gun violence and abortion.鈥� 

鈥楲eaders for 2050鈥�

The PAC鈥檚 went to the congressional campaign of Sarah McBride, a Democratic state senator in Delaware since 2021 who has been on transgender rights. If elected, the 34-year-old would be the first openly transgender member of Congress. 

鈥淓veryone deserves to feel safe in their community, whether you are walking alone at night or going to school during the day,鈥� McBride notes on her campaign website. 鈥淭丑别 truth is, when it comes to guns, our country has lost its common sense.鈥� 

The PAC鈥檚  鈥渇irst elected candidate,鈥� according to Hogg, was Nadarius Clark, the youngest member of the Virginia House of Delegates. Clark got $100,000 in support and beat his Republican opponent by 800 votes in 2023. Leaders We Deserve and the ideologically aligned nonprofit were Clark鈥檚 top campaign contributors, show.

The PAC stands to see another victory, where Bryce Berry 鈥� the 22-year-old Atlanta middle school math teacher 鈥� faces an incumbent from Democrat to Republican last year in order to support private school vouchers. The heavily Democratic district has never elected a Republican to the state House. 

Leaders We Deserve has also been handed defeats, including its failure last fall to help elect a 26-year-old transgender woman to the Alabama House of Representatives. The PAC spent $124,325 on the race, one that Hogg acknowledged would be tough. 

But the group is looking well beyond 2024鈥檚 high-stakes election cycle, a strategy that Duncan, the former education secretary, said is critical to the Democratic Party鈥檚 future. The state lawmakers elected today, he said, are one step closer to becoming the national leaders of tomorrow. 

鈥淭hat鈥檚 what David鈥檚 play is about,鈥� Duncan said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not about, 鈥榃e鈥檙e going to change the entire world tomorrow,鈥� but it鈥檚, 鈥楥an we plant a whole bunch of amazing seeds, nurture them, develop them, support them and see what happens.鈥欌�� 

It鈥檚 a political mindset that the group hopes will propel progressive leaders beyond their Republican rivals.

鈥淲hile MAGA plans for 2025,鈥� one of the PACs ads states in reference to Trump鈥檚 ties to the to remake the federal government, 鈥渨e鈥檙e building leaders for 2050.鈥�

Four people were killed and nine others were taken to various hospitals after a shooting at Apalachee High School in Barrow County, the GBI said Wednesday afternoon.

One person was in custody, the state agency confirmed.

Barrow Sheriff Jud Smith said early Wednesday afternoon that 鈥渆very minute鈥� the investigation was updating. Federal and state agencies were assisting with the investigation.

鈥淔irst and foremost, I want to lift up our community,鈥� Smith said. 鈥淚 want to give our sympathies to our community, our school system, our kids, our parents that had to witness this today.鈥�

Several law enforcement agencies responded around 10:20 a.m. to the school, which was placed on lockdown following reports of an active shooting, the Barrow sheriff鈥檚 office said.

At 10:23 a.m., 11th grader Henry van der Walt texted his mother: 鈥淚 think there鈥檚 a school shooting.鈥�

Minutes later, Becky van der Walt got another message.

鈥淚 love you,鈥� Henry wrote.

The text exchange was likely repeated hundreds of times during several chaotic hours for both students and parents. Students were led from the school outside, where parents rushed to find them.

As the details were slowly confirmed during the day, the sheriff said he expected to have more information later Wednesday.

鈥淭his is going to take multiple days to get answers,鈥� he said during a news conference near the school shortly after 1 p.m.

Barrow Coroner Kenneth Cooper said early Wednesday afternoon he could not confirm information about those killed.

One gunshot victim was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital, the hospital confirmed Wednesday afternoon.Two other victims were taken to regional hospitals in Barrow and Gainesville, according to the Northeast Georgia Medical System. The Barrow hospital was also treating some who suffered anxiety or panic attacks.

NewsChopper 2 footage showed large crowds of students filtering into the high school鈥檚 stadium during the lockdown. Several ambulances were at the scene as well.By late morning, students were released to their families and school officials said buses would be running for those needing transportation home.

Frantic parents rushed to the school, with many forced to park and walk to reach the campus while searching for their children.

Apalachee sophomore Alexsandra Romero said she was in her second-period class when another student barged in yelling for everyone to get down.

鈥淚 wasn鈥檛 texting my family at first, because I thought it was just a drill,鈥� Romero told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Since the school had prepared for this scenario, Romero said she and her classmates knew what to do.

鈥淚 can just remember my hands were shaking,鈥� Romero said. 鈥淚 felt bad because everybody was crying, everybody was trying to find their siblings.鈥�

Romero caught glimpses of blood and guns lying on the ground as she was escorted from the building.

鈥淚 can still picture everything, like the blood, the shouting and everything,鈥� Romero said.

Four people were killed and nine others were injured in a shooting at Apalachee High School in Barrow County, the GBI said Wednesday afternoon.

Apalachee High was the only school cleared for dismissal as of midday Wednesday. Other Barrow County schools will remain in a soft lockdown 鈥渇or the safety of everyone right now,鈥� the school district said.

According to the White House, President Joe Biden was briefed on the shooting and his administration would coordinate with federal, state and local authorities. Gov. Brian Kemp said he directed all available state resources to respond to the high school, which is about 8 miles east of Dacula, southwest of Winder.

鈥�(I) urge all Georgians to join my family in praying for the safety of those in our classrooms, both in Barrow County and across the state,鈥� Kemp added. 鈥淲e will continue to work with local, state and federal partners as we gather information and further respond to this situation.鈥�

FBI Atlanta said it was aware of the shooting and that agents were on scene to coordinate and assist local authorities. GBI agents were also providing help, and the state agency urged everyone to stay clear of the area.

Apalachee High had an enrollment of just over 1,900 students as of March, according to the Georgia Department of Education. The department said it was also monitoring the situation.

鈥淚 am devastated by the news of the tragic shooting at Apalachee High School today,鈥� Richard Woods, state school superintendent, said in a statement. 鈥淢y heart and prayers are with the families and loved ones of those affected and the entire Barrow County community. This is an unimaginable loss for Barrow and for our entire educational community across the state.鈥�

Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens also issued a statement after the shooting.

鈥淢y prayers are with the high school students, staff and families affected by the senseless act of violence in Winder, Georgia,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 have been in contact with Chief (Darin) Schierbaum, and the Atlanta Police Department has been working with the Atlanta Public Schools Police Department to bolster patrols around our schools for the rest of the day out of an abundance of caution.

鈥淎PD has also been on standby in case law enforcement agencies need assistance with this incident. May God comfort the victims and their loved ones in the difficult days ahead.鈥�

Atlanta Journal-Constitution staff writers Lexi Baker and Henri Hollis contributed to this article.

Josh Arrowood carries his .22-caliber handgun most everywhere he goes in his rural Tennessee community 鈥� to church at Freewill Baptist, at the Food City store where he shops for groceries, and in the Greene County Courthouse, where he serves as a commissioner.

A that passed this spring would let him, under certain conditions, carry the gun at his workplace, too 鈥� South Greene Middle School in Greeneville, where he teaches world history to sixth graders. And Arrowood, who鈥檚 had a handgun permit for 15 years, is open to doing so if it can provide an extra layer of security against a school shooting.

鈥淚 was in high school when Columbine happened,鈥� he said, recalling the 1999 massacre at a Colorado high school. 鈥淎nd I remember kids putting things like a bat or a baseball in their backpacks so they could try to protect themselves if a shooting happened in their school.鈥�

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A gun, at least, 鈥済ives a teacher a chance if there鈥檚 an armed intruder,鈥� he said.

But between concerns about his personal liability and ambivalence about the new law from local school leaders, he won鈥檛 be carrying his pocket-size gun to class this school year.

And because of the way Tennessee鈥檚 new law was written, he said, 鈥淚 don鈥檛 expect anybody to take advantage of it.鈥�

Indeed, for all the protests and discord over the , there鈥檚 little talk among school districts or educators about using the option to arm teachers or staff as the new academic year begins. Not a single school system has indicated that it鈥檚 planning or working to train employees to carry a gun voluntarily under the new law, according to dozens of school and law enforcement officials contacted by Chalkbeat.

Then again, no one can be sure, since the law doesn鈥檛 require local officials to report whether they are deploying the option in any of their schools. And any documents that kickstart the program at the local level aren鈥檛 open to the public.

But the law does lay down a set of conditions for a teacher to be able to carry a gun in school, including a training requirement, a mental health evaluation, and a signed agreement between the superintendent and principal, plus written authorization from local law enforcement.

And there鈥檚 another big hurdle: a provision that assigns teachers sole liability for anything that might go wrong with their gun, including an accidental shooting, or their failure to prevent a tragedy.

The tepid response to the law signals a disconnect between educators and lawmakers on whether more guns in schools make them safer, or could accidentally cause more harm. There鈥檚 concern about shifting even more responsibilities to teachers, turning schools into prison-like environments, and unwittingly disrupting an educational climate that should be welcoming and supportive. Tennessee鈥檚 urban communities are especially desperate to get guns and gun violence out of their schools.

School shootings spur efforts to arm teachers

After the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School attack in Newtown, Connecticut, where a shooter slaughtered 26 people, including 20 children, dozens of states introduced legislation to arm teachers and staff. More than 30 states now allow it under certain conditions, according to the , which tracks gun laws.

In Tennessee, which has some of the nation鈥檚 most permissive gun laws, the legislature passed a 2016 law to let some school employees carry a gun in certain rural counties to try to bolster security at remotely located schools without an armed school resource officer. But efforts by local law enforcement to obtain liability insurance to train school staff proved to be a stumbling block.

Former Rep. David Byrd, a Waynesboro Republican and retired school principal who sponsored the measure for Wayne and Pickett counties, said he still supports the strategy, but is not aware of any school employee who has carried a gun under that law.

In 2018, after another mass school shooting killed 17 people and injured 17 others in Parkland, Florida, Rep. Ryan Williams began his annual quest to revise and expand the law across Tennessee.

A Republican from Cookeville, about 80 miles east of Nashville, Williams said he was motivated, in part, by concern about his own two children who, at the time, attended a 2,400-student public high school with one school resource officer and dozens of potential points of entry. He argued that teachers need 鈥渕ore than a stapler鈥� to protect their students and themselves if locked in a classroom with a shooter in the building.

But each year, from top law enforcement organizations such as the Tennessee Sheriffs鈥� Association, the Tennessee Association of Chiefs of Police, and the Tennessee Highway Patrol. They worried that teachers carrying guns could lead to even more gun-related deaths or injuries in a state that already has a higher-than-normal rate of accidental shootings.

Then came the deadly 2023 shooting at Nashville鈥檚 church-run Covenant School, where a shooter before being killed by police.

Mass protests erupted, with to demand tighter gun laws and reduced access to guns.

Among other things, they wanted to roll back a 2021 law that lets the majority of Tennesseans carry a loaded handgun in most public places without first clearing a background check, obtaining a permit, or getting trained on firearms safety. And they sought laws that would keep guns away from people who may be experiencing a mental health crisis.

The Republican-controlled legislature, however, went a different way, after prioritizing measures to further fortify the state鈥檚 K-12 campuses. A in school safety paid for security upgrades at public and private schools alike, and most significantly, included funding to place a full-time SRO in every public school across Tennessee.

Against that backdrop, Williams resurrected his bill to let Tennessee school employees voluntarily carry guns under certain conditions.

