Amanda Elzy High School, wracked by a series of student fights last week, is a powder keg waiting to explode, parents said at a special meeting Saturday.
Jean Hall, superintendent of the Leflore County School District, said 10 or more students were involved in a major fight Tuesday, and there was at least one other fight involving two students.
Hall, herself an Elzy graduate, told a group of about 50 people at the Leflore County Educational Services Building that she is looking for ways to prevent future fisticuffs.
She reminded those attending the meeting of the district’s existing disciplinary policies and also said the “primary responsibility for a student’s conduct and personal appearance rests with the parents.”
The school is already changing one policy as a result of the fights. Effective Jan. 19, it will no longer permit in-school suspensions.
Instead, students who are found to be disruptive or who engage in fighting will serve after-school and Saturday detention.
If that doesn’t correct the problem, Hall said, other disciplinary action will be taken against the students.
She said since Tuesday, parents of students involved in the fights have called and “cussed out” the district’s administrative offices.
Parents offered their suggestions Saturday for stopping the violence.
Some recommended male school resource officers, while others said beautifying the campus would improve the atmosphere at the school.
Robert Collins, a Leflore County supervisor and a parent of a child at Amanda Elzy, was supportive of the crackdown and said it should be districtwide.
“It should be put out to the whole district. A kid cannot learn when they are disruptive,” he said.
Russell Baxter, an administrative assistant at the high school, said he personally got in-between fighting students on Tuesday.
He said the attitude of some of the 658 kids at the school has become more destructive over the years.
