Uvalde Foundation for Kids Opens Investigation Into East Lansing Schools; High School Shifting Approaches

[Update, Jan. 30, 3:20 a.m.: ELi is looking into The Uvalde Foundation for Kids and encourages people reaching out to them to proceed with caution. We have not been able to verify certain aspects of the organization and have concerns about that. We continue to investigate.

Update, Feb. 3, 4 p.m.: Please see our report on what we found out about the Uvalde Foundation for Kids by clicking here.]

The Uvalde Foundation for Kids announced today it is “opening its own independent investigations into growing student safety concerns” at East Lansing High School. 

The news comes as the high school’s administration is shifting approaches to discipline and the school board is set to hold a special meeting on Monday night.

ELi spoke with the founder and national director of the foundation interested in helping East Lansing.

Located in Dallas and dedicated to ending school violence, the Uvalde Foundation for Kids is planning to hold “extensive meetings with parents, students and staff” and ultimately present to the East Lansing School Board “an official report and suggestions.”

ELi has verified that the organization is a registered charity with the Internal Revenue Service with an IRS approval date of Aug. 18, 2022. Additional information about the group was not immediately available beyond its website. [Update, Feb. 3, 4 p.m.: Please see our report on what we found out about the Uvalde Foundation for Kids by clicking here.]

In a phone interview this afternoon, Daniel Chapin, the founder and national director of the foundation, told ELi his organization has been getting hit with many requests for help from ELHS students and parents since last Monday’s school board meeting.

He said he had to “read several times” the report about Monday’s meeting to absorb what he called the “lack of empathy” on the part of School Board President Kath Edsall. 

“[Students’] fears of going back to school are being shrugged off,” he said. “These kids have valid concerns to be afraid. Those cannot be shrugged off.”

“Children are risking their lives,” he continued. “Parents and teachers are afraid. I have parents [in East Lansing] calling saying they’re not sending their kids back to school.”

Chapin said that, in searching the archives at ELi, he had found that concerns about violence go back years in East Lansing and involve the middle school, too. 

Parents named violence as a core concern when surveyed by ELi last fall about what questions they wanted school board candidates to answer. Parents, Chapin said, need to be heard and told what is going on.

He also said he sees clear evidence that, at ELHS, “These students are active, so we want to empower these students.” He noted that in December 2021, ELHS students staged a walk-out on gun violence following the murders at Oxford High School.

“These parents and students have their pulse on what is happening and what can potentially change,” he said. “That needs to be addressed and they need to be listened to, and we feel like that hasn’t happened here.”

Chapin said there is not a specific deadline for this investigation. “We’re interested in helping to fix the problem,” he said. “We don’t want to put a timeline on this.”

The plan is to look holistically at the situation – at disciplinary measures, safety systems, communications and mental health support – and to make recommendations as well as provide information about resources to improve the situation. The foundation’s goal with their East Lansing study is “to change this culture of violence that has really been increasing in the [high] school.”

Chapin said he came to this work because he was a first-responder at the mass murder at Columbine High School in 1999 and that he’s been working on the issue of school violence since then, partnering with other like-minded people to start The Uvalde Foundation for Kids after the murders at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.

In today’s interview, Chapin said he was stunned to read the report of a high school secretary who says she and her colleagues have not had active-shooter training.

“Every school should have active-shooter training,” he said. “They’ve set up their school for a future catastrophe. That sounds dramatic, but we have seen time and time again when schools fail….And it doesn’t mean an outside shooter coming in. We know protocols and plans can prevent internal violence, prevent students lashing out.”

In the interview, Chapin took issue with the school board’s decision in 2020 to remove security guards and the school resource (police) officer. 

He said that only 10% of the work by these individuals is “security work,” and 90% of their work is dedicated to “directing communications and [creating] positive interactions. You change the projectile of the morale in the school by having a powerful safety resource team.”

The School Board will meet Monday and families are being told things are going to change immediately at the high school. 

The East Lansing Public Schools Board of Education is set to hold a special meeting tomorrow night (Monday, Jan. 30) at 7 p.m. in the high school’s auditorium. The stated purpose of the meeting is “School Safety Plan.” The plan is to livestream the meeting at this page. 

The district’s administration notified families today, “While the Safety Enhancement Plan presented tomorrow is specific to the high school, we will be evaluating safety procedures and infrastructure at the middle school and our elementary schools next and will develop and share similar plans in the near future.”

The notification also said a detailed plan would be distributed to high school staff, students and families on Tuesday morning, and that the district is looking for feedback. Superintendent Dori Leyko is asking that people not email her but use “the forthcoming feedback tool to share your input.”

With Principal Shannon Mayfield reported to be “out of the building due to a non-covid-related health issue,” ELHS families were also notified by email today by Associate Principal Ashley Schwarzbek the administration continues to work on addressing concerns.

“We know that the events of the last two weeks have caused disruptions to learning and significant emotional stress to many of you and your students,” she wrote. “Please know that the administrative team and all of our ELHS teachers and staff are committed to making this a great place to learn and grow moving forward.

Schwarzbek’s message came with a list of regulations and expectations meant to take effect immediately.

Those new regulations include a response to concerns – some expressed at Friday’s special “listening session” – that there are too many points of entry to the high school and a lack of security around those points of entrance. Tuesday’s shelter-in-place order was set off in part by the finding of a propped-open door. Thursday’s shelter-in-place order was said to have been set off in part because of a student who was not supposed to be on campus entering the building. 

The high school will now restrict entry and is adding alarms and monitors to prevent unauthorized entries. Going forward, according to the notice sent today, “Any student who is found opening a door to anyone will face serious disciplinary consequences.”

The bathrooms – a source of much concern at last Monday’s board meeting and Friday’s listening session – will now be regulated and monitored more closely.

“Any misconduct in bathrooms including vaping and skipping class will result in disciplinary consequences,” the announcement said. “While we assess the ability to hire additional staff, the 700 wing and fine arts wing bathrooms will be locked so support staff can better monitor the remaining bathrooms. All other bathrooms will remain open.” 

The school is also planning to implement “an in-school suspension process and room in our school which will be used to address a variety of behaviors and to administer interventions and supports according to specified student needs.”

Hall pass use is being limited and anyone in the halls at the wrong time is “subject to disciplinary action.” Excel passes are also being limited to “improve student movement.”

Students are being asked to “be reflective of your own behavior and be a part of positive change.” They are also asked to report safety concerns immediately to the main office “and not to social media or friends” to avoid misinformation taking off. Reminders have gone out about the OK2Say reporting system.

“Some students in our school community may no longer be with us due to repeated and/or serious disciplinary infractions,” today’s message to families said. “Any student that initiates or continues to engage in violent or threatening incidents will face serious disciplinary consequences.”