Atlanta Public Schools Superintendent Meria Carstarphen doesn't plan to lock down the Grady High School campus after a student was allegedly sexually assaulted in an off-campus park during the school day.
Carstarphen addressed the safety issue at a news conference Friday, during which she spoke on a wide range of topics.
Earlier this month, police arrested three Grady students after they allegedly sexually assaulted a 14-year-old student inside a Piedmont Park restroom. The popular Midtown park is located across 10th Street from the high school.
The girl told police she went to her first-period class but then left school along with three male students to go to the park, where the alleged assault occurred.
Carstarphen said she won’t make wide-sweeping policy changes based on a single incident.
“I want to see you have a space that you love and enjoy and that you feel welcomed in… and you don’t feel trapped in your environment because we’ve fenced you all up and we have locks on all the gates,” she said. “I get that it’s a dangerous world. I get that some students make bad choices, but I try not to make policy decisions on a one-case basis.”
Grady does lock some of the gates on the grounds, Carstarphen said.
She urged students to help hold each other responsible for following school rules. She said students should report classmates if they see them walking off campus when they shouldn’t be.
“The safest place for you to be during the school day is in school,” she said.
The three arrested students face one count each of false imprisonment, aggravated sodomy and criminal attempt, according to police reports. Carstarphen said APS also is following its student discipline process.
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