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Prairie Grove community gathers to support teachers amid video controversy

Parents and students gathered outside of the middle school with signs in support of teachers who were shown a fake school shooting memorial video.

PRAIRIE GROVE, Ark. — Parents gathered outside Prairie Grove Middle School on Monday, after outrage was sparked when the district showed staff a fake school shooting memorial video.

On Friday, a special school board meeting was called where the middle school's principal and the district's superintendent announced they'd be taking a leave of absence amid the outrage.

Those who saw the video told 5NEWS that the memorial video was dated Dec. 14—the anniversary of the Sandy Hook mass shooting. They explain that the district had taken photos from the staff's personal Facebook pages and put together a memorial video depicting the deaths of staff, educators, and the children of staff. 

Monday's gathering was in support of teachers as some say they aren't receiving the support they need.

"This was one of the first steps—just being here and saying, we love you, and we're here for you. Just please come back and continue to do all the wonderful things you've been doing for our kids," said Kim Weaver, a mother of six with two currently in the district and four who graduated. 

"We love our teachers. And we have a lot of wonderful teachers that just love and care for our children. So we were just wanting to show our support for them and how much we stand behind them."

Weaver has lived in Prairie Grove since 1997 and still has two students attending the Prairie Grove school district, one in elementary and the other in junior high. 

"I literally cried, because we have such amazing teachers. And I can't imagine being a mom of six, having my children shown on that board and showing their deaths. Sorry, I'm gonna get emotional. As a parent, that's your worst nightmare. A school shooting is your worst nightmare. And for them to have to be shown that as their own children, I just imagine I would have been one of those parents screaming and yelling and demanding it to be shut off. And I would want heads to roll," said Weaver.

"I have years of childhood education, being in daycare for many years, and you just don't teach people that way by hurting them. There are so many better ways to teach and train people than to do things that hurt them," she added.

Weaver explained that teachers don't feel they have the resources they need: She reports that some of the equipment needed to follow safety protocols haven't been provided for the district's new middle school building.

"If they don't have everything they need, let's get that. Who cares about building a new playground? If it would make our children safe, we need to make sure that we have those things," said Weaver.

With only around 15 in attendance, Weaver explained that the news came suddenly for the community. She said that many are planning to not attend the district on Dec. 14, the date of the video, and also show up to the next school board meeting to make their voices heard. The district website says the next school board meeting is set for Dec. 20 and "will be held in the Downtown Administrative Building unless otherwise posted."

"Everybody has lots of questions on who was involved," said Weaver. "I just think now is the time to speak up. Now's the time to stand up for your community." 

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