'It's A Prison': Former Principals Call For Mpls. School's Closure
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Members of the Minneapolis School Board appear to be at odds over the future of a school that serves teenagers with emotional and behavioral disorders.
A student assaulted and critically injured a teaching assistant two weeks ago at Harrison Education Center. This week, WCCO spoke with current and former school leaders.
Two previous principals of Harrison Education Center say school should be closed. They say the environment is dangerous, and there is no focus on academics. The current principal paints a much different picture, citing changes made in the last two years. But what may matter the most is what school board members think. Kim Ellison has served on the Minneapolis School Board for about seven years.
"Some are discussing it, are saying we need to do something different. Some are saying we need to close Harrison," Ellison said.
She says it is time for change.
"Maybe we need to do it in a different way. Maybe not all of the students, all the level-4 students in one location at the same time," Ellison said. "I am open to the idea of closing Harrison."
Some of the students have a history of violent behavior. Harrison has ramped-up security measures and mental health support staff. Carol Markham-Cousins served as the interim principal in the spring of 2016.
"I didn't see a lot of learning going on," Markham-Cousins said. "I saw a lot of disengagement from the students. I saw staff that were fearful and not knowing what to do."
Markham-Cousins says she was concerned about student and staff safety when she was there.
"Because it's dangerous. You know, kids walking, ready to fight. Staff walking, ready for that to happen," she said. "We should close Harrison."
Markham-Cousins was brought in to oversee the school while principal Monica Fabre was recovering from an assault. A student attacked her in 2015, giving her a concussion. She is now a middle school principal in Louisiana.
"The building was just a breeding ground for violence and no services. You cannot continue to patch what's broken. You cannot Band-Aid-fix Harrison. It has to be dismantled," Fabre said. "It's a prison, and we are paying for it, so shut it down."
A prison-like school, Fabre says, equipped with locked doors to pen students. Current principal Nathan Hampton disagrees with that comparison.
"I don't know what they believe, but I can tell you what we believe. We're not a jail, we don't have locked doors. We have doors just like any other school," Hampton said.
He says students pass through a metal detector and surrender their cellphones when entering the building, and they can walk out of classrooms freely. Hampton agrees with the security, but not recent scrutiny.
"I believe Harrison is an excellent community for kids who need some services that they wouldn't typically get in a regular high school," he said. "I think our staff do a great job of serving kids and working with all kids."
WCCO spoke with two more school board members. One said the school should remain open, but the district needs to operate it differently to better meet the needs of its students. Another is pleased with the changes that were made two years ago.
Between 35 and 50 students are enrolled at Harrison across the school year. Ninety percent of the students are homeless, and that means the school is their primary support system.
