After the shooting death of a 15-year-old Lithonia High student about a week ago, DeKalb Superintendent Devon Horton wrote in a newsletter that the county is in “a state of emergency that demands our immediate attention and action.”
Two days later, another DeKalb student — 16-year-old Jaylan Rodgers from Martin Luther King Jr. High School — was shot and killed in Stonecrest.
For Horton, two tragedies within days of each other has crystallized the need for more mentors in schools and more community involvement. He announced plans over the summer to hire dozens of “face advocates” who will act as mentors at the district’s highest-need schools.
“This is just evidence of how critical those positions are going to be, to build relationships and connect with those students who have consistently been dysregulated,” Horton told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Friday. He also wants to get local governments, churches, businesses and parents involved in the effort. “We can get out, put our feet in the street and go talk to these young men and young women who oftentimes don’t have a lot of choices.”
The district is investing more than $1 million to hire 45 face advocates. Each one will work with 10-12 students, and will teach conflict resolution and social and emotional skills. The idea is to have a person in the building whom students can turn to — particularly students who don’t already have a trusted adult in their life.
“Sometimes it’s out of our hands,” said Kishia Towns, DeKalb’s deputy superintendent of student support and intervention, at a recent town hall. “But we do want to make sure that we give (students) the necessary information so if they’re not in school, they can also carry those strategies outside of school to help them.”
District officials plan to begin interviewing candidates for the face advocate positions before the end of the month.
Mentoring programs, partnerships with community organizations, training for staff and regular check-ins on students’ emotional well-being are staples of life in metro Atlanta schools. But Horton is calling on the community to be partners in the effort, and to look beyond the “culture of indifference” that perpetuates continued violence.
“Our collective responsibility is to create a safe environment for our children, starting with each of us,” he wrote in the newsletter. “Only through our shared efforts can we end this cycle of violence. Our children deserve better; we owe it to them to create a brighter and safer future.”
More than 100 children and teenagers throughout Georgia have been killed by gun violence this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive that tracks incidents. The majority of those have been in metro Atlanta.
Another ‘act of senseless gun violence’ in DeKalb
Jaylan Rodgers, a 16-year-old student at Martin Luther King Jr. High School in Lithonia, died Wednesday after succumbing to a gunshot wound, DeKalb County School District officials said.
Several juveniles were reported to be involved in a verbal dispute leading up to the shooting in Stonecrest, according to DeKalb County police. Detectives arrested an unidentified 14-year-old suspect who is being charged with murder.
The next day, Principal Michael Alexander wrote to families that his death was “due to an act of senseless gun violence.”
“Jaylan was not just a student but a part of our MLK Family, and his passing leaves a void that is difficult to comprehend,” wrote Alexander. “Through discussions, journaling, letters, cards, and pictures, we discovered that Jaylan touched the lives and hearts of many of our students and staff.”
Alexander asked parents to speak to their children about what they’re feeling and contact the school if their student is struggling emotionally. Grief counseling teams, including social workers, counselors, psychologists and administrators, were available at the school following the death.
Credit: Steve Schaefer
About the Author
