Education officials in Anguilla are urging parents to take a more active role in guiding their children’s behaviour following a security scare at Albena Lake-Hodge Comprehensive School.
Last week, a student was found with a live bullet on school grounds, and a few days later, a second child shared a threatening voice note online.
Teachers at the school refused to resume work until a series of security measures are implemented, and the school has remained closed during this process.
In a press conference on 21 January addressing the incident, chief education officer Bren Romney expressed concern over the erosion of “sound, effective parenting” in Anguilla.
While most parents and students are engaging and respectful, there is a minority that are difficult to work with, he said.
Skewed values
Romney highlighted the challenges facing some parents today in guiding their children, especially in an increasingly digital world.
“Too often we have parents who feel parenting is giving a child every single thing he or she desires,” he said.
“Or turning the upbringing and engagement of children over to devices – the internet and social media and so forth – without any checks and balances.”
He also mentioned that some are being groomed locally by people with “not honourable” intentions, leading them astray.
‘Be more proactive’
“My advice to parents is that we need to pay attention, be more proactive,” Romney told those gathered at the press conference.
“You have to be present, and you have to find engaging, positive, enlightening activities to engage your children.”
He said Anguilla is in a crisis situation where families are concerned, and said school’s are experiencing the results of that first hand.
Romney noted that some children are not responding to teachers’ requests or using inappropriate language toward authority figures, possibly mimicking behaviours they observe at home.
“We are doing our best to give them the tools and the strategies and all the support services to support them,” he said.
“But what they [teachers] put up with students on a daily basis, it’s unbearable, it’s unthinkable, and parents need to understand that.”
A main goal
During another press conference earlier the same day, Terron Azille president of Anguilla Teachers’ Union also offered a word of advice to parents.
“It is your responsibility to make sure that your child understands that when they come to our own institution, their main goal is to learn – not to cause trouble, not to give teachers a hard time,” he said.
Azille said teachers at the government high school have been dealing with violent students and had security concerns for some time now.
He mentioned the tragic incident when 14-year-old Shaquan Richardson was murdered at James Ronald Webster Park in October 2023.
“We had a student who was skilled, for God’s sake – and then we went back to school few days after and just continued with business,” he said.
The union president stressed: “We need parents on board. We need parents to monitor their children.”
Watch the press conference in full below:
