St. Paul's Como Park High School found itself the recipient of unwelcome scrutiny Thursday, a day after one teacher was placed on leave after posting controversial Facebook comments about student misbehavior and another was involved in a scuffle with two students.
On a crisp, sunny morning, students arrived for classes, then boarded the buses at the end of the day, all as usual. Early in the evening, some students and parents returned for conferences, many smiling and chatting. Nothing appeared amiss.
Parents "shouldn't be afraid to send their kids to school," said Jon Schumacher, chairman of the St. Paul school board. "These are the kind of isolated, high-profile incidents that are going to happen across society."
But one longtime teacher expressed strong criticism of the school's handling of the situation. And an honors student stayed home out of concern citing what she called a potentially combustible environment created in large part by angry, often speculative online comments.
Black Lives Matter leader Rashad Turner, who had pushed Como Park to put teacher Theo Olson on leave because of his Facebook comments, said of Wednesday's fisticuffs, "We don't condone putting hands on another human being. Not from teachers, not from students." He added that he believes Como Park needs an overhaul because the "racial climate … is harming everyone in that building."
In Wednesday's incident, teacher Mark Rawlings was assaulted by two 16-year-old male students who entered and tried to disrupt his classroom, according to St. Paul police. The dispute became physical when the students refused to leave and punched the teacher in the chin and eye.
Eventually all three ended up on the floor in the hallway, according to police and a cellphone video taken by another student. Rawlings struck his head on the floor and was at home Thursday on paid leave. He declined a request to comment.
St. Paul police spokesman Steve Linders said Thursday that the students "likely" will be charged.
Como Park senior Gabrielle Huepenbecker, who takes many advanced-placement classes, plays varsity softball and will study architecture in college, showed up for her first-period test, then went home.
In an interview when she returned later with her mother, Jen Guertin, for a parent-teacher conference, she cited an accumulation of concerns, from a threatened protest by Black Lives Matter to unrelated eruptions at Como Park and Central High School as well as fiery online comments. "This is a safety concern, it's not about race," she said.
Huepenbecker and her mother said they planned to talk to the teachers about safety concerns.
An intense debate online
All week, parents, educators and students have weighed in on social media on the events at Como, including Olson's suspension and the assault on Rawlings.
On Facebook pages, from Turner's profile page to a page called Supporting St. Paul Students & Teachers, the discussions displayed deep tensions between those who think teachers do not have enough support to deal with student behavior and those who believe teachers make negative assumptions about students based on race.
"There you go … trying to turn everything into a racist statement. Your kid raises a hand against a teacher, I hope that teacher puts your kid in his place," one person wrote on Turner's page.
"Research the school-to-prison pipeline," wrote another. "You will see how race plays a role here."
Social studies teacher Roy Magnuson, who has been at the school and lived in the neighborhood for more than two decades, said in an interview that he blames administrators for failing to discipline minority students because of concerns about racial inequalities. Students then get a sense they're untouchable and act out in increasingly dangerous ways, he said.
"They get a sense that after four years, they don't have to do anything they don't want to," he said.
Principal Theresa Neal disagreed, saying the school doesn't "turn a blind eye" to bad behavior. Rather, she said, it adheres to district policies.
The recent incident involved two students out of 1,365 who attend Como Park, she emphasized.
"We are like a small city; we are a microcosm of society," she said, adding that Como Park "continues to be a safe and nurturing environment."
For many, school as usual
Waiting on a sidewalk bench for a public bus ride home Thursday, senior Lina Abajebel agreed with Neal, saying her course load involves mostly advanced-placement classes where students behave and are supportive. "If the students are willing to learn, there are very many great teachers here to help," she said. "I have never, ever questioned my safety."
Munching on Cheetos as he walked, freshman Lwe See shrugged it all off. "I know that it happened, but I didn't care," he said. "I'm just doing my stuff."
Sophomore Mariona Williams said she's focused on her own studies. "These kids got other stuff going on in their lives, and they bring it in the building," she said.
Schumacher and Neal both emphasized that they're working hard to keep the conversation on students' well-being, while not avoiding the hard conversations about issues like socioeconomic class, gender and race.
"We can do better for all our kids," Schumacher said. "We've not had an honest conversation about race in our country, and I think that's happening now."
Staff writers Alejandra Matos and Chao Xiong contributed to this report.
Rochelle Olson • 612-673-1747 Twitter: @rochelleolson
