Instead of hitting the books, students at John Hopkins Middle School are getting booked. At least 82 have been handcuffed and arrested by St. Pete Police since September.
“There’s something radically wrong. It’s either with the school or the personnel running the school,” said Hopkins grandparent Michael Gregory.
Disorderly conduct, battery, and assault are among the list of offenses. It’s unsatisfactory for many parents.
“Don’t come here to fight. Don’t come here to rabble rouse. Don’t come to draw a lot of attention to yourself,” said parent Beatrice Lee. “This is a school of learning.”
District administrators take some blame for the recent escalation of trouble at Hopkins.
Superintendent Julie Janssen says monthly disciplinary reports never made it to her desk due to a retirement.
“There was someone in our system who should’ve said that or should’ve called to get those reports,” said Janssen. “So we had a couple of processes that broke down.”
At a meeting Tuesday, the head of schools and the Police Chief talked about the oversight and the problems at Hopkins. They agree that arresting kids in many cases is not the solution.
“I’m not for criminalizing mischief behvaior and holding that against a kid for the rest of his life,” said Chief Chuck Harmon.
Pinellas Schools and police may partner with community organizations. The district recently lost funding for one of its intervention programs.
“We’ve got to determine something that we do in place of that,” said Janssen.
In the middle of al this is also a fight over words. School Board Chair Janet Clark called the troubled students “hoodlums”. The remark sparked a firestorm and allegations of racism. Clark stands by what she said.
“I’m not going to step down and I don’t even think I’m going to apologize for the word I used,” said Clark.
Parents have varying opinions about Clark’s terminology.
“You shouldn’t call the students hoodlums, being an administrator,” Chico Cromartia told FOX 13.
“They’re hoodlums because their parents don’t teach them right. All children need to know respect,” said Rebecca Thieme.
Tuesday, Janssen met the new supervisor of the district’s school resource officer, Major Hope Crews. Harmon says Crews will play a major role in improving the situation at Hopinks and across the district.
Crews used to be a district commander in the neighborhood where Hopkins is located. Harmon says many of the school conflicts begin in the neighborhood, then spill onto campus.
