Westinghouse Academy students to return to school in phases after 4 students shot on school grounds

PITTSBURGH — Students at Westinghouse Academy will return to school in phases after four students were shot on school grounds last week.

David Jones, Assistant Director of Public Safety and Community Affairs shared a pretty clear message when it comes to the increased violence during school dismissal time.

“We can’t arrest our way out of the problem, instead it’s going to take more community involvement,” Jones said. “At the end of the day we want to minimize retaliation, we want to build relationships with our students so that they can feel safer.”

Just last week, four students were shot outside Westinghouse Academy marking the second recent incident of after-school violence there.

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Earlier this winter, a 14-year-old girl was shot following a fight after school. Monday, 11 News sat down with Jones to address the citywide uptick in after-school violence following last January’s tragic murder of an Oliver City-Wide Academy student sitting in a school van

PREVIOUS COVERAGE >>> Westinghouse Academy students will learn remotely for remainder of school week

“Our outreach teams are in the high [crime] areas where there are potential problems with violence or disruption,” Jones said.

Jones says about 30 outreach workers monitor Pittsburgh Public Schools’ dismissal including Brashear, Allderdice, Westinghouse, Carrick, and Pittsburgh Milliones.

And yet violence has continued to spike as schools across the city let out.

“I’ve seen things disintegrate pretty rapidly. I was here the day in September when we had the entire street closed,” said Alyssa Fine, owner of Squirrel Hill Market & Pittsburgh Honey.

Last fall as students were dismissed from Taylor Allderdice High School, students poured into the streets fighting one another. But Fine said it’s not just about the fights it’s also the daily weed smoking and loitering and she worries that the fights could escalate.

“I’m concerned that maybe it doesn’t end with marijuana smoking and that there is something more serious going on, so yes I do worry,” Fine said.

We asked Fine what she would like to see changed to make dismissal feel safer for her and the students.

“Allow them to leave the school grounds at the school property [because] the longer it takes for them to get home the more trouble they are going to get into they are kids,” said Fine.

When students get to Westinghouse on Tuesday, they’ll see more officers, a trauma response team, and the reach-out community workers all at the school. In addition, several community organizations will meet outside the school at 2 p.m. for a Stop the Violence Peace Rally.

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