The concern was raised after the deaths of two APS students last month.
On Thursday, the Student Advisory Council of Atlanta Public Schools (APS) and the Atlanta Board of Education held a rally to make a public stance against gun violence and call city leaders and the Atlanta community to action.
Chanting “stop the violence; protect the kids,” students marched to the steps of Atlanta City Hall on the eve of the last day of school before the holiday break to make a special plea to their classmates to remain safe and make wise choices while school is out of session.
“We want to acknowledge that as leaders of this district to find a way to address and create recommendations that we feel are achievable and can help with this issue,” said Ayden Leiber, a senior at Maynor Jackson High School and a member of the council.
Consisting of 25 9th- to 12th-grade student delegates from 14 high schools, the Student Advisory Council has been involved in a multitude of discussions with the district including their student calendar and disciplinary measures and spoke to representatives at the State Capital on behalf of the 52,000 students who attend APS schools.
“We are the student governing body that lobbies and advocates on behalf of APS students giving impactful feedback to the district leaders as they make decisions,” said Eleanor Jones, a senior at Charles Drew Charter School and the chairwoman for the council.
Jones said that the council felt a breaking point after a shooting that killed two teens on the 17th Street Bridge near Atlantic Station last month.
Five were charged in the shooting and gang activity.
“[Those students] will never be able to hug their mothers again. They will never be able to graduate from high school,” Jones said. [Those] arrested as a result of the shooting now have a permanent criminal record that can never be reversed. How many more people have to be lost to gun violence before we say enough is enough?”
School leaders also agree with Jones and the council that something needs to be done.
“The leadership of our students letting the world and the city know that they too are not only impacted but they want to be change agents in this space that we’re all impacted,” said Dr. Lisa Herring, Superintendent of APS.
During the rally, the council introduced a ten-point list of recommendations that they want from the city and the school district including active shooter training for students and teachers, photo IDs for enrolled students, more enrichment opportunities after school and at least 150 opportunities for internships during the city’s “Year of the Youth” plans next year.
“The recommendations we’re curating target nonprofits, they target the private sector, they target the city of Atlanta and they target our school district,” Leibert said. “They’re not unique to Atlanta, we’re seeing this everywhere but we have an opportunity with our strong city leadership and state government to create a beneficial future for all students for a better tomorrow.”
The rally served as a public platform to raise a call to action to the residents and city and community leaders of Atlanta to join them in preventing more students from dying from gun violence.
“The action is grounded in conversation; it’s grounded in thoughtfulness around what we permit as it relates to student presence, student community engagement and students who may need counseling or conflict resolution in making decisions,” Herring said. “Anyone can take that lead and the fact that our students are asking for that type of involvement is what we believe will help make the change we need to see.”
The council hopes that the rally made their voices heard loud and clear.
“I am tired of reading headlines, seeing the news stories of a bullet taking our young men. Enough is enough and now it is time to stand up against gun violence,” Jones said.
