A Prince George’s County, Maryland, music teacher has launched an initiative to overhaul school regulations to protect educators on campus.
The teacher’s focus follows a traumatic attack where two students beat her up on the school’s playground last May.
Renee Calloway continues to work at the Potomac Landing Elementary School in Fort Washington. Still, she vividly recalls the concussion and bruises inflicted by young students who not only hit her but also kicked her in the head.
She was monitoring recess at the school when she spotted a fight. As the teacher moved to break it up, the one student turned on her.
“When I was trying to restrain her, her sister jumped in. I was now trying to restrain two people who were continuously hitting me. I slipped. I fell. I was kicked in the head by the second young lady who jumped in, which probably resulted in my concussion,” Calloway said. “It was terrifying for me because I knew that I had to get up off the ground. One more blow could have ended my life. Seriously, I don’t know she had on boots.”
As a result, she was hospitalized for 12 days.
Following an investigation, school authorities suspended one girl for 10 days and the other for 20 days. Due to their young age, they weren’t subject to the juvenile justice system. Within a month of their suspensions being over, both girls were able to enjoy their summer.
During the summer, the 44-year-old dedicated her efforts to establishing the SafeTeach’23 campaign.
For the educator, this initiative served as a means to process her anger stemming from the assault and, more importantly, as a way to safeguard fellow teachers and staff members who could encounter similar situations.
“I serve the children. I do my job to the best of my ability. But on the days that I can’t– I just, I don’t want somebody to have to deal with this. Again, we’ve got to put a stop to it,” she said to NBC 4.
One of the first activations that Calloway has planned is a rally on Sept. 26 for teacher protection before the Prince George’s County Public Schools Board of Education.
“We need somebody to say to us, ‘We are here. We stand beside you. We stand behind you. We will not allow you to be attacked and feel left by yourself,'” the music teacher said.
Thirty percent of the teachers who participated in a Washington Teachers’ Union survey said students had assaulted them.
Among those surveyed, 42 percent indicated they had been slapped, punched, or kicked by the students in their schools.
“We have to be able to reach the governor. We have to be able to reach the board of education. We have to be able to reach juvenile services because at the end of the day this young lady, doing this, we have to get to the root of it because if we don’t, next year it’s going to happen again,” she said to local station WJLA last month.
Calloway hopes to use her advocacy to encourage administrators to offer resources and assistance to teachers and staff who have suffered harm. Simultaneously, she doesn’t ignore the needs of the students. With SafeTeach’23, she also underscores the importance of introducing restorative practices for students with disciplinary challenges.
