ROANOKE, Va. – The Roanoke City Public Schools community is still shaken after police say a gun was fired inside of a bathroom at Lucy Addison Middle School last week.
And the week prior, police say an activity bus was hit by a stray bullet while taking students home.
During Tuesday’s school board meeting, school leaders addressed the fact that gun violence from the city has found its way into their schools.
“It takes all of us to keep our students safe,” said Superintendent Verletta White.
School leaders announced plans for a virtual school safety summit to be livestreamed on the school’s YouTube channel.
“We know that we are doing everything that we can to ensure the safety of our students on a daily basis. It is time for us to collectively pause and have a conversation about what else we can do and how we can work together collaboratively to make sure every single child and staff member stays safe,” said White.
School leaders say they want to look at all safety options before making changes.
“We hear that people, our parents, our community want our action now, and we are not kicking the can. We want to take thoughtful action. We could act now and it might not be the right decision. So we want to ensure we make the right decision for the safety of our students and staff for the long haul,” said Roanoke City School Board Chairperson, Lutheria Smith.
Before the virtual summit, officials want to hear from students and parents on what they want to see done differently.
“Because we are going to use your input to shape the discussions of the summit. As parents you know your children best, and as teachers and administrators we are with our students every single day so we want you to add the input so we can shape this important discussion,” said White.
The virtual summit will take place Wednesday, April 20 at 6:30 p.m. on the school’s YouTube channel.
More details will be released soon on how to submit input ahead of the summit.