His co-sponsor, Sen. Paul Bailey, argued the law was needed to provide an armed presence on every campus, especially in rural areas that serve a third of the state鈥檚 students. On the Senate floor in April, the Sparta Republican said nearly a third of the state鈥檚 1,800-plus public schools still didn鈥檛 have an armed SRO, partly due to a shortage in the profession.

It鈥檚 hard to know whether those numbers were accurate, or still are. Under Gov. Bill Lee鈥檚 administration, the state stopped sharing school security data publicly.

Williams revised their bill to tighten the standards for who could carry and under what conditions 鈥� satisfying the state鈥檚 law enforcement groups which, for the first time, took a neutral position on the bill this year.

Carrying a gun would be allowed only if the local school superintendent, principal, and law enforcement official agree. A school employee who volunteers to carry must hold an enhanced permit, complete 40 hours of certified training in school policing at their own expense, and pass a mental health evaluation and FBI background check.

Liability provision for armed employees could be a barrier

However, even for school employees who can meet those conditions, taking a gun to school became significantly less attractive under one more provision.

The law makes the armed employees solely liable for how they use, or fail to use, a handgun in school. Meanwhile, if a civil lawsuit is filed, the statute shields the school district and local law enforcement agency from having to pay monetary damages.

Liability is now part of the discussion for anyone dealing with the prospect, or the aftermath, of a school shooting. In addition to the pursuit of stricter gun laws, litigation and even criminal charges have become part of the healing and recovery process for survivors, family members, and community leaders seeking to hold people beyond the shooter accountable for anything that may have contributed to the bloodshed.

After the 2022 rampage at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, for instance, families of the 19 victims , including the promise of higher standards and better training for local officers. In Oxford, Michigan, families of four high school students killed in a 2021 shooting there accused the school district of negligence in a lawsuit, and prosecutors charged the parents of the young shooter for failing to keep a gun away from him.

Liddy Ballard, state policy director at Brady, the nation鈥檚 oldest gun violence prevention organization, said Tennessee鈥檚 liability provision should be a red flag for any school employee interested in carrying a gun. Her group opposed the law and lobbies instead for gun safety legislation that is , such as extreme risk protection orders and expanded background checks, both of which Tennessee lawmakers have rejected.

鈥淭his bill is outright dangerous,鈥� Ballard said, 鈥渂ut state lawmakers knew that from the beginning. Why else would they include an immunity clause for local education agencies that dissolves accountability when a teacher鈥檚 firearm is misused or falls into the wrong hands?鈥�

The state鈥檚 two largest teacher organizations, which also opposed the legislation, agree that placing the liability burden solely on individual educators is a non-starter 鈥� or at least should be.

鈥淎s teachers consider the risks of carrying a firearm on school grounds, they need to know that it is unlikely they could obtain insurance coverage that would offer them any sort of protection should a claim be made against them,鈥� said Tanya T. Coats, president of the Tennessee Education Association.

Secrecy is another pillar of the law.

In an effort to deter potential intruders who wouldn鈥檛 know which adults at school might have a gun, the law is built, in part, on the idea of confidentiality. Its provisions provide a veil of secrecy if a school superintendent and principal sign a written agreement to implement the policy 鈥� and anonymity for the person they authorize to carry or possess a firearm on school grounds.

Parents don鈥檛 have to be notified if their child鈥檚 teacher is carrying a concealed handgun, nor do educators if someone in their building is armed besides a law enforcement officer.

A district鈥檚 required notification to local law enforcement officials is not open for public inspection, nor are any other documents, files, or records related to carrying a weapon on school grounds under the law.

鈥淭丑别 way it鈥檚 set up, there鈥檚 really no way to know鈥� how many faculty or school staff members are carrying a gun, said Jeff Bledsoe, executive director of the Tennessee Sheriffs鈥� Association. 鈥淚t鈥檚 up to the local level to decide.鈥�

Memphis school district says no. Some others aren鈥檛 saying.

Before and after the law was enacted, numerous local officials, particularly in the state鈥檚 largest cities and towns, announced they would not seek to arm school employees. Most said they already have a trained law enforcement officer in each of their schools.

鈥淪chools are for learning, and emergency situations should be handled by trained officers,鈥� said Shelby County Sheriff Floyd Bonner Jr., in a with Memphis-Shelby County Schools Superintendent Marie Feagins and interim Police Chief C.J. Davis in May. Memphis has long struggled with the presence of guns around its schools and neighborhoods.

Feagins said it more bluntly in their announcement: 鈥淲e will not allow teachers to carry guns in our schools.鈥�

But some school leaders, especially in the state鈥檚 rural areas, have been less vocal in recent months about their plans.

鈥淢ost districts don鈥檛 want anything to do with this policy,鈥� said Gary Lilly, executive director of the state superintendent organization.

鈥淎 few have said maybe, just to keep their options open,鈥� he added. 鈥淵ou can make the case that not announcing your plan is a way to keep bad guys from knowing either way, so there鈥檚 a bit of a deterrent.鈥�

For some that are holding off, it may just take time for local officials and school employees to evaluate whether to take advantage of the law.

鈥淭his is all new, so some folks may be waiting and watching,鈥� said Bledsoe, who leads the sheriffs鈥� organization.

Williams, the House sponsor, said he鈥檚 not surprised at the cool early reception, including in his own district, given that Tennessee is a diverse state with unique local needs and cultures that take time to sort through.

鈥淯nfortunately, if we do have another active shooter in our state and something happens close to home, I think people would reevaluate their stance and consider doing it,鈥� he said.

JC Bowman, who leads Professional Educators of Tennessee, has a different concern.

鈥淢y fear is that we鈥檙e opening up a Pandora鈥檚 box,鈥� Bowman said. 鈥淲hat happens if our state budget gets tight? Will we starve our school safety money for SROs and turn to this?鈥�

For Arrowood, who also has three school-age children, the issue is keeping kids safe at school in his rural corner of northeastern Tennessee.

Two years ago at a basketball game at his school, for instance, a parent came out of the stands and pulled a knife on a coach. No one was injured, and the parent left before the school鈥檚 SRO arrived on the scene, but 鈥渋n situations like that, you never know,鈥� he said.

Arrowood said he鈥檚 never had to use the gun he usually carries when he鈥檚 out in his community. 鈥淭丑别 goal is to never have to draw it,鈥� he said.

He wouldn鈥檛 hesitate to use it at school, though, if he were allowed to carry it there and an armed intruder got inside, especially if something happened to the school鈥檚 SRO.

鈥淎round here, people are used to guns. They鈥檝e grown up with them. They鈥檙e hunters,鈥� Arrowood continued. 鈥淏ut some people also fear guns, and a healthy fear of guns is a good thing. I guess it鈥檚 a balance.鈥�

Marta Aldrich is a senior correspondent and covers the statehouse for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact her at maldrich@chalkbeat.org

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Police officers are employed to keep their communities safe. Since the 1960s, 鈥溾�� has assured children that the police are there to help. 

But reveals how cops routinely subject children to sexual abuse, with little accountability. Between 2005 and 2022, reporters identified 1,800 officers across the country who were charged with child sexual abuse. 

The officers routinely spent months grooming kids, documents revealed, and many used the threat of arrest to force compliance. 

Among perpetrators were school resource officers, who 鈥渉ave unparalleled access to children, often with very little supervision.鈥� 

Go deeper: I previously reported on a dataset of misconduct incidents involving school-based cops, including 285 cases where students were injured or killed. 

In the news

This again? The Los Angeles Unified School District has confirmed that student records were stolen and are for sale on the dark web following a cyberattack on SnowFlake, a cloud service the district and other companies have relied on to store their data. The data breach appears separate from a similar incident at LAUSD that I reported on earlier this month. |

More from America鈥檚 second-largest district: LAUSD will ban students from using cell phones during the school day beginning next year. It remains unclear how the district plans to enforce the rules, but apparently some schools have begun to require students to keep their phones in 鈥渕agnetically locked pouches.鈥� |

Read more from 社区黑料: The bans have been a boon for a company that makes locked phone pouches. 

57 shootings a day: In schools nationwide, children are traumatized 鈥渘ot from bullets fired within, but from violence happening outside.鈥� This must-read investigation by The Trace maps out the 188,080 shootings that unfolded within 500 yards of a school over the last decade. |

The Supreme Court will review a Biden administration effort to block state laws that ban transgender youth from accessing gender-affirming health care, including puberty blockers and hormone therapy. |

Meanwhile, the justices will not take up a case challenging a New Orleans school resource officer鈥檚 decision to tase a high school student with an intellectual disability during a violent outburst. A lower court rejected the student鈥檚 claim of excessive force. |  

鈥楧oes he speak good English?鈥� My colleague Jo Napolitano is out with a groundbreaking investigation into the frequency with which schools nationwide reject enrollment to older immigrant students. | 社区黑料 

Violent incidents are significantly less common in schools with anonymous tip lines than those without them, new federally funded research found. |

Editorial Board: 鈥淲ithout a visible presence like guards or weapons detectors, school security does indeed feel performative.鈥� |

Design firms ponder what a surgeon general鈥檚 warning on social media could look like. |

Ohio lawmakers have approved legislation that would protect students from discrimination on the basis of their hairstyle. |

ICYMI @The74

• 鈥楢stonishing鈥� Absenteeism, Trauma Rates Root of Academic Crisis
  
• ACLU Urges Six WV Schools to Review Student Policies Violating First Amendment
  
• More Weapons Showing Up in Washington鈥檚 Schools

Emotional support

This is your morning reminder to do a lil stretch.

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Pine Bluff, Arkansas

On a gray February morning, the Pine Bluff High School gymnasium was filled with colorful balloons and flooded with music and laughter as family and friends, students and staff gathered to celebrate four college-bound star football players signing their national letters of intent. 

Less than six miles away, a mother was mourning the loss of another beloved player, her 16-year-old son, Kendall Burton, who was gunned down just weeks earlier. 

Addressing a standing-room-only crowd, the four elated student-athletes all thanked the same person 鈥� and the heartbroken mother in her quiet apartment did, too: Coach Micheal Williams.

The two events painfully juxtaposed what Williams has worked hardest to achieve since returning to his hometown 鈥� creating a pathway to college for his players 鈥� and what he has fought so strenuously to keep at bay. between the ages of 10 and 19 in this town of roughly 40,000 were the victims of homicide between 2020 and 2022, according to the most recent data.

鈥淜endall Burton was a great kid,鈥� said Williams, who鈥檚 built close relationships with all of his players, but especially this affable teen. 鈥淚 would let him date my daughter, you know, that type of kid. I always tell everybody he was the coach鈥檚 son.鈥�

Shaketa Simmons, Burton鈥檚 mother, said Kendall felt the same way: 鈥淗e loved Coach Williams. He would always say, 鈥楥oach Williams got our back. He would do anything for us.鈥欌��

Williams, who understands the grinding poverty that can lead some students astray, has always encouraged his players not to squander the opportunity they鈥檝e earned through sports. But he had struggled in recent weeks to relate that message: Burton was a clean-cut kid who stayed out of trouble and still, his future was taken from him.

Burton鈥檚 death devastated the coach and now he found himself summoning the young man, who he picked up every morning before practice, to help keep his teammates on track amid their sorrow.

鈥淚 tell them, 鈥榊ou have to carry on, fight hard to be that person you are because your friend is looking at you,鈥欌�� Williams said. 鈥溾�楬e鈥檚 clapping from heaven.鈥欌�� 

Boys to men 

A former Pine Bluff football player himself, Willliams, now 40, helped lead some of the most storied teams in the country, including the one belonging to Duncanville High School just outside Dallas: They won in the last two years and were in the nation. 

