Music teacher’s attack ignites push for school safety in Maryland

A teacher in Maryland is pleading with school leaders to do more to protect educators in the classroom. FOX 5's Nana-Sentuo Bonsu has the story.

UPPER MARLBORO, Md. - A teacher in Maryland is pleading with school leaders to do more to protect educators in the classroom.

This comes after she was attacked by two students in 2022.

Before Thursday's Prince George’s County Board of Education meeting, a music teacher held a rally on the steps of the building, asking board leaders to take her story seriously and bring change to the school district.

A number of supporters attended the rally with posters and signs, chanting for protections for teachers and staff.

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Renee Calloway, a music teacher at Potomac Landing Elemntary School in Fort Washington, Maryland wants school leaders to do more to protect teachers in the classroom.

Back on May 11, Renee Calloway — a music teacher at Potomac Landing Elementary School in Fort Washington — was attacked.

She told FOX 5 that she was trying to break up a verbal altercation when two students pushed, punched, jumped, and even kicked her in the head – sending her to the hospital with a concussion.

Calloway said that she now suffers from anxiety and has PTSD, which is keeping her out of the classroom.

Meanwhile, both students involved in the spat have been suspended.

"They snatched my soul when they attacked me like this," Calloway said. "I’ve been teaching over 20 years, and it’s never happened to me. This is the hardest time of my life."

The veteran teacher is still home on medical leave, and she says she misses teaching.

But advocating for change is important.

She recently started Safe Teach 23 – a campaign to keep educators safe.

She’s asking the school board for change and reform because she doesn’t want this to happen to anyone else.

"We are requesting mental services to those students; we are requesting behavior management," Calloway explained. "We are requesting that they look at the student code of conduct and say this is not okay. Students are continually doing these behaviors because there is no accountability."

At Thursday's BOE meeting, Superintendent Dr. Millard House addressed the recent violence taking place in and surrounding schools in the district.

Two weeks ago, a 16-year-old DuVall High School student was shot and killed while just a block away from school, and this week, a student brought a loaded machine gun to Fairmont Heights High School.

Dr. House referred to the incidents as "acts of violence."

The superintendent is calling for the community to join him at the safety forum meeting next Tuesday.