Wake school leaders say stabbing shouldn’t overshadow the good at Southeast Raleigh High
Wake County school leaders are defending Southeast Raleigh High School amid the backlash following last week’s fatal on-campus stabbing of a student.
Tuesday marked the first full school board meeting since Delvin Ferrell, 15, was fatally stabbed during a fight in Southeast Raleigh High’s gym on Nov. 27. School board members and Superintendent Robert Taylor said the incident should not overshadow all the positive things that are happening at the magnet school.
“The good of this school needs to be lifted up,” said board member Lindsay Mahaffey. “It needs to be lifted up not just in times of tragedy but in times of joy.”
Taylor said that the stabbing, which came in the middle of an on-campus fight, should not be an indictment of the school or the community. Southeast Raleigh High attracts students from across the county for its design, arts and engineering magnet theme.
“The one thing that we definitely recognized is that the students and the faculty and the parents wanted a fair depiction of Southeast Raleigh High,” Taylor said. “They know and understand that they have not been viewed in a light that really reflects what they are as a school.”
The application period to attend a magnet school for the 2024-25 school year runs until Jan. 25.
“I think families choosing this school would be a wonderful way to show our collective support,” said school board member Lynn Edmonds.
Calls for greater community involvement
Video posted on social media by multiple students show a fight breaking out in a hallway before 11 a.m. last Monday. In the melee that spilled into the gymnasium, Ferrell and a 16-year-old were both stabbed. The 16-year-old suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
Raleigh police have charged a 14-year-old student with murder.
Citing the ongoing police investigation, the school district says there are limits to what can be discussed about the incident. But district leaders have said they’ll review safety protocols.
“Here in Wake County we have a great school system,” said Chris Heagarty, who was elected the new school board chair on Tuesday. “We have great schools and we have great staff.
“But sometimes we don’t always do great for everyone and when that happens, we have to admit that and we have to pledge to do a better job.”
Heagarty said he recognizes there’s a demand for change. He said Monday’s community forum at Southeast Raleigh High that drew nearly 500 people is an example of that change.
Do discipline policies need to be reviewed?
Those who attended the school forum Monday asked what the district will do to prevent a similar incident of school violence from happening again.
“Please know this continues to be a priority for us: our student safety, our student well-being, our student mental health, as well as the educators in the building,” said new school board vice chair Tara Waters, whose district includes Southeast Raleigh High.
Taylor, the superintendent, said Tuesday he will form a task force to bring together the resources in the community that can benefit students. As examples, Taylor cited mental health services and teaching social-emotional learning.
But school board member Cheryl Caulfield called for a review of discipline, bullying and mental health policies. She said it’s the district’s job to show students what it acceptable behavior in school.
“We cannot continue without order and solutions,” Caulfield said. “This needs to become a priority, because if our children are not in a a safe place in their mind and in a safe place in school, then they do not trust us and they cannot learn.”
