
DATE: Thursday, October 16, 1997            TAG: 9710160520

SECTION: FRONT                   PAGE: A1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY ELIZABETH SIMPSON, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH                        LENGTH:  137 lines

WILSON HIGH REOPENS - WITH MORE SECURITY

Wilson High School will reopen today with stepped up security, additional metal detectors and promises to find alternative programs for those students who aren't interested in learning.

About 140 teachers, administrators and other faculty members hammered out a plan Wednesday in the same school auditorium in which a melee erupted Tuesday, sending 22 students to the school nurse and three pregnant students to Maryview Hospital, where they were treated and released. The school was closed Wednesday to address safety concerns.

One 16-year-old white male student, whose name was not released because he is a juvenile, was charged with disorderly conduct Wednesday, and taken to Tidewater Detention Home in Chesapeake. Portsmouth police spokeswoman Lindsay Disbrow said security tapes are being reviewed to see whether other students will be charged.

Although no one could pinpoint the cause of Tuesday's violent outbreak, teachers, students and parents expressed great concern about weak school administrators, overcrowding and students who come to school to make trouble.

``Our school, it's a really slack school,'' said senior Julie Lombardi, 17. ``If you want to go to school and get an education, you can do it here. If you want to go and sleep in class and cause trouble, you can do that too.''

When Wilson reopens today, the number of security guards will be increased from two to seven. Only two major doorways will be open to student traffic and security guards with metal detectors will be stationed at both doors. Students will be searched at random. And hallways will be monitored by an increased number of faculty and parent volunteers.

``I think that parents should be more involved,'' said Frank Wolff, whose daughter attends Wilson. ``I would take an afternoon to walk the halls between classes.'' He added that he talked to other parents who felt the same way.

Along with the safety measures, Superintendent Richard Trumble said the district will address long-term issues at Wilson, such as removing trouble-makers.

``The major concern is that there are students who are here who do not want to be here, and they need to be removed,'' Trumble said. ``But we need to do that, and still protect the civil rights of the students as well.''

Wilson has several fifth year seniors, and absenteeism has been a problem at the school. Trumble acknowledged, too, that the district's aggressive policy of recapturing potential dropouts may have contributed to the problem by bringing students back into the schools who don't really want to learn. On record, Portsmouth has one of the lowest dropout rates in the area. Trumble said more alternative and vocational programs need to be developed for students who are not interested in regular academic studies.

Trumble also said district administrators will examine whether Wilson High School needs more teachers and support faculty, but said that adding staff to Wilson would entail taking employees from other schools within the system. ``We have zero dollars for more teachers,'' Trumble said.

On Wednesday, Wilson teachers spent four hours devising recommendations on how to improve school safety, after first venting their concerns during an hour-and-a-half closed meeting with Trumble.

Teachers said they are often hesitant to interfere in fights and unruly behavior for fear that parents will sue them or accuse them of abuse. They also complained about overcrowded classes, rules that aren't clearly enforced, and school administrators who often ``cave in'' when parents complain about their children's suspensions and disciplinary actions.

``Administrators do not stand up to parents,'' said one teacher, who refused to give his name. ``If parents threaten to take the school to court, then they need to go to court.''

While most acknowledged that the issue of race needed to be addressed, they said Tuesday's events transcended race. ``The racial angle was blown out of proportion,'' said teacher Charles Richardson. ``It was more of an attitude problem.''

Principal William Gibson said he does not think there is racial turmoil at the school. ``There are good white kids and bad white kids, good black kids and bad black kids.'' But he said that because some students and community members perceive that there's a race problem, the issue needs to be addressed. ``If you perceive something to be, then you believe something to be,'' he said.

Students, meanwhile, criticized teachers and faculty for not taking better control of Tuesday's melee.

Regina Johnson, a 14-year-old freshman, said she believes teachers were afraid to intervene in the fights, which caused them to escalate. ``Teachers have to be bold enough to come out of the office,'' she said. ``If the teachers are afraid of the students, then they need new teachers.''

Johnson's mother, Esther Johnson, said she's upset that she now has to worry about her daughter's safety at school. ``The only thing I can to is hope and pray nothing else will happen. But I have a feeling that this situation is not over with. If something happens again I hope the school has more control, and that our children will be protected.''

Another parent, Shelley Monnseartt, said she felt the incident had been blown out of proportion. ``These things happen, and I'm sure they will take care of everything,'' she said.

Her daughter, Andrea, a 13-year-old freshman, said she wasn't worried about returning to school today. ``(Thursday) will be the safest day,'' she said. ``It's when things die down that I worry about.''

Trumble, meanwhile, said he took the unusual step of closing the school Wednesday to make sure a security plan was in place, and that teachers and faculty felt in control again. Although other school districts have dealt with student fights and discipline problems, none have ever had to close school to address those problems.

``There are things that are clearly aloof and afoot that we need to address,'' he said. ``Yesterday's events may only be a symptom of other problems we need to address.''

One teacher, who asked not to be named, said he thought the district should have delayed today's reopening.

``It's too soon to bring students back,'' he said. ``It's a dangerous situation, and we will put ourselves in the situation of something happening again tomorrow.''

But another staff member, librarian Eunice McMillan, said she felt safe at the school, and that Tuesday's eruption was an isolated incident. ``Yesterday the students were in one spot for too long and things just escalated.''

Because Wilson's sophomores and juniors were taking standardized tests Tuesday, seniors were gathered in the school's auditorium for several hours. The students became restless and fighting broke out. The ruckus spilled over into the commons area. Students and teachers were pushed and knocked down, there was running and shoving, and police were finally called to restore order.

Senior Kelly Frederick said the school has not been known for turmoil, but said that Tuesday's events probably would be felt for some time to come.

``I don't think one day off is going to make any difference,'' said Frederick. ``Everyone is going to go back with the same feelings, there's going to be tension.''

Wilson High School will have a PTA meeting at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in the school's auditorium. Parents are invited to come and discuss their concerns about this week's incident. The Portsmouth School Board meets at 7:30 p.m. tonight at the district office, 801 Crawford St. MEMO: Staff writer Lorraine Eaton contributed to this report. ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photo]

MARK MITCHELL/The Virginian-Pilot

Principal William Gibson speaks to Woodrow Wilson High School staff

Wednesday about the fight that sent 22 students to the school nurse.

MARK MITCHELL/ The Virginian-Pilot

Shelley Monnseartt, who brought her daughter, Andrea, left, to

school Wednesday to pick up some books, said the incident has been

blown out of proportion. Her daughter said she's less concerned

about returning to school today then in a few weeks when the issues

settle down. KEYWORDS: RIOT