But no matter where he worked, he kept an eye on his football roots. He knew Pine Bluff players had talent, but somehow that wasn鈥檛 translating into college offers. Williams eventually discovered why: Some didn鈥檛 have the grades and none got the exposure they deserved.

Upon taking the coaching job in 2022, Williams immediately installed an academic-focused program: Players would practice in the morning and sit for study hall and tutoring in the afternoon. They would also participate in a character-building program 鈥� another of the coach鈥檚 initiatives 鈥� where they might learn to tie a tie or talk to a judge to better understand the criminal justice system.

鈥淔rom Day One, I knew I needed to do something to try to change their grades,鈥� Williams said. 

For the sophomores, juniors and seniors, he built each player鈥檚 social media profile on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and alerted the recruiters he鈥檚 worked with through the years.

鈥淥nce I started sending those things out, it started drawing attention to a lot of the great athletes we have,鈥� he said. 

Among them: Jonathan Goins Jr., 17, and Landon Holcomb, 18, who both committed to the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff at the Feb. 7 signing. Chandler Laurent, 18, and who has earned a 4.1 GPA, will play for Hendrix College in Conway, Arkansas. Makyrin Goodwin, also 18, is headed to Henderson State University in Arkadelphia. All received full or partial athletic or academic scholarships. 

Goodwin, who plays both right and left tackle 鈥� really anything on the offensive line,  is looking forward to the next chapter of his life and thanked his coach for the progress he鈥檚 made until now. 

鈥淗e is the best coach I ever had,鈥� Goodwin said of Williams. 鈥淗e makes sure we do good in school and everything. He鈥檒l just call and check on you sometimes.鈥� 

Williams himself was an excellent running back 鈥� potential NFL material 鈥� but didn鈥檛 end up making it that far, in part, he said, because his high school coaches, whom he adored, weren鈥檛 focused on recruiting. So, he said, he did not have a shot at a big-time college. Instead, he attended Paul Quinn College in Dallas on a partial football scholarship. 

And that鈥檚 why, when he became a coach himself, he prioritized recruiting, getting his players on the right schools鈥� radar and making sure they had the grades to be NCAA eligible, which for Division I schools means a GPA of 2.3 or higher in their core classes and 2.2 or better for Division II.

Coach Williams is a godsend and he has a heart for children. Not just sports. I said children. And under his tutelage, they become men.

Principal, Ronnieus Thompson

Principal Ronnieus Thompson appreciates Williams鈥檚 hard-earned connections and partnerships with colleges and universities. Four of his senior players have been given scholarship offers at DI colleges this school year, including Goins and Holcomb.

 Two others penned national letters of intent in December 鈥� both to the highly regarded University of Missouri, part of the powerhouse Southeastern Conference and this year. Headed to Mizzou are Courtney Crutchfield, a four-star athlete who was the No. 1 high school football player in the state and number 11th in the nation under Williams鈥檚 leadership, and three-star athlete, Austyn Dendy, 17, who is ranked fourth in Arkansas. 

Bringing the total headed to college to eight, cornerback Perrea Little signed with DIII Centenary College of Louisiana just this week and wide receiver Marquez Brentley Jr. accepted an academic scholarship to the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff.

鈥淐oach Williams is a godsend and he has a heart for children,鈥� Thompson said. 鈥淣ot just sports. I said children. And under his tutelage, they become men.鈥�

鈥楾he person I am today鈥�

The coach describes himself as strict. He doesn鈥檛 mind adding some bass to his voice to deliver a point on the field and players who arrive late to 6 a.m. practice will find themselves pushing a 45-pound plate 100 yards before moving on to exhaustive drills.

In his softer moments, he talks to them about family trouble, girl problems and how they sometimes can鈥檛 wash their clothes at home because the power has been cut off. In that case, Williams invites them to use the school鈥檚 washer and dryer. 

鈥淚鈥檝e been poor,鈥� he tells them. 鈥淚 know how it feels to wake up and there鈥檚 roaches in your food or maggots in your rice: You haven鈥檛 been through anything that I haven’t been through. But success comes from being a powerful young man and being able to fight through adversity.鈥�

Sometimes, when Williams was a young boy, his own family would lose electricity and the three kids and their parents would all sleep together in the same room to keep warm. And it wasn鈥檛 uncommon for him to look out the window, he said, to see his parents picking up cans on the side of the road to afford a 49-cent pack of hot dogs.

鈥淚f we were going to play baseball, my mom would go out and search every thrift store to try to find us a glove,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t may have been old but, you know, we made the best out of it. It helped make me into the person I am today.鈥�

Emmanuel Hudson, 16, and a defensive tackle, said the coach always comes through for him. He鈥檚 given the teen food when he鈥檚 hungry and, most recently, a dress shirt for a formal school event: Many come from a small collection Williams keeps in his office in case such a need arises. 

鈥淗e鈥檚 just been so good in my life,鈥� Hudson said. 鈥淟ike a stepfather, for real.鈥�

It鈥檚 the type of support that鈥檚 helped him through the loss of his friend, Kendall Burton, who was shot dead Jan. 12 at an intersection close to his grandmother鈥檚 house. 

The investigation into Burton’s death remains open and Pine Bluff police did not respond to a request last week for an update. Earlier, department spokesman David DeFoor told 社区黑料 police had a suspect in mind but not enough evidence to make an arrest. The department was asking for the public鈥檚 help, offering up to a $10,000 reward for information that leads to a conviction.

Simmons credits the entire team for being such a positive part of her son鈥檚 life, which was marked by a grave struggle long before he was gunned down: A growth on Burton鈥檚 neck when he was 8 was diagnosed as Hodgkin鈥檚 lymphoma. 

鈥淭hose are his brothers,鈥� Simmons said of his fellow players.

Sitting in her son鈥檚 bedroom, which she鈥檚 turned into a memorial, his pictures and jerseys hung up on the walls, Simmons said it鈥檚 the family鈥檚 deep sense of faith that she leans on now that her son is gone. As a child battling cancer, Burton would tell his mother not to worry, that, 鈥淕od got me.鈥�

鈥淲hen I think about my boy 鈥� I just want to cry, I just want to let loose,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut most of the time I can鈥檛 because the spirit comes to me and says, 鈥楴o, I got Kendall.鈥� When I hear that, I鈥檓 like, 鈥極K, OK, I hear you.鈥欌��

The new model students 

Williams鈥檚 father, Micheal Sr., a minister of music, drove a school bus for Pine Bluff for 20 years and had numerous jobs after that. He eventually became a preacher who also sang and played piano at a local church and nearby prison. At one point, he owned a used car lot in Pine Bluff, but his generosity undermined his efforts: A customer with a particularly heart-wrenching story might walk away with a free vehicle, his son said.

His father never saw Williams play when he was younger because he was always working. Now, he never misses a game: He broadcasts them on Facebook. Williams鈥檚 mother, Pamela, who became a nurse, remains her son鈥檚 biggest fan. Hers is often the loudest voice cheering from the stands. And her son鈥檚 spare supply of dress shirts and the like often comes from her, the result of Pamela Williams regularly bargain hunting for those in need. 

鈥淪he taught me the gift of giving,鈥� Williams said. 鈥淭丑别y both did.鈥�

It was that sense of wanting to give back and improve the lives and prospects of young people that drew him home. It鈥檚 a notion shared by many: Williams arrived in a city already working hard to bring about positive change. It opened an enviable in 2019 and has plans to long-neglected parts of the community, including historic buildings. But perhaps the most life-changing moment for Pine Bluff students will come when the district breaks ground on a new, state-of-the-art high school, replacing a decades-old facility with roofing so decrepit that it rains inside classrooms and hallways. 

鈥淭丑别 right work is being done,鈥� said Thompson, the principal. 鈥淗ave we made it all the way there? Of course not. But we are taking those steps in the right direction.鈥�

Thompson credits the coach for being a critical part of this effort, adding that his reach extends well beyond the field: When students struggle in other areas of their life, he鈥檒l call upon their teachers and counselors for help. 

鈥淲e don鈥檛 have trouble with the athletes anymore,鈥� Thompson said. 鈥淭丑别y used to be some of the biggest knuckleheads. Now, they鈥檙e model students and that鈥檚 the way it should be. I鈥檓 glad that he鈥檚 here.鈥�

Micah Holmstrom, a 10th- and 12th-grade English teacher, said Williams鈥檚 mandatory study hall has allowed him to chase down students who were missing assignments or who needed extra help.

鈥淚 knew exactly where they were,鈥� Holmstrom said, adding Williams鈥檚 emphasis on academics made his work even easier. 鈥淭hose guys are so comfortable with him and it鈥檚 in a place that鈥檚 a familiar environment: They鈥檙e more willing to sit and hack through some of the difficult stuff than in class.鈥�

Frank Lyles, a math teacher, uses the time to teach kids about complex topics they didn鈥檛  understand in class, including parabolas, a U-shape curve whose contours students can find in their own game: Every ball they throw follows a similar arc, illustrating his lesson. 

Parents, too, credit Williams for helping their children stay focused. Nicole Dendy, whose son, Austyn, will pursue veterinary studies at Mizzou, said football is her son鈥檚 drive. 

鈥淔ootball motivates him,鈥� she said. 鈥淪o, whatever it takes to get him on the field, that鈥檚 what he鈥檚 going to do.鈥�

Hudson, the defensive tackle, helped prepare the gymnasium for the college signing day in Februrary. He was overjoyed to see older players recognized for their athletic and academic success.

鈥淐oach Will and the other coaching staff have been hard on us to put the work in,鈥� he said. 鈥淗e said, from Day One, whatever we want, we鈥檝e got to earn. So, I feel like we earned it and that鈥檚 why we got it.鈥�

]]> /article/james-crumbley-guilty-of-involuntary-manslaughter-in-oxford-high-shooting/ Mon, 18 Mar 2024 16:30:00 +0000 /?post_type=article&p=724040 This article was originally published in

James Crumbley, the father of the Oxford High School shooter, was found guilty Thursday of involuntary manslaughter for his role in the killings of four students in 2021.

The verdict will not bring back anyone鈥檚 children, Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald said at a press conference after the verdict was read, flanked by the parents of the students who were killed.

鈥淚 will forever remain in awe of their strength and perseverance that they have shown in the last two and a half years,鈥� McDonald said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a privilege to do this and we know that it can鈥檛 take the pain away, but It鈥檚 one small step towards accountability.鈥�

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The decision in Crumbley鈥檚 case follows the February conviction of Crumbley鈥檚 wife, , on the same charges, one involuntary manslaughter charge for each child their son killed. The cases mark the first time in the U.S. parents of a mass shooter have been held directly responsible for the deaths their child caused.

The shooter was sentenced to life without parole in December.

The prosecution had the task of proving that Crumbley鈥檚 actions or inactions made the shooting possible, as Crumbley had the legal duty as a parent to prevent his child from harming others and should鈥檝e taken reasonable actions to mitigate possible harm.

Nicole Beausoleil, the mother of Madisyn Baldwin who was killed in the shooting, thanked the other parents standing with her over the course of the two and a half years since the shooting for their friendship and support through all three prosecutions. All four families of the victims are forever changed and will continue fighting for accountability on behalf of their children, she said.

鈥淭his is not just a verdict for attention or media,鈥� Beausoleil said at the press conference. 鈥淭his is a verdict that actually needs to be put to the platform that it is: How are we going to use this verdict to actually make that change?鈥�

For five days, , witnesses relayed the events leading up to and following the Nov. 30, 2021, shooting at Oxford High School, as well as the horror and violence individuals faced as James Crumbley鈥檚 son opened fired at teachers and students, injuring seven people and killing four of his classmates: Baldwin, Hana St. Julianna, Justin Shilling and Tate Myre.

