PHILADELPHIA (November 20, 2024) – Following is a statement from Arthur Steinberg, president of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers (PFT), on Tuesday's stabbing of two employees at Castor Gardens Middle School:
"The stabbing on Tuesday of two Castor Gardens Middle School employees by a student is a tragedy that could have been prevented. This horrific incident is yet another example of how systemic disinvestment robs our schools of the resources necessary to ensure the health and safety of students and staff.
"While we continue to gather information about events leading up to yesterday’s security failure, the concerns we’ve heard from faculty and staff members at Castor Gardens are deeply disturbing. We have reason to believe that school level administrative failures created a situation where a student was able to enter the school while armed, and the actions of paraprofessional Rasheima Hainey – one of our members – saved countless lives and injuries. Ms. Hainey alerted staff to secure their doors and protect students well before any administrative announcement or action was taken.
"We at the PFT have been in contact with our paraprofessional member who was injured in this incident as well as Ms. Hainey, and are grateful that both of the injured employees were not more seriously wounded and that no other staff or students were hurt. We hope that the student allegedly responsible receives the professional support they should have had, and which could also have prevented this.
"I have communicated the PFT’s concerns to the District, and expect an immediate investigation and response to ensure nothing like this happens again."
