KPD, KCS announce plans when Austin-East reopens Monday
The high school spent several days in virtual instruction this week to allow students time to grieve several recent killings. Author: WBIR Staff Updated: 7:25 PM EST February 19, 2021
KNOXVILLE, Tenn Austin-East High School and Vine Middle Middle School students can expect to be welcomed back Monday with open arms, warm smiles and an increased presence of adults looking out for their safety, government and school officials said in a briefing Friday. Monday s going to be a great day! Knox County Schools Superintendent Bob Thomas said.
Project GRAD is encouraging and seeking Black men in the community to gather outside Austin-East High School first thing Monday morning to escort students into the school, which operated virtually most of this week after a 15-year-old girl was shot and killed Tuesday in a neighborhood near Cherry Street.
Austin-East Magnet High School students and families can expect an additional three patrol officers in the neighborhood around the school at dismissal Monday, but these officers will not be school resource officers as originally planned.
Knoxville Police Chief Eve Thomas said Friday that means no school resource officer will be pulled from another school. It also doesn t require school resource officers, who are trained to be on campus, to patrol off campus. I want to reiterate that this will provide the same level of security that we promised for the Austin-East community, Thomas said. However, after further consideration, this is a more effective deployment of our officers.
As Knoxville mourns the deaths of three teenagers, the Austin-East community has a clear message to share: the performing arts magnet high school is a safe space.
Austin-East students, faculty and supporters are frustrated the school community is being linked to the shooting deaths of three students in the past three weeks. The school itself, they say, is not the problem, it s the violence running unchecked near the building located in the 2800 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. I know that school is a safe place, said Knoxville Mayor Indya Kincannon at a press conference on Wednesday afternoon. Kincannon is a former Knox County Schools board president.
Guy said Stanley was not only a player on his team, but he was also a young man he considered one of his own.
“He was a big part of so many lives. He was not only a player of mine but a son to me and my wife, Guy said. We loved him like he was our son.
The family held a memorial for Stanley on Sunday, February 14. His grandmother said he was a special young man.
Credit: GoFundMe
“My grandson was very special intelligent, well going, respectful to everyone, an outstanding basketball player and also he was a hardworking young man,” said Darlene Ngom.
In response the shootings, the Knoxville Police Department will be greatly increasing its presence in the community surrounding Austin-East High School.