By Lorraine Gabbert. San José Spotlight.
After a number of intruders attacked students and staff at a San Jose school, outraged teachers and parents are demanding immediate security changes.
Two separate life-threatening incidents have rocked James Lick Middle School in the East Side Union High School District. In response, the school community is insisting that the district implement increased security, bring police back to campus and install perimeter fencing.
Teacher Michael Gatenby said eight people arrived on campus Aug. 7 and assaulted two staff members and a student after two students got into a verbal dispute and one called for outside help. The intruders arrived in two cars and attacked the student, he said. The attackers fled after a school worker broke up the fight, but when another teacher tried to photograph one of the car's license plates, the driver jumped out and assaulted her, sending her to the hospital with a severe concussion.
“We were unable to prevent eight individuals from entering our campus with violent intent,” Gatenby told San Jose Spotlight. “One of our teachers was sent to the hospital with fairly significant injuries and our campus monitor and the student who was assaulted needed medical attention.”
Ten days later, on August 17, seven intruders attacked two students with knives on the education tarmac, Gatenby said. Two students were stabbed and might have died if it had not been for the actions of the education teacher, Gatenby said.
“Those kids are lucky to be alive,” he said. “If the teachers didn’t put themselves in danger, it’s quite possible that I’m not alive.”
Gatenby said teachers are demanding the district implement safety reforms, including additional security and an annual update to the school's safety plan. She said more transparency is needed. Until she posted a video on social media, parents didn't know about the first assault at James Lick, she said. To give the community a voice and hold the district accountable, she started the East Side SJ High School Reform Coalition on Facebook.
“The time for words is over,” he told school board members at the Sept. 7 meeting. “It’s time for action.”
At the board meeting, education teacher Courtney Garcia said she and another teacher used their bare hands to apply pressure and stab wounds to a student's back, abdomen and arm to save his life. Garcia said the district never asked her about the attack.
“Instead, we receive generic emails about how safety remains paramount,” he told trustees at the board meeting. “You refuse to provide us with a safer learning environment. I have no reason to believe that something worse won’t happen tomorrow. Similar requests in the past have been ignored. As a professional, I do not feel safe, considered, heard or taken seriously.”
The doors are closed
District spokesman Sergio Dz-Luna said the incident remains an ongoing police investigation and the gates at James Lick are closed for the school day. Staff are monitoring access points and the district has provided additional staff. He said site and district leaders are re-evaluating school climate and staff safety.
Board President Lorena Chez stressed at the meeting that she wants the district to immediately address all aspects of campus safety. She wants to ensure that there is collaborative dialogue between the administration, parents and teachers and that it leads to a comprehensive approach to school safety. She asked the administration to provide the board with a safety plan at a future meeting.
“Each of you deserves and has the right to learn and work in a safe environment,” he explained. “I look forward to the administration immediately developing a process to convene stakeholders… with the most immediate focus on the James Lick community.”
Gatenby said he knows some community members have a rocky history with police, but safety must be the district's priority.
But not everyone agrees. At the board meeting, Father Alberto Camacho said he is against having police on campus and that officers are prone to stereotyping.
“As a school culture…we cannot view these children as criminals,” she said. “Support students who are often overcriminalized and the community we serve.”
A dangerous situation
The school's security team consists of teachers, administrators and a campus monitor trained to observe and report, but the monitor has no formal training, Gatenby explained.
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