By ZEINAB NAJM
Sunday Times Newspapers
Local school districts in the Dearborn Heights and Downriver are standing with those impacted by the shooting at Oxford High School that left four dead and eight others injured.
Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald charged student Ethan Crumbley, 15, as an adult with several crimes including first degree murder, assault with intent to murder and possession of a firearm for the shooting at his high school. He was arraigned on the charges brought against him.
The four students killed were Madisyn Baldwin, 17; Hana St. Juliana, 14; Tate Myre, 16; and Justin Shilling, 17. Following the shooting, all schools in the district closed for the week.
In Dearborn Heights, the Crestwood School District and Dearborn Heights District 7 sent letters to their community addressing the shooting and any concerns.
“I do not send this letter to place fear into your hearts, but I send this letter as a means to emphasize the importance of community working together to help one another, and most importantly, our children,” Crestwood Supt. Youssef Mosallam said.
He also said that the district implemented and invested in social and emotional support systems to assist children and the community, prior to COVID-19.
“We are staffed with counselors, social workers, school psychologists, and trained staff who are always available to support you and your children,” Mosallam said. “Additionally, all of our school administrators have an open door policy for you to feel comfortable to discuss and bring concerns or ideas to support our children.”
Next steps for Crestwood include the Student Support Services Team meeting to develop an enhanced educational and instructional piece on school safety for students.
“This will be in coordination with our Dearborn Heights School Resource Officer,” Mosallam said. “The instructional information will be sensitive to the age levels of the students. We must start these conversations early and often. Please, if you need assistance, and you feel your child is struggling with this topic, reach out to your school and we will support you.”
D7 Interim Supt. Mary Ann Cyr reminded the district’s residents of the various safety protocols in place to protect students, teachers and staff.
“Our safety measures include, but are not limited to, staff-wide ALICE (Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter and Evacuate) safety and drill training, district-wide camera surveillance in all buildings, security guard presence, police presence, exterior locked doors, school counselors and social workers to name a few,” she said.
Like many others, the district also has a partnership with the Dearborn Heights Police Department.
“In particular, regarding this issue, Chief (Mark) Meyers is offering a stronger police presence for the foreseeable future at O.W. Best Middle School,” Cyr said in her letter. “This police presence is in addition to School Resource Officer (Coury) Graf at Annapolis High School. There will also be an increased police patrol presence district-wide.”
In Allen Park, Supt. Michael Darga said student safety and well-being remain the district’s No. 1 priority. He also said Allen Park Schools is committed to creating a safe school environment where students can learn and grow.
“We also want to remind you of the various safety protocols we have in place to protect students, teachers and staff,” he wrote in his letter. “Our safety measures include, but are not limited to: APPD Officer Mike Bacile, school resource officer; school entry buzzer system in all buildings; ALICE training for staff and students; practice of school safety drills which includes fire drills, tornado drills, lockdown drills; and evacuation drills were completed at the secondary level just last week.”
Taylor School District Supt. Griff Mills’ letter echoed the same message also mentioning protocols put in place to protect students, teachers and staff.
“We want to remind you of the various safety protocols we have in place to protect our students, teachers and staff,” he said. “Some of the safety measures include locked entrances equipped with security cameras, security guard and police presence, school counselors, social workers and more. We continuously work to review and update these measures to ensure the safety of everyone in our buildings.”
All students at Trenton Public Schools will have a half day for training Dec. 8 specific to the needs of staff, so all groups within the district may work together and confirm current safety protocols.
Following the Oxford shooting, communication was sent to the district’s community, staff, administration and Board of Education, Supt. Douglas Mentzer said in his letter.
“Ultimately, the intent was to reassure everyone that we have established a safe environment for our students,” he said. “Since then, dialogue has been ongoing with various stakeholders including the Trenton Police Department. Our team has determined that the current climate affords us an opportunity to accelerate our progress to keep kids safe.”
He also said that going forward, the district will also continue to have a police presence at schools in order to help staff and students to feel safe and ready to learn.
“Please communicate this to your child so they are prepared if they see law enforcement on campus or in our school buildings,” Mentzer said.
Several of the districts provided resources to parents and students as part of their community letters.
(Zeinab Najm can be reached at [email protected].)