Harrisburg School District Superintendent Eric Turman addressed the crowd at a community forum.
Parents, community members and staff filled a Harrisburg school auditorium on Tuesday to address recent incidents of violence among students and to hear about possible solutions.
The Harrisburg School District hosted a community forum where administrators discussed the challenges facing the district and the steps they are taking to reduce violence.
“Collectively, everyone in this room has to be part of the equation,” Superintendent Eric Turman said at the forum, held at Harrisburg High School-John Harris Campus. “The reward I want as a superintendent is to be able to look back on Harrisburg in the next couple of years and look at the transformation, not only of the district, but of the city.”
Turman acknowledged that there has been a significant increase in incidents this school year, compared to last, in addition to higher suspension rates. In late September, after a fight involving several students, the district announced that it would temporarily increase police presence and safety measures within the high school.
While Turman mentioned the programs that the district already offers, such as counseling and therapy for students and family supports, he focused on new additions and next steps.
Just over a week ago, Wendell Morris began a position as the district’s new director of school police. Morris, a retired state police officer, will work to increase safety measures in the district and partner with local police. However, whether or not the district increases police presence in school longer-term would require further conversations with the community, Turman said.
Additionally, Turman noted that the district recently hired more safety monitors, bringing the total count to 41 across all schools.
Other new safety measures include the installation of $2 million worth of security cameras in the district’s schools and vape and marijuana detectors in bathrooms.
To prevent violent incidents, Turman discussed plans to assist students academically and emotionally, hopefully decreasing negative behavior. He introduced a new mentorship program for students that he hopes to roll out by January and additional career pathways programs to encourage academic growth.
“You can suspend [students], you can do all these things you want, but you’re not going to change that behavior until you get […] that kid to see the light at the end of the tunnel,” Turman said.
Turman also encouraged parents to get involved and not to be afraid to reach out if their child is in need of help.
Lynnette Wade, a parent of a student, attended the forum on Tuesday hoping to hear what the district is doing to address the violence. While she was pleased to hear of the new programs in the district, she was unsure if they would adequately confront the issue.
“It was good information,” she said. “I think the initiatives are good if they’re all put in place. However, I thought they were going to be more focused on the violence that’s happening. It’s a major problem.”
School board director Steven Williams attended the event and saw it as a good starting place to build a “deeper relationship” between the district and community.
“I think it starts to address the community’s concerns, but it has to be an ongoing conversation,” he said.
Turman explained that the district plans to have additional future community forums and smaller-scale meetings with parents.
“We all want a quick fix,” he said. “We want to solve the problem now, but it’s going to take some time.”
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