There were several small actions Crumbley could have taken to prevent the shooting and signs of mental distress from his son that a parent should have acknowledged and sought out help for, McDonald said in her closing arguments Wednesday.

鈥淭丑别re were 1,800 students at Oxford High School. There was one parent who suspected that their son was the school shooter and it was James Crumbley,鈥� McDonald said, , telling the operator that a gun was missing from his house.

Crumbley鈥檚 lawyer, Mariell Lehman, told the jury during her closing arguments that although the prosecution has shown them 鈥渉aunting things; tragic things,鈥� they have not shown evidence that Crumbly knew that his son was a danger to others. If they had evidence to prove Crumbley knew what his son was planning, jurors would have seen it.

鈥淭丑别 prosecution wants you to find that James could foresee that his son was a danger to others and that James acted in a grossly negligent manner or breached a duty that he owed to other people, despite having no information at the time,鈥� Lehman said during her closing arguments. 鈥淵ou saw no evidence that James had any knowledge that his son was a danger to anyone. You heard no testimony and saw no evidence that James Crumbley knew what his son was planning.鈥�

Crumbley had bought his son the gun used in the shooting four days before the killings, having taken him to the shooting range on several occasions and supervising his usage there.

But during Crumbley鈥檚 trial, as well as that of Jennifer Crumbley, questions were raised on .

Ultimately, it would have taken 鈥渏ust one tragically small measure of ordinary care to avoid four deaths鈥� McDonald said calling attention to the meeting the Crumbleys were called to at the school the day of the shooting after the shooter drew a sketch of the gun his father had bought him days prior on his math assignment.

Shawn Hopkins, the school counselor at the meeting the day of the shooting, testified during Jennifer Crumbley鈥檚 trial that he was , or that their son would be able to access it. In addition to the drawing of the gun, there was a drawing of a body with blood coming out of it and a few statements including 鈥渢he thoughts won鈥檛 stop鈥� and 鈥渉elp me.鈥�

Hopkins said on Monday that he didn鈥檛 tell either parent that they absolutely had to take their son home and the shooter expressed interest in returning class. Hopkins said he did insist that the parents seek out mental health care for their son who had told him that he was experiencing sadness over the recent death of his dog and grandma and was missing his friend who had moved away.

And though neither parent told their son at the meeting that they cared about him after Hopkins told him at the end that he cared about him, Hopkins said James Crumbley did speak to the shooter.

鈥淗e was talking to his son and mentioned that, you know, 鈥榊ou have people you can talk to; you can talk to your counselor; you have your journal; we talk鈥� and it felt appropriate at that time,鈥� Hopkins said.

If the shooting had not happened, Hopkins said it was his plan to check in with the shooter to see if his parents had sought out any mental health services for him. And if not, he said he would have called Child Protective Services.

On Tuesday, Oakland County Sheriff鈥檚 Office Detective Lt. Timothy Willis offered insight on the shooter鈥檚 journal saying that in all the 22 pages the shooter wrote in, he referenced wanting to commit a school shooting. There were also passages where the shooter talks about wanting to get help.

One entry reads: 鈥淚 have zero HELP for my mental problems and it鈥檚 causing me to SHOOT UP THE F鈥擨NG SCHOOL.鈥� Another entry reads: 鈥淚 want help but my parents don鈥檛 listen to me so I can鈥檛 get any help.鈥�

Later entries chronicle the shooter receiving his gun from Crumbley and detailing his plan to kill people at his school.

Edward Wagrowski, an Oakland County Sheriff鈥檚 detective at the time of the shooting, testified last week, showing the jury text messages between the shooter and his friend months before the shooting detailing mental health struggles, including hearing voices.

One text from the shooter reads, 鈥淚 actually asked my dad to take [me] to the Doctor yesterday but he just gave me some pills and told me to 鈥楽uck it up.鈥�

If Crumbley had done the simplest of things, as he knew his son was struggling, four kids would still be alive, McDonald said in her closing arguments. If he had listened to his son or read his journal and believed what it said, he could have intervened as the violence his son was planning was foreseeable.

鈥淗e sees that drawing that morning when he goes to the school and what does it say? It says, 鈥榟elp me.鈥� How many times does this kid have to say it? He says it in his journal. He says it to his friend and what is he saying? 鈥業 asked my parents; I asked my dad,鈥欌�� McDonald said. 鈥淎nd if that isn鈥檛 enough, he writes the words 鈥渉elp me鈥� on a piece of paper and his parents, James Crumbley is called to the school to see it and what did he say? He says, 鈥榃e gotta go work.鈥欌��

The defense only called on one witness as the burden of proof was not on them. Crumbley鈥檚 sister, Karen Crumbley, talked about seeing her brother and nephew, the shooter, in April and then again in the summer, months before the shooting.

Crumbley, who lives in Florida, said she and James Crumbley had been in the hospital with their mother as she was sick at the time. Karen Crumbley said their mother died on April 6, 2021, and the shooter came to Florida to visit shortly after. She didn鈥檛 observe anything that would have raised concerns for her.

When she came to Michigan for a summer 2021 visit, she said she didn鈥檛 observe anything that gave her reasons to worry about her nephew鈥檚 mental state or what kind of care he was receiving from his parents. When asked by the defense if she would have done anything had she observed anything wrong, she said she would have.

鈥淚 would have addressed it and if I would have known anything I would have talked to him. I would have took him home with me if there was any kind of inclination that anything was wrong,鈥� Karen Crumbley said. She added that she would have told her brother if she thought something was wrong, but there was nothing she was concerned about.

Moving forward, more needs to be done to address the ways in which children in America are dying from gun violence, Steve St. Juliana, the father of Hana St. Juliana, said at the press conference after the verdict reading. More needs to be done to tackle kids鈥� declining mental health and other issues and people can鈥檛 simply stand behind Second Amendment rights and not talk about what is killing kids.

鈥淲e can put people on the moon; we can build skyscrapers, huge monuments like the Hoover Dam and we can鈥檛 keep our kids safe in schools?鈥� St. Juliana said. 鈥淚 think people just need to wake up and take action. Stop accepting the excuses. Stop buying the rhetoric. It is not a Democratic or Republican issue. It鈥檚 nonpartisan. Do not accept any excuse from any of the politicians. This needs to be solved and it needs to be solved now. We do not want any other parents to go through what we鈥檝e gone through.鈥�

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Michigan Advance maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Susan J. Demas for questions: info@michiganadvance.com. Follow Michigan Advance on and .

]]> /article/jennifer-crumbley-mother-of-oxford-high-school-shooter-found-guilty-of-involuntary-manslaughter/ Wed, 07 Feb 2024 17:39:57 +0000 /?post_type=article&p=721840 This article was originally published in

A Michigan jury found Jennifer Crumbley, the mother of the Oxford High School shooter, guilty of involuntary manslaughter Tuesday.

In a , the jury found that Crumbley bore enough responsibility for the deaths caused by her son鈥檚 actions that she should be held criminally liable.

At age 15, Crumbley鈥檚 son shot and killed four of his classmates at Oxford High School on Nov. 30, 2021, days after his father bought him a gun. Crumbley鈥檚 son was sentenced to life without parole in December.

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Crumbley鈥檚 husband, James Crumbley, has a separate trial scheduled for March.

After two days of deliberations, a jury in Oakland County Circuit Court in metro Detroit delivered the guilty verdict for Jennifer Crumbley on four counts of involuntary manslaughter, one for each of the students killed: Madisyn Baldwin, Tate Myre, Hana St. Julianna and Justin Shilling.

The jury had been tasked by the court to determine whether Crumbley鈥檚 actions warranted involuntary manslaughter charges, which marks new legal ground for determining responsibility for a mass shooting.

Crumbley now faces up to 15 years in prison ahead of her sentencing scheduled for April 9.

Her defense argued during the trial that began on Jan. 25 that Crumbley couldn鈥檛 have known what her son was going to do. She was portrayed as an attentive parent who was aware that her son was going through a hard time, but nothing indicated he would become a school shooter.

鈥淚t was unforeseeable; no one expected this,鈥� Shannon Smith, a lawyer for Crumbley, said in her closing arguments. 鈥淣o one could have expected this, including Mrs. Crumbley.鈥�

But the prosecution argued that Crumbley failed as a parent to perform her legal duty to exercise reasonable oversight to her son to prevent him from harming others and was negligent to the point that it harmed human life.

The prosecution proved Crumbley鈥檚 role in the shooting and how she could have intervened at several points beforehand to get her son help or secured the firearms in the home, but she didn鈥檛, Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald said in her closing arguments.

鈥淲e have proven beyond a reasonable doubt that she is guilty of four counts of involuntary manslaughter. It鈥檚 a rare case. It takes some really egregious facts. It takes the unthinkable and she has done the unthinkable and because of that four kids have died,鈥� McDonald said.

Despite audibly crying at several points throughout the trial, Crumbley didn鈥檛 have a substantial reaction to the verdict being read. McDonald and other members of the prosecution hugged family members of the slain children.

In addition to the four students who were killed, the shooter injured six other students and a teacher. Molly Darnell, the teacher who was shot in the arm, was the first witness to testify at the start of the trial in January. A total of 22 witnesses spoke during the trial, including Crumbley, members of law enforcement and people who had interactions with Crumbley.

A major element of the prosecution鈥檚 justification for the involuntary manslaughter charges was Crumbley鈥檚 actions the day of the shooting after she and her husband were called to the school because the shooter had done a drawing of his gun on his math assignment.

Four days prior, the shooter and his father went to a gun shop and the father purchased the gun used in the killings on Black Friday as an early Christmas present.

After the meeting at the school where Crumbley and her husband were advised to seek out professional help for their son, the prosecution brought in witnesses from the school and law enforcement to show that neither parent took the shooter out of school for the day. Neither parent checked their son鈥檚 backpack where he had the gun. And neither parent asked their son where his gun was or checked to see if it was still at home.

There had been other meetings with the shooter鈥檚 parents, Shawn Hopkins, the school counselor at the meeting the day of the shooting, said during the trial. He said he was hoping one of the parents would take the shooter home. Although Hopkins didn鈥檛 tell them they had to, he thought it was strange they didn鈥檛.

鈥淪he sat down in the chair; [I] felt she was a little bit distant. 鈥� It felt like it was a little bit of an inconvenience to be there,鈥� Hopkins said of Crumbley during the meeting.

Hopkins said the shooter showed signs of possible suicidal thoughts and he didn鈥檛 want him to be alone. Hopkins added that he did not know that the shooter鈥檚 father had bought him a gun.

In addition to the drawing of a gun, the shooter鈥檚 assignment had the words, 鈥渕y life is useless鈥� and 鈥渢he thoughts won鈥檛 stop help me,鈥� written in addition to other statements and drawings.

When school officials asked Crumbley and her husband to go to the school, Crumbley testified she thought the shooter had sketched the gun in defiance of a recent conversation they had about his falling math grade, during which he had his phone taken away and was told he couldn鈥檛 go to the shooting range until his grade improved.

This was the first time she and her husband had been called to the school on an 鈥渋mmediate鈥� time frame, Crumbley testified and she had told her boss she would be back at work an hour later.

Crumbley said she expected her son to get in trouble and get suspended, but the meeting was 鈥渘onchalant鈥� and 鈥渂rief.鈥�

鈥淭丑别re is never a time where I would refuse to take him home,鈥� Crumbley testified, adding that she told her husband to start calling mental health professionals suggested by Hopkins.

