Garfield High School (Image: Seattle Public Schools)
is conducting safety reviews of its campuses and will create “community action teams” including members of the Seattle Police Department and the City of Seattle in response to concerns over gun violence.
Superintendent Dr. Brent Jones announced the initiatives this month as part of “safety enhancement updates” following a deadly shooting at Ingraham High School late last year.
Seattle Public Schools will also form a “wellness advisory council” with mental health and “wellness leaders from our community,” Jones said.
The measures comes as some officials have called for the return of Seattle Police school resource officers to Seattle’s public school campuses.
In the weeks following the Ingraham shooting as students held walkouts and asked for more resources to address gun violence and mental health needs, SPD Chief Adrian Diaz continued lobbying for more officers and a change in policies to allow SPD officers back on public school campus, calling for the city to hire more officers and for Seattle Public Schools to restore programs like the “school resource officers” that used to be deployed on area campuses.
In the summer of 2020, the Seattle School Board suspended a partnership with SPD that provided five armed officers at Seattle schools. The program — which cost the district about $120,000 a year — remains on hold.
The debate over preventing gun violence at schools flared last last year at Garfield High. CHS reported in December 2021 on a Garfield community discussion about how to better protect students and the campus from gun violence following a shootout on the school’s grounds.
In 2021, Chief Diaz also advocated for the return of school resource officers but solutions that centered around community and larger systems were also proposed.
Garfield Principal Dr. Tarance Hart asked parents and community members to volunteer at Garfield. Once school is dismissed, volunteers are needed to be on campus during late practices and other school activities. More broadly, he said he wanted students to have mentorship and exposure to different pathways and careers.
Now, Jones said the district’s new “community action team” consisting of safety, civic leaders, and community action groups have been formed and are currently evaluating data and assessing experiences at schools and surrounding communities. The team comprises SPS school leaders, Seattle Police Department, City of Seattle, and community groups and partners that provide enrichment opportunities before and after school. The initiative has been engaging community members and groups since November, Jones said.
The district is also conducting a safety review of every campus including the school building management and capital improvement teams, Jones said.
Jones said the process has already produced two recommendations including the need for consistent safety and emergency signage and updating all building locks “to be sure they can be activated from inside a room.”
Jones said the lock replacement project is already underway, “and we are making progress on this update in our buildings.”
“This process will take time,” Jones said about the ongoing reviews.
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