Safety still a concern for Ingraham High School students, parents
Apr 25, 2023, 6:41 AM
(Photo from KIRO 7)
(Photo from KIRO 7)
Some parents and students at Ingraham High School say Seattle Public Schools isn’t doing enough to keep kids safe. This comes some five months after an Ingraham student was shot and killed on school grounds.
Students and parents say the effects of that November shooting are still being felt at Ingraham. Families say they worry that not enough is being done to prevent another shooting.
Just last week, a student from another school was caught holding a gun in the parking lot there.
And that is what has so many parents and some students worried — and some say they simply don’t feel very safe here anymore.
By all appearances, Ingraham High School looks like it always has, a safe place for kids to learn. But scratch beneath the surface and it is apparent the shooting here last November is still weighing on some students’ minds.
“Yes, I was here that day and it was rough,” said Ingraham senior Hector Gerontakos. “And it was very scary for all of us.”
Gerontakos says some of those concerns remain.
“I thought they were going to do more, like, maybe metal detectors or put in more security,” he said, “which they did have way more security for months. Like, they were armed for a while. But they just kind of left like last month.”
The shooting at Ingraham five months ago claimed the life of a 17-year-old student. Then last week, a Nathan Hale High student was caught holding a gun in the parking lot here after video was posted on social media.
For some parents, it renewed the fears and memories of that November day.
“It was very scary to hear that,” said Make Gallitelli, an Ingraham parent, remembering the shooting.
Soon after the shooting, Gallitelli formed a parents group focusing on safety issues at Ingraham. They sent a letter last February, asking the principal for the school’s safety plan and for better communication.
And she understands the lingering concerns about safety.
“I have that same feeling because until I hear from the district,” Gallitelli said. “Like I feel right now, as I speak, as of today, I feel we have been heard at least a little bit.”
She says that’s because of the quick response from the district last week when that student was caught with a gun.
But she says the issue is bigger than this one school.
And they plan to take their concerns directly to the Seattle School Board. They plan to be at district headquarters for the board’s meeting Wednesday at 4:15 p.m.
KIRO 7 hopes to be be there, too.