Crumbley said she and her husband lost everything, adding she doesn鈥檛 feel like she failed as a parent and she had no reason to think her son was a danger to anyone else. She said she doesn鈥檛 look back and think she would have done anything differently.

鈥淵ou spend your whole life trying to protect your child from other dangers. You never would think you have to protect your child from harming somebody else,鈥� Crumbley testified, adding that she wished he would have killed her and her husband instead of the other kids at the school.

The shooter鈥檚 father was responsible for gun storage as firearms were not really her thing, Crumbley said. The gun that was bought for her son鈥檚 use was secured using a cable lock and the key to unlock it was hidden in one of the many decorative beer steins throughout the house.

The prosecution 鈥渃herry-picked鈥� evidence to make Crumbley look like a negligent mother and conflate the magnitude of the tragedy with Crumbley鈥檚 parenting, Smith said as part of Crumbley鈥檚 defense. Hours of the trial were dedicated to members of law enforcement going over the gruesome details of the shooting. But Smith said the case came down to the prosecution improperly asking the jury to come to the assumption that Crumbley could have conceived what no parent would think their child would be capable of.

鈥淲hen you look back in hindsight, with 20-20 vision 鈥� it is easy to say this could have been different, that could have been different, this would have changed,鈥� Smith said.

Due to the community impact of the shooting and the future legal implications for parents of mass shooters in the future, the case has garnered national attention.

The jury鈥檚 verdict stands as a reminder to parents and gun owners that they are responsible for ensuring children can鈥檛 access their firearms unsupervised, Nick Suplina, senior vice president for law and policy at Everytown for Gun Safety, said in a statement after the verdict was read.

鈥淧lain and simple, the deadly shooting at Oxford High School in 2021 should have 鈥� and could have 鈥� been prevented had the Crumbley鈥檚 not acquired a gun for their 15-year-old son,鈥� Suplina said. 鈥淭his decision is an important step forward in ensuring accountability and, hopefully, preventing future tragedies.鈥�

The decision marks Michigan setting a standard for the legal response to 鈥渨hen our kids are killed in their sanctuaries,鈥� U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Holly) said in a statement Tuesday. She applauded .

鈥淭oday is a historic day in Michigan, and really for the whole country. Having watched the Oxford community go through this school shooting firsthand, and seeing the lifelong hole it ripped in the lives of everyone involved, this verdict feels like a small moment of relief,鈥� Slotkin said. 鈥淚t is my hope that it brings a bit of peace to the survivors and to the entire community, as I know everyone in Oxford has worked to heal together over the past two years.鈥�

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Michigan Advance maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Susan J. Demas for questions: info@michiganadvance.com. Follow Michigan Advance on and .

]]> /article/williams-job-requirement-exhausting-todays-parents-pretending-life-is-normal/ Tue, 30 Jan 2024 13:30:00 +0000 /?post_type=article&p=721251 At first blush, it was just another Friday evening iPhone ding 鈥� probably another notification from our school about new construction requiring changes to the pickup protocols or something about school photos. Nothing urgent to see here. But as I shuffled our preschooler upstairs, there was another, and then another, until it formed a steady pizzicato of WhatsApp messages from panicked families. 

So I checked. 

Apparently some teenagers had wandered onto the Washington, D.C. campus that day and sparked an altercation with a few elementary schoolers. When it escalated and staff got involved, the older kids ran off, vowing to return the next week with a gun. My phone trilled through the weekend as families ground their gears, comparing notes on what their kindergartners were reporting at home and speculating in search of possible details. Most of all, folks seemed to be trying to figure out how they were supposed to feel about a situation this abnormal and whether it was safe to send their kids to school on Monday.

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And yet, though we all marinated in collective anxiety that weekend, folks settled down fast. After all, this was just the way things are now in the United States, right? In fact, come to think of it, the school had a number of lockdowns last year because of active shooters in the area, right? And since the school was promising to ask for extra police patrols, campus might even be safer than usual, no? By Sunday night, nothing had materially changed about the situation, but folks had talked themselves out of worrying. 

In other words, they鈥檇 convinced themselves that there really wasn鈥檛 anything to see here. Just another iPhone ding, just another piece of childrearing freight for families to take aboard as the week started 鈥� like a banal, gothic footnote tacked on to the weather forecast. Ding! Families should plan extra time for dropoff on Monday morning, as there鈥檚 a chance of severe thunderstorms and a heightened likelihood of gun violence.

. But that doesn鈥檛 mean that we should pretend that it鈥檚 normal. No school, no community, no family 鈥� no child 鈥� should normalize active shooter situations at schools. 

Of course, that sort of pretending is pretty much the standard national ask for today鈥檚 parents of young children: please accept that our crumbling social present is simply as good as things will ever get. To make it through the day without hyperventilating, we have to pretend that gun violence, including in and around schools, is both inevitable and acceptable. We have to pretend that widespread opting out of vaccines is a reasonable, respectable position despite the for our children. We have to accept imaginary information about how our kids are actually doing academically despite ample evidence to the contrary. We have to accept that elected officials want to yank books with LGBTQ characters from school libraries under the guise of something they’re calling “.” 

And those are just the near-term fantasies forced upon us. Look down the road at the world we鈥檙e preparing for our children鈥檚 futures, and there鈥檚 so much more daily make-believe required. We have to pretend that it鈥檚 fair that most of our kids will generally need at least a B.A. to get reliable access to middle-class incomes 鈥� and that . We have to act like autocratic 鈥� and increasingly 鈥� threats and behavior by a former, and perhaps future, president is just part of the normal push and pull of politics. We have to accept that that would-be tyrant鈥檚 fellow partisans will to check his erratic behavior. And most of all, we have to pretend like the 鈥� 鈥� air is normal, that our collective disregard of the climate crisis will somehow just work itself out. 

This is an exhaustive amount of cognitive dissonance to carry around, and, critically, it鈥檚 supplemental to the already substantial work of raising children. Activists, researchers, policymakers and educators who care about improving children鈥檚 opportunities and outcomes are eventually going to have to wrestle with this dismal situation. 

Parenting is, at its base, a project of hope. It requires adults to temporarily take control of a life project, their children鈥檚, that is not, fundamentally, their own. It requires guiding kids only as much as necessary, until they鈥檙e ready to chart their own path. And above all, it involves preparing them to be honest and constructive participants in the world they share with others. But it鈥檚 hard to get there when so much of daily parenting requires self-deception. 

, this dynamic goes a long way towards explaining why young Americans are cynical about their country, its politics, and its future. ? 

The teenagers never followed through, as it happens. Maybe the additional police patrols deterred them that Monday. Maybe for good. Maybe just for now. But the next Thursday, there was another shooting at 3 p.m. about a half-mile from campus. It was just off the route we use to bike with our kids to school. I鈥檇 go a different way, but that would send us through a corridor that suffered a rash of shootings in the past few years. For families, from the country鈥檚 abnormally high levels of violence near campuses. Just this month, there was at both of my kids鈥� schools. 

Sigh. Well, I鈥檓 sure we鈥檒l muddle through 鈥� or at least we鈥檒l pretend like we are.

]]> /article/new-data-school-shootings-surge-to-a-record-high-two-years-in-a-row/ Wed, 13 Sep 2023 04:01:00 +0000 /?post_type=article&p=714516 Despite heightened concerns about campus safety since the pandemic, in many ways America鈥檚 public schools are safer today than they were a decade ago, federal campus crime data released Wednesday reveal. Yet in one startling way, they鈥檝e grown exponentially more dangerous: An unprecedented growth in school shootings. 

There were a record 188 school shootings resulting in injuries or deaths in the 2021-22 school year, according to the latest available data included in . That鈥檚 twice as many shootings on campus than the previous record 鈥� set just one year earlier. 

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The annual report, in its 25th iteration, leverages data from across federal agencies, including the Justice Department, to provide the public and policymakers with comprehensive insight into the safety conditions of the country鈥檚 school campuses, including cyberbullying and weapons possession. The new data offer fresh fodder in the ongoing political debate about how to thwart gun violence in schools. 

In some ways, the policy outcomes from such attacks are apparent in the data itself. As high-profile shootings and other campus safety incidents drive divisive discussions about gun control and policing, they鈥檝e also led to a surge in 鈥� and near-universal adoption of 鈥� numerous physical security measures. By 2019-20, 97% of public schools controlled access to their campuses, 91% used surveillance cameras and 77% required district employees to wear badges. The number of campuses with security staff ballooned from 43% in 2010 to 65% by 2020. 

The spike in parental concerns over school safety seen in the aftermath of high-profile school shootings in Parkland, Florida, in 2018 and last year in Uvalde, Texas, dipped slightly this year, . Among surveyed parents, 38% reported that they fear for their child鈥檚 safety, down from 44% in 2022. Still, the percentage of people who fear for their children鈥檚 safety is still among the highest it鈥檚 been since Gallup began to poll parents on the topic in 1977. Gallup鈥檚 historical high, at 55%, was measured shortly after the 1999 Columbine High School shooting in suburban Denver. 

For the purpose of the federal report, 鈥渟chool shootings鈥� include 鈥渁ll incidents in which a gun is brandished or fired or a bullet hits school property for any reason, regardless of the number of victims鈥� and motive, including planned attacks, accidents and domestic violence. The methodology and collection methods used by the Education Department differ from those of other groups and media outlets that track school shootings. For example, the lists 250 school shootings in 2021 and 305 in 2022. , which only includes incidents where someone is struck by a bullet, counts 35 school shootings in 2021 and 51 in 2022. 

The federal report doesn鈥檛 include school-shooting data from the 2022-23 academic year. 

While the federal data on school gun violence incidents 鈥渋s of course extremely striking,鈥� it is just 鈥渙ne piece in the puzzle of our understanding of school shootings,鈥� V茅ronique Irwin, an associate education research analyst with the National Center for Education Statistics, said on a press call Tuesday. 鈥淚t鈥檚 important for us to examine other dimensions as well.鈥� 

Despite the recent uptick in campus firearm incidents, the number of violent deaths of students in schools hasn鈥檛 followed a similar trendline and remains rare, the new federal report reveals. Nor have 鈥渁ctive shootings,鈥� a specific subset of campus gun violence, like the Parkland and Uvalde attacks, where an individual is 鈥渁ctively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a populated area.鈥� Fourteen people were wounded or killed in active school shootings in 2021, the report revealed, compared to a high of 81 in 2018. 

Between 2000 and 2021, there were 46 active shooting incidents, resulting in 108 deaths and 168 injuries. Of the 47 people who carried out the active shootings, all but one was male. 

Beyond school shootings, the new federal report offers a mixed bag on various campus safety metrics, and at times that have sounded the alarm about an uptick in student misbehavior since the pandemic. 

Between the 2009-10 school year and 2019-20, the number of students who reported campus bullying decreased from 23% to 15% and reported gang activities dropped by more than half. School fights, weapons possession and alcohol use also declined. For some metrics, the most recent data are from 2019 and don鈥檛 capture the disruptive nature of COVID campus closures. Data captured after the pandemic began should be interpreted with these destabilizing forces in mind. 

Educators also experienced improved safety conditions in schools between 2011 and 2021, the report suggests. Six percent of teachers reported that a student had threatened to injure them in 2020-21, a decrease from 10 percent a decade earlier. Similar declines were observed in the number of teachers who fell victim to attacks. 

Still, the research revealed that educators have observed an uptick in disrespect from students, verbal abuse and overall classroom disorder. 

