What does high school stabbing mean to our kids?
Published in The Islander News September 25, 2009
By:KELLY JOSEPHSEN. kjosephsen@islandernews.com
Shock reverberated in communities throughout South Florida last week after a deadly stabbing at Coral Gables High, and Key Biscayne, for which the Bird Road school is the feeder pattern public school for teens, was no different.
Juan Carlos Rivera, 17, died Tuesday, September 15, after a fight in which classmate Andy Jesus Rodriguez, also 17, stabbed him three times in the school's courtyard. Rodriguez was charged with second-degree murder, and first-degree murder charges are possible.
Voices from across the island bemoaned the incident as a senseless, tragic act of violence.
Mayor Robert Vernon said he was shocked and saddened when he heard about the stabbing. The Mayor said the incident is proof bad things can strike anywhere, and should not be used to make a point about the recent discussions regarding a municipal charter high school in Key Biscayne.
However, parents who formed a grassroots coalition to push for the local municipal charter high school said the incident indicates community schools are safer than larger, less personal ones.
In an email to group members, local resident Angel Martin said Coral Gables High has changed.
"This terrible event is a painful confirmation that the school serving Key Biscayne children has changed dramatically over the years and is no longer the good school it once was," he wrote. "It also highlights the urgent need for Key Biscayne residents to exercise their right for their children to have the choice of attending a safe public high school in their own community."
Vernon, speaking both as Key Biscayne's top elected official and a Coral Gables High School graduate, called the incident a senseless tragedy, but one that says more about societal problems in general than about Key Biscayne's lack of a high school.
"You can't explain it. It's a senseless act, and it's a tragic act. A young man lost his life, as did a young woman at Yale University several days before," the Mayor said, referring to the murder of a graduate student at the Ivy League college.
"Whenever anything like that happens, whether it's at Coral Gables High School or Yale, it's tragic. But to imply that this is the reason Key Biscayne needs a high school is absolutely missing the point. I think it's more of a sign of what's going on in our society as a whole today."
Vernon said school violence can occur anywhere, and the incident highlights just how difficult it is to stop a student who is bent on doing harm to another. He noted Coral Gables High has strong security measures in place, yet, "This kid somehow got a knife on campus. I don't know how schools can stop this stuff. They have all the resources, but it happened, and it's terrible."
For his part, Vernon has nothing but happy memories of his days at Coral Gables High, calling them "some of the greatest times of my life."
However, he noted, "It has changed. I'll be the first to admit it," the Mayor said. "Nothing like that happened when I was there."
While Vernon did cite a larger student body as one of the main changes, he said the biggest problem is one that is seen all over the country — it seems to be that teens everywhere are using weapons more and more when they fight, which of course leads to more dire consequences.
In Martin's opinion, however, the size of Coral Gables High is a main source of the problem, and a reason Key Biscayne needs its own school.
While Martin agreed violence can happen anywhere, but said the stabbing does make the case for small community schools.
"It was a tragic incident for everyone in the school, particularly for the two kids involved and for their families. Two lives have been lost, and that is a tragedy for all," he said. "We should not use this unfortunate, tragic event to promote an agenda, but at the same time, it comes as a wakeup call that this is happening. We have to remember that although the name is Coral Gables High School, this is Key Biscayne's high school."
Fellow school advocate Carlos Coto agrees: "How sad that a death by stabbing had to happen at CGHS our feeder school — for people to zero in on a problem that has been troubling our schools for many years," he noted. "This incident proves we have to take action very quickly."
Coto, a former high school teacher and guidance counselor, said he knows firsthand that violence in schools is often even worse than what the public hears about. Back when he was sending his kids to high school, he said, he wished for a public school on the island.
Now, Coto noted, "In light of what transpired at CGHS recently, I believe that we must speed up our efforts to get a high school on the island."
Martin said in this case, the biggest problem isn't with the fact that the school sits outside of the Key — he noted violence can happen anywhere, even in the low-crime Village itself. Instead, his main concern is the size of Coral Gables High, which has over 3,300 students "from different communities and all walks of life." Martin said research indicates violence is more prevalent at big schools because adult supervision is limited, kids are packed in too close and it is harder for students and administrators to get acquainted on a personal level.
"It's common knowledge that outbursts of violence tend to happen in large schools, not small schools, because the teachers and students don't get to know each other," Martin explained. "It's an environment of anonymity. It fosters the typical fistfights and bullying."
He added if teachers know their students, they can help when a young person is having problems.
Martin cited published reports that say police had been called to Rodriguez's home some nine times since February, in some cases for violent altercations involving knives. In fact, police were at the home just the weekend before the Coral Gables High stabbing, he added. "This guy fell through the cracks," he said. "How can a school not have the awareness of the fact that this child is having difficulties and may need help?"
Martin added it is unfortunate school systems are not changing to embrace smaller facilities, and said he hopes the Village doesn't miss out on its chance to do so.
"It is disheartening to see Miami-Dade County continue to promote large, overcrowded schools. Understanding that this is not just pointing at Coral Gables — this act of violence could have happened anywhere — I think we have a right we should exercise, and that is the establishment of a municipal charter high school. It is a shame that we are passing on this opportunity."
Educators' response
Meanwhile, the Key Biscayne High School issue aside, educators at Key Biscayne's only public school, the Key Biscayne K-8 Center, were simply trying to help students cope with the news. K-8 Center Principal Silvia Tarafa said school officials were ready to answer students' questions about the stabbing, but did not initiate a formal conversation.
"We did not discuss it with students in an open forum or in classes, however, counselors were available if anyone needed to speak to them," she said.
Tarafa, who called the situation "truly a tragic incident," said teachers and parents can refer any students who have questions or concerns to the administration and counselors. The questions would then be handled on an individual basis.
Public school officials are also helping raise money to help pay for Rivera's funeral expenses, and Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, who represents Key Biscayne, was helping secure a humanitarian visa for Rivera's mother, who lives in Cuba, to attend her son's funeral.
According to the Miami-Dade County Public School District, anyone who would like to donate can send a check, payable to "The Foundation for New Education Initiatives, Inc.," to Miami-Dade County Public Schools, 1450 NE Second Avenue, Suite 931, Miami, FL 33132. Donations can also be made online at www.giveourstudentstheworld.org. In either case, donors should specific their contributions as "for funeral arrangements and family needs." More information is available by calling 305-995-1497.
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