KC Schools Seek Answers To Recent Violence
P.O.S.S.E. Offers Help To Metro Students
POSTED: 4:51 pm CST November 10,
2009
UPDATED: 5:46 pm CST November 10,
2009
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- There were no reports of any trouble at Central High School on Tuesday, just a day after the violence spilled out of the hallways and onto the streets.Extra security was on hand on Tuesday as students returned to class. On Monday, chaos erupted inside the school as several fights broke out and hours later four people were shot at 45th Street and Prospect Avenue. Police said the shootings and the scuffle were connected.Okara Heron's four children go to a different Kansas City School -- Ace Academy on 63rd Street. She credits a group known as P.O.S.S.E. (Peers Organized to Support Student Excellence) for her school's success at quelling violence."They need more groups like P.O.S.S.E. to go into the schools to talk to these young men," she said. "A lot of parents don't know how to be parents. You need some other mediation to come in and help.""A lot of our young people go home alone," said program director Ossco Bolten. "They don't have the support they need. A lot of young people don't think they'll live to be 21."Bolton leads a program that works in all of Kansas City's high schools except for Central. He said they act as a resource for students to deal with conflict resolution.P.O.S.S.E. said the goal for now is to make sure all parents go to Thursday's parent-teacher conferences to voice their opinions. The district said one outbreak of violence is too many and officials are looking for ways to get everyone involved to address the recent violence.
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