]]> /article/video-campaign-gives-chicago-teens-a-voice-against-gun-violence/ Tue, 12 Sep 2023 13:30:00 +0000 /?post_type=article&p=714426 Hundreds of Chicago teens are starting the school year with new knowledge of what鈥檚 fueling gun violence in their communities and how their voices can make a difference in the fight to stop it. 

Across the country, young people are by gun violence, which is now the leading killer of kids and teens in the U.S. Fear and anxiety are driving many to that they would be safer armed with a gun, and as a result, many than did two decades ago. But these young people also know that this arms race is not making their communities safer 鈥� it鈥檚 contributing to more deaths and injuries. 

Within that contradiction lies hope for a safer future, and teens can lead the way, because the decision to pick up a gun is not inevitable. The narrative that only a gun will make a young person safer and can be changed.

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This summer, partnered with and to engage some 350 teens, ages 14 to 18, in communities heavily impacted by gun violence. We shared on gun risks with the students and challenged them to create social media campaigns that could help spread the word to their peers that having a gun is not the path to safety.

Initially, many of the teens expressed skepticism. They pushed back on the idea of building campaigns to take on gun violence because they didn鈥檛 believe their voices mattered, or that gun violence could be stopped. But as they learned more about the myths that prompt young people to carry firearms, and as we showed them how teen voices had made a difference on other public health and social justice issues, their tone shifted.

Over our six-week program with Chicago Public Schools, students heard from experts on gun violence, met with experts from major ad agencies and learned about how teens can shift culture. They practiced having conversations about the risks of using guns with their peers and brainstormed effective ways into those important dialogues. Finally, the teens created their own to discourage gun use and built strategies for large-scale campaigns that could spread the fact-based message that having a firearm makes gun violence more likely, not less.

We challenged program participants to create social media campaigns for a simple reason: Teens are best reached through their phones and peers. It鈥檚 a strategy we鈥檝e used at Project Unloaded since our launch in 2021. In that short time, our signature campaign to spread the message that young people are SNUG 鈥� 鈥� has reached more than 3 million teens on platforms like and Snapchat. This summer alone, more than 120,000 young people clicked through social media content to view our campaign website, where we share more information about the risks of using guns. When teens know the facts, many from wanting a gun.

Similarly, by the end of their six weeks with us, many of the Chicago students came to see how their voices and ideas could make a difference. The program ended with a pitch contest in front of a panel of judges and hundreds of their peers. The winning team鈥檚 had a powerful, simple slogan: Guns don鈥檛 give you power. 

Teens want power. And when it comes to social change, they have a lot of it. Consider that Claudette Colvin was only 15 when she refused to give up her seat to a white passenger on a Montgomery, Alabama, bus 鈥� nine months before Rosa Parks. Her decision snowballed into a movement. Years later, as teens learned about how tobacco companies鈥� marketing to young people was driving lung cancer rates, they stopped smoking and shifted the culture of cigarettes from cool to uncool in a generation. Two decades ago, nearly a quarter of teens smoked cigarettes. Today, of teens smoke. 

History is full of examples like these, where teens provide the spark for major societal shifts. Today, their savvy use of social media can accelerate the flame that makes narrative and culture change happen. And narrative change campaigns can alter the world for the better.

Teens know that guns are readily available, and that鈥檚 not changing anytime soon. But young people are also clear-eyed about their vision for the future. In a second summer program with After School Matters, we asked young people to create social content and art projects to share how guns impact their communities. In one art project, a student wrote, 鈥淕uns create a feeling of violence and fear. Without them, our communities could be 鈥榗ommunities鈥� again.鈥� 

Teens know how to build safer communities. It’s up to adults to listen to them and amplify their voices, because guns don鈥檛 give you power. Teens have all the power they need to shift the narrative and finally slow the nation’s gun violence epidemic.

]]> /article/robin-ceo-sonny-thadani-on-destigmatizing-mental-health-conversations-in-schools/ Tue, 30 May 2023 15:30:00 +0000 /?post_type=article&p=709592 As the pandemic exacerbated mental health challenges for schools nationwide, Sonny Thadani realized students and teachers weren鈥檛 the only ones in need of support.

As the co-founder of , an educational technology startup focused on improving the mental health outcomes of school communities, Thadani expanded the coaching and curriculum offered to all frontline members 鈥� from bus drivers to cafeteria workers to sanitation staff.

鈥淧art of Robin鈥檚 platform is coaching, developing connections, building resilience and really understanding the skillsets you need to deal with life’s challenges,鈥� Thadani told 社区黑料. 鈥淪o if we’re going to do a great job with students, we have to do an unbelievable job with all the adults in their lives.鈥�

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For Thadani, destigmatizing conversations around mental health hits home.

As a young parent, Thadani met a father from Newtown, Connecticut who opened up to him about losing his 7-year-old son in a school shooting.

That father was Mark Barden, the co-founder and CEO of the , a nonprofit organization dedicated to preventing gun violence in schools.

Touched by Barden鈥檚 passion to protect children, Thadani began volunteering for the organization 鈥� which later served as the catalyst for co-founding Robin.

鈥淎s I learned more about what they’re doing, I took a look at how mental health has affected my own family and close friends,鈥� Thadani said. 鈥淚 took that as a sign and inspiration to say I’m going to do something about it.鈥�

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

社区黑料: I understand that your affiliation with Sandy Hook Promise played a large role in the creation of Robin. Walk me through how your volunteer work led to starting an educational technology startup.

I’m so proud and feel very fortunate to the team I met over at Sandy Hook Promise. It was a couple years ago and I just so happened to have a conversation with . I didn’t really know who he was at that very moment, but later found out as he shared his story with me that he鈥檚 not only a parent who lost his 7-year-old that day, but also happened to be one of the co-founders of Sandy Hook Promise. 

We took a liking to each other and had a lovely conversation. He shared some of his goals, ambitions, and the story of that day with me. As a young parent at the time, it really shook me to my core. I asked him how I can help and he shared with me some of the things that I could do. So I became a and started helping them in any way I could from volunteering to fundraising.

A lot of people talk about the gun violence prevention policy work they do, which is absolutely incredible, but a bulk of what they do that really makes a large impact is the mental health programs for kids. They have two very well known programs called and . When I learned more about these programs, and talked to Mark and Nicole and the rest of the team, I thought wow this is incredible and I wish this was everywhere. We started talking about how much of a challenge it is to reach every school in America and get this program out there. Sandy Hook Promise is a nonprofit doing wonderful things but they only have so much reach. 

As I learned more about what they’re doing, I took a look at how mental health has affected my own family and close friends. I took that as a sign and inspiration to say I’m going to do something about it. What I鈥檝e learned is that there aren鈥檛 a lot of preventive and proactive programs out there that are making an impact. So that鈥檚 just some of the genesis on why myself and Scott and now a larger team started Robin.

I understand that Robin extends resources to all frontline members of school communities, such as bus drivers, cafeteria workers and sanitation staff. Tell me more about this initiative.

As any young company, you can only do so much right out of the gates. We started creating this digital online curriculum for students starting with middle school and high school and then eventually elementary. As we were out there talking to principals and superintendents and counselors, I started learning that not only was there not much for educators but they also weren’t really thinking about it in a more broad frame.

As we started to talk to more people, we realized, wait a minute, it’s not just teachers who are interacting every day with students. It鈥檚 the cafeteria worker, it鈥檚 the bus driver, it鈥檚 the crossing guard. If you think about it, the bus driver is the first person to see our kids and the last person to drop them off. They have the potential to set the tone for the day based on how they鈥檙e doing.

With one school in upstate New York, we had the opportunity to talk to their leadership team at a conference. They talked about some of the challenges that their transportation team was facing. It’s tough being a driver and having a group of students screaming or yelling or being rambunctious on the bus. In addition to administrators, unions and parents that can be challenging at times. Who’s supporting and allowing them the space and opportunity to talk to someone? Part of Robin鈥檚 platform is coaching, developing connections, building resilience and really understanding the skillsets you need to deal with life’s challenges. So if we’re going to do a great job with students, we have to do an unbelievable job with all the adults in their lives.

So we began this journey to support all frontline members starting with this one school in upstate New York who gave us the opportunity to talk to their transportation team. We did a six part coaching series with all 18 of them and asked them about the challenges they face in day-to-day work. I’m proud to report that after we finished, everybody retained their jobs, came back to school and walked in with their heads held high. This is something we’re doing now all over the country, from upstate New York to South Carolina to our backyard here in New York City. We’re supporting school communities and I think this is really critical in order to create something sustainable and have long-term impact.

Oftentimes these frontline members of school communities come from diverse and low-income backgrounds. How does Robin ensure the coaching and resources provided to them are not only accessible but also culturally relevant?

It starts with where the content and curriculum comes from. Robin comes from a diverse set of coaches, teachers, counselors and social workers that are not only mental health experts but are also from those communities and have worked in those schools we serve. The largest community we serve is in our backyard in New York City 鈥� the Bronx. A lot of students and families in the Bronx come from lower income communities. They also happen to be from Black and Brown communities where a lot of them don’t speak English. So starting with some of the basics, we have all of our content up in Spanish with closed captions available. Especially for our older students, we make sure that when they see our content not only do they see someone that looks like them or has been through similar challenges, but also in a language they can understand. 

The other thing that Robin does is really listen to the school communities we serve. No school is, of course, the same, even within New York City. The school down the street might have a separate set of challenges, opportunities and needs then the next. I think part of the reason schools are not only coming to us but coming back to us is because we are a reflection of who they are. And again, while we can’t be everything to everyone, we are pulling from a lot of different types of communities and trying to really understand what those communities are asking for. In turn, we can address them with the right sets of curriculum or coaches that they not only want to hear from, but based on the data and some of our surveys and some of our processes, is the right fit for their particular community. So it’s a little bit of a combination of using technology and data and good old fashioned listening skills to really understand the communities we serve and what they’re particularly going through.

In the wake of the Nashville school shooting, what is something about gun violence prevention more school communities need to talk about?

I happened to be in Tennessee about an hour southeast of Nashville visiting one of the schools we work with when this occurred. So I’m with the superintendent of this district and we, of course, talked about it. There are signs out there for these particular students, whether they were posting on social media or showing signs that they were stressed or angry. These students or graduates had no outlet or connection and felt an element of loneliness. And again, these are all studies that have been proven and shown out there in terms of who decides to do these horrific things. 

I think one thing schools all ought to do is understand what those things are so they could be on the lookout. How can we all be armed with information and knowledge on how to notice these signs and then know what to do? How do we get involved sooner and understand what the challenges or issues that a particular student or set of students are facing right now? I think all schools want to do that but they don鈥檛 know how to do that. They’re not trained, for example, to know the science. They’re not trained in mental health first aid. 

You bring up a valuable point in regards to mental health training. Tell me more about why it鈥檚 important for school communities to destigmatize conversations around mental health.

When we heard back from schools, they鈥檙e looking for this training. Not specifically training tailored to know how to identify a school shooter. That is very targeted and there are things out there for that. But how to better understand when you see a student of yours that might be going through a mental health challenge and how to help that student in the moment 鈥� from a simple panic attack to an anxiety attack. We do a course around test anxiety. March was SATs and ACTs in a large part of the country, and many students, and parents frankly, get really anxious and nervous. 

There are things we could do to support them in advance of that. That’s sort of the preventative nature of what we’re talking about at Robin. How do we get ahead of these things because we don’t know what life’s challenges or what mental health challenges a student may or may not face. We do know that there are skill sets to put in place today at a young age, even starting in elementary school, that will give them the ability to use those skills if and when a challenge large or small arises.

How have conversations today around gun violence prevention and mental health shaped your own views on the matter?

