Warren school district regroups after Fitzgerald incidents

WARREN, Mich. (FOX 2) - Fitzgerald High School has made headlines this last semester for the wrong reasons. 

Last September there was a murder in a classroom, and a large after-school brawl. The superintendent there says they don't want to be defined by those incidents but want, instead, to be recognized for how they're responding.

"That wasn't Fitzgerald when that happened," said grandparent Marlene Dubiel. "And it just upsets me, I'm sorry." 

A proud community gathered Wednesday at Fitzgerald High School. School leaders and Warren safety officials held a meeting that night to reassure parents their kids are safe.

"One of the things I'm very proud of with the school district is being very transparent," said Principal Amanda Clor.

In September, 16-year-old Danyna Gibson was stabbed to death in front of her classmates in a disagreement over a boy. A 17-year-old girl was arrested. 

"It was a very tragic and devastating situation," said Tresa Calhoun, a parent.

Calhoun came to listen at the town hall Wednesday, especially after the second incident in November: a brawl involving more than a dozen students. Two siblings and a teacher were injured. Three of the teens behind the fight are now facing felony charges. 

"This is the time that we need to heal, this is the time that we need to realize this can be prevented," she said.

School principal Amanda Clor says they haven't seen an increase in physical altercations, but have had more verbal arguments and suspensions this year. 

"All of the security measures that we have in place have always been in place. We've kind of reflected on them, tightened them up and grown just based on things that have happened," Clor said.

They are touting more safety training for staff and a nearly $200,000 grant from the Michigan State Police to enhance security on top of what they have right now.  

"I feel confident every night leaving the school that we're going home and doing the best job we can to keep our students safe," Clor said.

The school has set up a text hotline for students. They are encouraging them to use it to report any arguments between students or anything suspicious they see at the school. They tell us that's just another way they're trying be proactive.