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Students complain district needs to correct violence problem at Gwinnett schools

By Brittany Edney
Published  December 6, 2022 11:58pm EST
Gwinnett County
FOX 5 Atlanta

Gwinnett County students reveal they worry about violence at school

After Gwinnett County Public School teachers received criticism from parents for holding a private meeting to discuss violence in their schools, students told FOX 5 they also worry about the amount of violence they have seen.

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. - A day after Gwinnett County Public School educators held a secret meeting to discuss on campus violence, some students are speaking out about the problems.

Sophomore Tyler Lee of Peachtree Ridge High School says the district needs to address the problem and find real solutions.

"A lot of students engaging in a lot of physical altercations, verbal altercations with other students and staff and administrators, even," said Lee.  

The district reports a nearly 35% increase in violence from 2021 to 2022 but tribunals, where the most serious violations are dealt with, are down nearly 88%. Suspensions are also down.

Statistics some students say impact their decisions at school. "Sometimes I won’t use specific restrooms in school because it’s known for sponsoring illicit activities like drug use or fights, but I would argue, this has been a high school thing for a while," said Lee.

In November, Peachtree Ridge High School sent students a school notification about a student who was arrested after an unloaded gun was found in the trunk of their vehicle, along with bullets stored in the center console.

"That was completely disturbing to me," added Lee.  Lee says more mental health resources are needed within schools and stricter gun policies in the state of Georgia to help address teen gun violence.

FOX 5 reached out to all Gwinnett County School Board of Education members and superintendent Calvin Watts and requested to speak with them about the issue. No one has agreed to talk to us, yet. One board member referred us to the district's communication department. We have yet to hear back from that department with an official statement.