I look at this from the lens of a parent first and foremost. That’s my number one job and my number one responsibility. It’s made me hyper aware of the possibility that this could happen anywhere and anytime. So what does that mean for young kids growing up? It means we need to make sure they鈥檙e okay talking about it. My daughter came home, she’s in second grade, and she had her first formal active shooter drill. For me, I’m 43 and I grew up in the 80s and 90s. We had fire drills and 鈥渟top, drop and roll鈥� and how to evacuate the building and things of that nature. But our kids are only going to know this world. Having an open conversation with them as a parent so they can understand why we do these things is important. Whether I like to or want to, this is what we have to do. 

It’s also made me want to change this. Whether it鈥檚 through Robin or through supporting Sandy Hook or through just me as an individual doing interviews and podcasts and having these conversations. I know people turn it into a political and divided commentary, but it shouldn’t be. We don’t have all the answers. I don’t have the magic answer in my pocket right now. I have elements of the answer that I think will help, but we need a lot of people to come to the table from all walks of life to solve this. Because you can’t tell me one person who doesn’t want to solve it. We need to come to the table and realize that our kids are literally dying through suicide, gun violence and other medical and mental health issues that lead to some scary things. 

Again, as a parent of young kids going through school for the next decade, this is something I always think about. I don’t necessarily think about it daily or act like this is the last time I鈥檒l see my kids. But for the parents who lost their child, that’s what happened to them. 

For now, I’m so proud of this generation of students and leaders that are bringing this to the forefront of their schools, principals, superintendents and mental health clubs. I do believe this is changing because of the students in this generation that are raising their hands and saying we need to solve this problem.

]]> /article/for-my-daughters-education-im-going-to-move-mountains/ Mon, 08 May 2023 19:01:00 +0000 /?post_type=article&p=708638 My daughter knows I am going to move mountains. Whatever the situation is, if it’s one thing my daughter knows, Mommy’s going to show up. This is why I decided to attend Charter Family Hill Day this year alongside 40 other public charter parents from nine states and the District of Columbia. I wanted to tell Congress members how KIPP Octavius Catto Elementary in Philadelphia has been such a blessing for my daughter and my family. 

I am not just advocating for one public charter school. When it comes down to it, it’s not just about my child, it’s about all kids. Everyone may not have the ability or the privilege to be able to come to D.C. and to advocate. Everyone doesn’t have that, but I do. I naturally have the desire to help and to fix and to be a part of the change that I want to see. I walked into these legislators鈥� offices hoping that they would hear me say our communities are crying for help. We need more quality schools, and we need to stop gun violence and address the mental health crisis in our schools. 

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Across our group of parents and advocates at March 29鈥檚 Charter Family Hill Day, we met with the offices of 37 members of Congress. We talked with Democrats and Republicans, with senators and members of the House of Representatives, and shared our call to action. As a parent, I was grateful to be able to choose KIPP Philadelphia Public Schools for my child鈥檚 education. All kids and families deserve access to a high-quality public education. That means not only do we need to invest in mental health and keeping our students safe from gun violence; we also need to invest in public education and high-quality public charter schools like KIPP Philadelphia. We all went to Washington, D.C. to tell our families鈥� stories to Congress. We also got to hear each other鈥檚 stories and to learn from one another. 

My story began this fall, when we gladly accepted a founding kindergarten seat at the newest KIPP Philadelphia school. We were excited to put the last two years of home learning during COVID-19 behind us and start life in our new normal. Except, things didn鈥檛 feel normal. My 5-year-old didn鈥檛 act like other children her age. She鈥檚 what I affectionately coined my firecracker child, but a lot like a firecracker, things always explode. 

Our first few months at KIPP were not easy. She struggled with transitions, she couldn鈥檛 sit still and sometimes she got so overwhelmed the only place that she felt comfortable was under her desk. As a parent, I felt all types of failure. I felt like because I chose to keep the lights on and not spend more time by her side during those Zoom classes while she was learning at home, that I had set her up to fail. I felt that I had somehow dropped the ball on my biggest responsibility 鈥� my daughter.

It wasn鈥檛 until a few conversations with the school social worker, then with the dean of students, which led to more conversations with her pediatrician, that I started seeing things a lot differently. I was able to see that the behaviors that she was exhibiting weren鈥檛 a result of my failure, but instead, were signs that her brain works differently than some of the other students. 

I was able to work with the staff at KIPP Octavius Catto Elementary to get a referral to have my daughter receive an extensive evaluation, one that outlined exactly where she鈥檚 struggling and identified interventions and strategies that will allow her to thrive in any classroom. For the first time in a while, I was able to breathe. It gave me a feeling of joy that I was able to advocate for my daughter so that her needs would be in the conversations that led to her evaluations.. I advocate for mental health support for students because it is a top priority for me and families across the country, especially as we recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

During Charter Family Hill Day, I was also able to reinforce my top priorities as a parent: investing in student mental health and keeping our kids safe from gun violence. Our children deserve to feel safe at school. These children have seen more trauma in their short lives than some of us ever experienced. My daughter deserves to live her life. My daughter deserves to be able to walk into a building that she knows she’ll walk out of. She deserves to know that she can be safe, even when I’m not around. 

There is a fire in me that deserves to continue to grow, and with that growth, I’m not only advocating for my child, I’m advocating for thousands of other kids and families across the country. If two days in Washington D.C, is what it takes for me to light some stuff on fire, then give me the two days, let me do it.

]]> /article/tn-kids-lawmakers-pull-your-heads-out-from-under-your-desks-pass-gun-policy/ Tue, 04 Apr 2023 16:30:00 +0000 /?post_type=article&p=707001 This article was originally published in

Emotions and tempers have been raw throughout Nashville all week after six people 鈥� including three kids 鈥� were killed in the Covenant School shooting.

For all the city鈥檚 status as an 鈥淚t City,鈥� the community still feels small, linked by a web of family, church, school and professional connections. Few I talked to didn鈥檛 know someone affected by the tragedy.

Last Monday as I covered the shooting, I ran on adrenaline. By Tuesday, I was filled with rage 鈥� so much rage that had nowhere to go. I felt like I might explode, like I might come apart.

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Kids and teens 鈥� who today participate in active-shooter drills and live with the threat of shooters as part of their academic experience 鈥� know the feeling.

Thursday, in an outpouring of grief, fear and anger, hundreds of them got permission from their school or parents to show up at the Tennessee Capitol and call on lawmakers to take up gun safety laws.

The protesters walked into the Capitol single file, through security checkpoints manned by troopers with the Tennessee Highway Patrol.

They chanted and sang. Some carried signs made on 8.5- by 11-inch sheets of paper 鈥� the largest sign allowed in the building. It was a powerful statement from lawmakers鈥� future constituents.

Yes, they were loud. Yes, a few young men linked arms to block a bathroom, and state troopers shoved them out of the way, grabbing one by the neck, in order to escort Rep. Paul Sherrell, R-Sparta, through the crowd and back to his seat in House Chambers.

And three Democratic lawmakers 鈥� Reps. Gloria Johnson of Knoxville, Justin Jones of Nashville, and Justin Pearson of Memphis 鈥� took to the House floor mid-session, acknowledging protesters.

There was no insurrection, as House Speaker Cameron Sexton implied on right-wing airwaves, including on Fox News.

Sexton is a liar.

And he鈥檚 lobbing diversionary media tactics instead of facing the reality of what hundreds of schoolchildren are asking him to do.

Sexton has dialed back his original comments, clarifying he didn鈥檛 mean the teen protesters caused an insurrection, but rather, his three Democratic colleagues. And he鈥檚 mentioned that expulsion from the House is a possible punishment for them.

As the Lookout鈥檚 Adam Friedman reported, Sexton told a Knoxville talk radio host of the Democratic lawmakers, 鈥淭wo of the members, Reps. (Justin) Jones and (Gloria) Johnson, have been very vocal about Jan. 6 in Washington, D.C., about what that was. What they did today was at least equivalent, maybe worse, depending on how you look at it, of doing an insurrection in the capitol.鈥�

That is also false.

There are literally thousands of still photos and videos from members of the media, other lawmakers and protesters that depict nothing like Sexton conveys. The Lookout鈥檚 John Partipilo photographed Jones with a bullhorn, while Pearson and Johnson stand feet away.

It would be ludicrous, were it not so dangerous, for Sexton to publicly accuse his colleagues of insurrection.

The actual insurrection included the construction of a noose in front of the U.S. Capitol, armed protesters chanting to 鈥淗ang Mike Pence鈥� and overrunning Capitol Hill police, property destruction and the defiling of congressional offices. And pro-Donald Trump members of Congress still persisted in voting to deny the results of the 2020 presidential election.

Sexton has had a particular burr under his saddle for Johnson, the lone House member who did not vote to reelect him House Speaker in 2021. That year, Sexton assigned Johnson, a 60-year-old woman who uses a scooter to navigate the Capitol and legislative halls, to use as an office.

Jones is no more liked than Johnson by legislative Republicans, after he led protests in Nashville following the 2020 police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Pearson incurred the wrath of his colleagues for wearing a dashiki into the House chambers, which apparently violated Republican lawmakers鈥� senses of decorum, although it violated no House rules.

Tennessee Republicans are all about decorum when it benefits them. Their decorum wasn鈥檛 violated when former Rep. David Byrd of sexual assault by girls he coached in high school basketball, standing by him until he declined to run for reelection in 2022.

They didn鈥檛 worry about decorum when three Republican legislators 鈥� former Speaker of the House Glen Casada, former Rep. Robin Smith and sitting Rep. Todd Warner 鈥� had their homes and offices raided by the FBI in Jan. 2021, and continued to support Smith and Casada until they were indicted of federal charges of fraud and money laundering.

They didn鈥檛 seem to care when former Sen. Brian Kelsey was indicted on five counts of federal campaign finance violations in Oct. 2021. Kelsey resigned from his seat as Senate Judiciary Chair, but there was no mention of expulsion.

But walk into the well of the House after, as Jones said, your microphone has been repeatedly cut by House staff? And pull out a bullhorn after Sexton gavels the body into recess? Expel them!

Sexton and other Republican lawmakers are guilty of what they have accused others of: politicizing the death of six people in Nashville鈥檚 third mass shooting within the last seven years.

They鈥檝e succeeded in turning the discourse away from the righteous anger of many Tennesseans, including the thousands of students who again flocked to the Capitol on Monday to press lawmakers for to do something, any damn thing to fund mental health or restrict access to powerful weapons. They鈥檝e made the conversation about their fear of two young Black lawmakers and one white one with a bullhorn.

The use of coded language like 鈥渄ecorum鈥� and 鈥渃ivility鈥� has been used at other times of massive social unrest to control the changemakers. Women working to secure the right to vote were criticized similarly, as were Black civil rights leaders in the 1960s.

Now, Tennessee鈥檚 Republicans are using the language in an attempt to discredit anyone who disagrees with their policies 鈥� or, in the case of firearms, their lack of policies.

Kids who are hoping to be able to graduate from high school without surviving a school shooting and a handful of lawmakers acknowledging them, are being criticized for decorum and accused of insurrection. These are lies, and Sexton, as the leader of the Tennessee House of Representatives, knows it.

is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Tennessee Lookout maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Holly McCall for questions: info@tennesseelookout.com. Follow Tennessee Lookout on and .

]]> /article/nashville-shooter-owned-7-weapons-was-being-treated-for-emotional-disorder/ Tue, 28 Mar 2023 20:51:08 +0000 /?post_type=article&p=706717 This article was originally published in

A day after an armed shooter stalked the hallways of The Covenant School in Nashville, killing three children and three adults, the investigation continues.

