DeKalb schools revamp discipline policies after viral student-teacher fight
Students fight teacher at school named after Dr. King
Three students at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. High are facing battery charges while a teacher is on leave after a fight in the hallway caught on video made it rounds on social media. Dr. Devon Q. Horton, the DeKalb County School District superintendent, said he does not support the students being criminalized.
DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. - DeKalb County school officials are evaluating their student discipline policies following a widely circulated video showing a fight between a teacher and student at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. High School.
What we know:
The fight, which took place last Tuesday in a school hallway, was caught on video and quickly spread across social media. In the footage, a student is seen hitting a teacher in the face. The teacher hits back. As security guards step in to break up the altercation, other students get involved in the tussle.
According to the district, three students have been suspended. Additional suspensions could follow pending the results of an investigation.
RELATED: DeKalb County high school students charged after fight with teacher
Ebony, the parent of a sophomore at the school who only wished to be identified by her first name, told FOX 5 she "didn’t want to watch it a second time. It shouldn’t have happened."
Speaking at the school, Superintendent Dr. Devon Horton addressed the community’s concerns, stressing the need for accountability and compassion for both the students involved and the teacher.
"We will not let this moment define this hardworking staff here at MLK," Dr. Horton told FOX 5.
Dr. Horton emphasized that while the video showed the physical confrontation, there were important events leading up to the incident that were not captured on camera.
"To be honest, this was not as cut and dry as what the video showed," he said.
What they're saying:
Three students face battery charges following the incident. Dr. Horton made it clear that he does not support that repercussion, stating that he is against criminalizing young people for incidents like this.
"I do not support them being criminalized. I do not. Every student deserves an opportunity, right?," Dr. Horton said when asked of the charges.
Instead, he expressed his full support for the students and staff of MLK High School, framing the incident as an opportunity to reassess the systems and supports currently in place for both groups.
"Students don’t fail, systems fail," MLK High School Principal Michael Alexander said.
District and school staff touted accomplishments in restorative practices, de-escalation, and a program called Face Advocates which pairs mentors with the district's most dysregulated students. According to Dr. Horton, two-thirds of students in the program haven't been in trouble once this year.
The district said one of the students involved in the altercation transferred to the school a month prior and had yet to be placed with one of the school's two Face Advocates. Dr. Horton also shared that the district is looking at 4,400 fewer suspensions this school year compared to last.
"So, we're onto something, and we know that," he said.
Ultimately, the district and the school argue that incidents like the fight from last week are a collective problem with a collective solution.
"That doesn’t represent MLK High School. I'm here for change. If I can show up and be an example for my peers, other parents, to get involved, then that’s what I'm going to do," Ebony told FOX 5.