St. Paul students return to Harding High after fatal stabbing

Students trickled back to St. Paul's Harding High School on Friday, returning to class as a district administrator held a briefing outside to note new security measures — while educators called for more action on school safety.

Students had been out since sophomore Devin Scott, 15, was stabbed Feb. 10 by another student in a hallway. It was the middle of his first day at the East Side school.

Scott died a short time later at Regions Hospital. On Tuesday, Nosakhere K. Holmes, 16, was charged in Ramsey County District Court with second-degree unintentional murder.

District officials responded to last week's stabbing by stationing police officers outside five high schools and adding a third school-support liaison to Harding's security team. On Thursday, the district also announced new rules limiting how kids enter and move about a building that holds more than 1,700 students and staff members.

As students returned Friday, Assistant Superintendent Nancy Paez reiterated some of the new procedures at a news conference.

"This is going to be a good day at Harding," she said.

The St. Paul Federation of Educators (SPFE) posted a letter on Facebook Thursday saying that board members and administrators had been made aware of issues involving the school's safety climate by parents and educators, and that many of those calls and emails went unanswered.

"These events are the tragically avoidable and inevitable result of inadequate SPPS school climate policies and the refusal to listen to staff and community on how to address problems before they escalate," the union said in its letter. It urged the school board to call an emergency meeting to hear from students, staff and community members.

Asked to comment Friday on the union's contention that the stabbing could have been avoided and more done at Harding, Paez declined, saying, "Not at this time."

Louis Francisco, an instructional coach who has been at Harding for 31 years, and is a graduate, too, said it had been a tough six days and there's no blueprint for how to cope with the aftermath of such violence.

"Teachers came together," he said, "planning and grieving at the same time."

The state's second-largest district cut ties with school resource officers (SROs) in 2020, after George Floyd's murder by Minneapolis police. They were replaced with 38 school-support liaisons who are not armed but carry pepper spray and handcuffs. This week, Superintendent Joe Gothard said he is open to discuss adding SROs in new roles.

In its announcement Thursday night, the district said Harding's new protocols are designed to "create a safe environment for all." The rules state:

Paez said the new measures would be enforced through at least the coming week.

"If we are obtaining the outcomes that we want for the changes, we will adjust as necessary or extend [them]," she said.

At the end of the day, a district spokeswoman said just over half of Harding's students attended school Friday, and staff reported that those who were there were glad to see friends and teachers again. The shortened day focused more on support for students than academics, she said, and additional staff will be at Harding through next week.

Last week's fatal encounter occurred in a hallway between classes. According to the juvenile petition filed Tuesday, Holmes had words with Scott, the two started fighting, and a third student punched Holmes, too, before staff members intervened. Then, Holmes advanced toward Scott, swinging a knife at least twice, the petition said.

In its letter, signed by more than 600 educators before it was posted, the SPFE said board members had been silent on climate issues since they learned in November of a $1 million federal grant aimed at identifying the root causes of school violence — and, in turn, getting students the help they need before they harm themselves or others.

The grant application cited an increase in the "prevalence and seriousness" of violent incidents in St. Paul schools in 2021-22 but gave no specifics.

At Harding on Friday, students met in grade-level assemblies and were to remain in their advisory class for most of the day. Members of the district's crisis team also were on hand to support students. Harding will resume its normal schedule Tuesday.