Brashear HS Principals Say School Is Safe For Students
BEECHVIEW (KDKA) – School officials are taking a greater interest in what students are doing on social media after three students were shot at Brashear High School last week.
District officials want parents to know that they shouldn't be afraid to send their children to school.
Reportedly, photos posted by 16-year-old AJ Willet on social media let to the shooting. Police say after posting the photos of him holding cash, he was robbed. They say he then retaliated back by shooting three students.
"That person never walked the halls of Brashear High School," said Brashear Principal Angel Washington. "You know, that personality didn't show up here."
They say Willet never showed any signs of violence at school.
"So, there was never any evidence of drugs, there was never evidence of weapons or – that showed up here for us to take action on," Washington said.
After the shooting gained national attention, Washington and fellow Brashear Principal Kimberly Safran were saddened by the negative light it shone on the school.
"I was heartbroken, truly heartbroken," Safran said, "because, I mean, everyday there's so many great things. And I don't know if the media catches light of all of the great things that are going on. And this one incident was all over national news."
The principals say there is still work to be done and many kinds of students fill their halls.
"We have white students, we have black students, we have English language learners," said Safran. "And I think that's what the real world is like today. I don't think that it's, like, a homogenous population."
After seeing a huge drop in student citations, the principals say they don't want students to just fall into the system.
"We want to teach students how to behave properly," Washington said, "not just push them into a system."
The principals say they're hoping to get across the message about how destructive social media can be.
They're also changing parking restriction because they say they can't keep a close eye on students in that part of the school.
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