MILWAUKEE — After school resource officers returned to Milwaukee Public Schools earlier this month, the Milwaukee Board of School Directors invited the community to a discussion about advancing school safety even further.
Those who participated formed small groups Wednesday night to talk about what safer schools would look like, how that would be measured and how to get there.
Julianna Cronce, a senior at Riverside University High School, said she saw this discussion as a way to be involved in improving conditions not only on her campus but across the school district.
“Schools are supposed to be safe places, like, we are supposed to be able to get away from all of the things from the outside world to be able to create a learning environment and a safe environment for everyone involved,” said Cronce.
Others also shared their perspective on how to reduce violence at schools and create more welcoming spaces for students.
Mario Sotomayor is a student organizer for MPS. He said bringing back student resources officers has made some students more tense.
Sotomayor said more needs to be done to foster a safe learning environment.
“I think it starts with implementing more social services, implementing more programs so these students can enrich themselves and just develop skills for future life, like, after high school for example,” said Sotomayor.
School board member Henry Leonard organized Wednesday’s community meeting. He said it’s been valuable to hear people from different backgrounds discuss how to create safer schools.
“If the adults and the people in the community want, then that’s something that our district needs to look at very carefully and say, ‘Hey, we gotta come up with some intervention strategies that are much more effective for students,’” said Leonard.
Cronce left the meeting filled with hope.
“I feel confident with all of the different perspectives that we saw today, especially a lot of those being from the school board and will continue on the legacy from those on the school board,” said Cronce. “I think I have a high confidence for what will become of MPS schools because of meetings like this.”
For her, it meant the community at large was invested in the success of MPS. She said a night like this may get the ball rolling on changes they’d like to see.
