Community has plenty to say at tonight's meeting at East High

YOUNGSTOWN

There were plenty of empty seats in the East High School auditorium, but the parents and community members who did attend a Thursday evening parent summit didn’t hold back in voicing their concerns.

About 60 people attended the meeting called by school board members Jackie Adair and Dario Hunter to hear from the public about issues at the high school.

Those two board members as well as Brenda Kimble, board president, and member Ronald Shadd, as well as the district’s interim superintendent, assistant superintendent and other staff attended the meeting. Also there were Mayor John McNally and state Sen. Joe Schiavoni of Boardman, D-33rd.

Attendees talked about their children not being able to bring home textbooks, students’ lack of self esteem and those involved in a series of fights earlier this month at the school being charged with felonies.

The event stretched to about 2.5 hours.

Patricia Crockett’s grandchildren attend East and they don’t have textbooks, she said. Students feel like teachers don’t care about them, she said.

“Our kids need to feel good about being in a school and they do not feel that way about East,” Crockett said.

Community member Dan Smith said the problems are universal, but especially in urban, public schools.

It’s a generation of people who don’t respect authority, he said.

Those students who cause problems have to be separated from those who want and are willing to learn, Smith said.

Shienne Williams, 20, a graduate of Youngstown Early College, is preparing to graduate with her bachelor’s degree in African-American and Africana Students in May from Youngstown State University.

She lives on the East Side and wants to help.

“We’re young, we figure they’ll listen to us,” Williams said.

When a friend of hers offered at the school to help, he was rebuffed.

After Thursday’s meeting, she said it was a good event, but she’ll wait to see if anything changes.

“We always talk,” Williams said. “We need action.”

Read more remarks in Friday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.