Among the victims were three 9-year-old children: Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs, and William Kinney. The adults were Cynthia Peak, 61, a substitute teacher; Mike Hill, age 61, a custodian; and Covenant Head of Schools Katherine Koonce, 60.

The shooter was identified as a former student Audrey Elizabeth Hale, 28, killed by two of the Metro Nashville Police Officers who responded to the scene. Hale was armed with at least two assault rifles and a handgun, police said.

People gathered Monday night in vigils across the city to mourn the tragic losses, and more public gatherings are planned this week. President Joe Biden ordered U.S. flags at half staff until sunset on Friday.

The Tennessee Legislature paused floor debates after the shooting and reconvened Tuesday morning.

The Metro Nashville Police Department began releasing new details of the events, with more to come.

Police: Shooter legally bought seven weapons; had 鈥檈motional disorder鈥�

The shooter who killed three children and three adults at The Covenant School was 鈥渦nder a doctor鈥檚 care for an emotional disorder,鈥� Nashville Police Chief John Drake said in a news conference Tuesday morning.

Drake said that 28-year-old Audrey Elizabeth Hale nevertheless purchased seven firearms legally from five different local gun stores; three of those weapons were used in the mass shooting Monday.

Drake said that Hale鈥檚 parents were 鈥渦nder the impression鈥� Hale owned a single firearm but sold it.

Hale鈥檚 parents felt 鈥渟he should not own a weapon,鈥� Drake said. 鈥淎s it turns out, she had been hiding several weapons in the house.鈥�

And on Monday, when Hale left the family鈥檚 home carrying a red bag, Hale鈥檚 mother asked 鈥渨hat was in the bag,鈥� Drake said. Hale dismissed the question, and Hale鈥檚 mother did not pursue it further. She didn鈥檛 know Hale had any weapons at the time, he said.

鈥淎gain, she lost a child, so this is very traumatic,鈥� he said.

Drake said there is no known motive for the shooting yet. The students shot 鈥渨ere randomly targeted,鈥� according to police.

Drake also revealed more details about the shooting.

One of the victims, Covenant Head of Schools Katherine Koonce, 60, was found dead in a hallway, Drake said. Mike Hill, a 61-year-old custodian, is believed to have been shot through a door, Drake said.

Law enforcement officials were unaware of Hale before yesterday鈥檚 shooting, he said.

鈥淎s it stands, we had absolutely no idea who this person was or that she even existed,鈥� Drake said.

Citywide vigil announced for Wednesday

Nashville Mayor John Cooper and Council Member Russ Pulley have announced plans for a candlelight vigil on Wednesday to honor victims and support survivors of The Covenant School shooting.

The citywide vigil will take place Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. outside City Hall at One Public Square Park.

Nashville Police release body cam footage

On Tuesday, Metro Police released body camera footage from officers Rex Engelbert and Michael Collazo, who killed the shooter inside Covenant School. We advise caution when viewing.

Monday marks Nashville鈥檚 third mass shooting in six years

The violence wrought Monday inside an elementary school is Nashville鈥檚 third mass shooting in six years.

In 2018, four people were killed when an armed gunman entered a south Nashville Waffle House restaurant in the early hours of a Sunday morning.

The victims were Joe Perez Jr., Taurean Sanderlin, Akilah Dasilva and DeEbony Groves.

Travis Reinking, the shooter, was sentenced to life in prison for the murders last year.

In 2017, an armed gunman opened fire at the Burnette Chapel Church of Christ in Nashville, killing one person and injuring six others who had gathered their for Sunday services.

The shooter, Emanuel Kidega Samson, was sentenced to life in prison in 2019.

On Monday, the Burnette Chapel Church of Christ posted a message of sorrow on Facebook.

Police release surveillance video

Police on Monday night released a portion of school surveillance video showing Hale driving a Honda Fit through the school鈥檚 parking, past a playground of children on swing sets, before parking, shooting down a double door into the schools and roaming empty hallways.

Police reported that Hall fired through a window at arriving police officers. Two members of an officer team fired on Hale in a second-floor common area. Those officers were identified as Officer Rex Englebert, a four-year Metro Nashville Police Department veteran, and Officer Michael Collazo, a nine-year-veteran.

Police said they have also found writings from Hale, including a manifesto and detailed maps of the building housing the school, in searches of a home and car connected to Hale.

Hale fired a number of rounds inside the Covenant Church/School building. She was armed with these 3 guns and significant ammunition.

— Metro Nashville PD (@MNPDNashville)

鈥極ur community is heartbroken鈥�

Late Monday, the school also released a statement expressing heartbreak and asking for privacy:

鈥淥ur community is heartbroken. We are grieving tremendous loss and are in shock coming out of the terror that shattered our school and church. We are focused on loving our students, our families, our faculty and staff, and beginning the process of healing.

鈥淟aw enforcement is conducting its investigation, and while we understand there is a lot of interest and there will be a lot of discussion about and speculation surrounding what happened, we will continue to prioritize the well-being of our community.

鈥淲e appreciate the outpouring of support we have received, and we are tremendously grateful to the first responders who acted quickly to protect our students, faculty and staff.

鈥淲e ask for privacy as our community grapples with this horrible tragedy 鈥� for our students, parents, faculty and staff.鈥�

Report: Shooter texted friend shortly before shooting

Channel 5 also reported late on Monday that the shooter had texted a former basketball teammate in the minutes before the shooting.

At 9:57 a.m., a former middle school basketball teammate of Audrey Hale looked at her phone to find a message from The Covenant School shooter on Instagram.

— NewsChannel 5 (@NC5)

is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Tennessee Lookout maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Holly McCall for questions: info@tennesseelookout.com. Follow Tennessee Lookout on and .

]]> /article/when-gun-violence-ends-young-lives-these-men-prepare-the-graves/ Sun, 19 Feb 2023 17:01:00 +0000 /?post_type=article&p=704494 This article was originally published in

MILLSTADT, Ill. 鈥� It was a late Friday afternoon when a team of men approached a tiny pink casket. One wiped his brow. Another stepped away to smoke a cigarette. Then, with calloused hands, they gently lowered the child鈥檚 body into the ground.

Earlier that day, the groundskeepers at Sunset Gardens of Memory had dug the small grave up on a hill in a special section of this cemetery in a southern Illinois community across the river from St. Louis. It was for a 3-year-old girl killed by a stray bullet.

鈥淚t can be stressful sometimes,鈥� Jasper Belt, 26, said. 鈥淲e have to use little shovels.鈥�

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More than 30 years ago, Johnnie Haire and the other groundskeepers built a garden site just for children, separate from unlabeled sections of the 30-acre cemetery where they used to bury infants. They added a birdbath and bought angel figurines, carefully painting each one a hue of brown. Haire wanted the angels to be Black, like many of the children laid to rest here.

鈥淭his is 鈥楤aby Land,鈥欌�� said Haire, 67, Sunset Gardens鈥� grounds supervisor, as he gestured across the area. 鈥淭his is where a lot of babies are buried.鈥�

Cemeteries like this one have long honored those who die too young. Such special burial sites exist in ; ; ; and beyond. They are for stillborn children and those who died of disease or accidents.

Today, a modern epidemic fills more graves than anything else: In the U.S., firearm-related injuries were the leading cause of death for children in 2020, ahead of motor vehicle crashes, according to .

The men at Sunset Gardens are collecting data in their own way, too.

In 2019, Haire broke ground on a new section of the cemetery where teenagers and young adults are buried, including those killed by covid-19 and many who were victims of gun violence. It鈥檚 called the 鈥淕arden of Grace.鈥� It鈥檚 already been used more than anyone would like.

鈥淥ne time, it was just every weekend. Just a steady flow,鈥� Haire said. 鈥淭his one getting killed over here. This one getting killed over there. They fighting against each other, some rival gangs or whatever they were. So we had a lot. A lot of that.鈥�

And 2021 was especially deadly nationwide: More than , the highest U.S. toll since the early 1990s, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This wasn鈥檛 as deadly nationally, though the tally is still being finalized.

The groundskeepers at Sunset Gardens have learned to watch their step in Baby Land because grieving parents drop off toys, candy, and balloons for their deceased children. 鈥淭丑别y just do things so differently in grief,鈥� said Jocelyn Belt, 35, whose dad, William Belt Sr., 66, has worked at the cemetery since before she was born. Her brother and cousin work there, too.

The groundskeepers work quietly as families grieve. William Belt Jr., 44, said he doesn鈥檛 pry, even if he knows the family and would like to know how they鈥檙e doing.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 what you learn not to do,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e let them come to us.鈥�

But often, the men said, they are anonymous amid the rituals of grief. William Belt Jr. said he sometimes runs into those who attended the burials around town. 鈥淭丑别y don鈥檛 know my name. They鈥檒l be like, 鈥楪ravedigger, you buried my mom. Man, thanks.鈥� 鈥�

These men understand the complicated pain of losing loved ones. In the past year alone, the Belt family has experienced three deaths, including who was shot and killed.

And on New Year鈥檚 Eve, William Belt Jr. himself was shot while in his truck outside a gas station convenience store.

鈥淣obody鈥檚 exempt,鈥� he said, while recovering at home. 鈥淚t could have been an old lady going to get some cornmeal or something like that from that store and could have got caught right in the crossfire.鈥�

His family is thankful he鈥檚 OK. He is still grappling with his own close call, though.

鈥淚 would have probably been overtime for some of my co-workers. That鈥檚 something to think about,鈥� Belt said. 鈥淎nd then they wouldn鈥檛 been able to go to my funeral 鈥檆ause they got to bury me.鈥�

William Belt Sr. said his body froze when his son was shot. And he said he couldn鈥檛 hold back his emotions when he buried his brother and niece less than a month apart. Many of their relatives are buried at Sunset Gardens 鈥� literally by them.

鈥淚 weep,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ig difference between crying and weeping. Weeping, I鈥檓 closer to God.鈥�

Their job is physical, emotional work done in all seasons, all weather. Injuries occur. Heartbreak is everywhere.

To hold their own hearts together, the groundskeepers often decompress as they eat lunch in a shed near the cemetery鈥檚 front office, trading stories in front of a wood-burning stove to keep warm during winter. They find joy where they can. The Belts like to fish. And the senior Belt occasionally sings the blues to soothe his soul. Parker, a long-haired cat, provides them company, too 鈥� and enjoys investigating the men鈥檚 lunches.

And they laugh when they can. William Belt Sr. still remembers his first year on the job. He wanted to be respectful, he said with a smile, even though his clients were deceased.

鈥� 鈥楨xcuse me, coming through,鈥� 鈥� Belt recalled saying as he walked through the cemetery. 鈥淭丑别n I got myself together.鈥�

Digging graves for a living wasn鈥檛 on the career list for Belt or his friend Haire. But that鈥檚 exactly what the two men have done for some 43 years 鈥� whether it鈥檚 for those who lived long, full lives or those whose young lives were cut short. They鈥檙e caretakers.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 the proper name for it,鈥� Haire said.

As he stood amid the graves on a recent day, he noted that the wooden Baby Land sign that welcomes mourners is worn. The paint on the angels is peeling, too.

鈥淚t needs touching up over there,鈥� Haire said. 鈥淏ut I鈥檝e been busy.鈥�

(Kaiser Health News) is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues. Together with Policy Analysis and Polling, KHN is one of the three major operating programs at (Kaiser Family Foundation). KFF is an endowed nonprofit organization providing information on health issues to the nation. to KHN’s free Morning Briefing.

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