CINCINNATI — Students at Saint Francis Seraph School in Over-The-Rhine are learning how to tackle violence in their neighborhoods with the help of a retired police officer.
The lessons come as the community continues to feel the fallout from a downtown brawl last summer, and as students process recent violence on Opening Day.
"When I go outside, there's no peace at all," said seventh-grader Kennedy Ward.
Retired Cincinnati Police Department officer Andre Ewing, who spent nearly 30 years on the force, teaches the students about de-escalation and gun safety. He said the lessons are critical for students who see violence while walking to school.
"The parents have to be involved. The pastors have to be involved, the police and let's also add the community. We are all responsible, and children usually behave according to what they see their parents or adults do," Ewing said.
Some of the students said they witnessed the fight at Washington Park on Opening Day, involving a 13-year-old girl.
"I told my friends to stay away from it, and I was telling them not to go towards the fight because I didn't want them to get hurt in the process of the police trying to calm everyone down," T'Bri Rush said.
WATCH: Middle school students at Saint Francis Seraph speak about community violence and possible solutions
I asked Ewing if he felt the city was prepared for the crowds.
"Personally, I don't believe the city was prepared. I think they de-escalated a lot of issues that were anticipated. But did they really do the research on the number of people on spring break? Did you have the proper police response already at the park?" Ewing said.
Ewing said preparing for large crowds usually means officers are denied time off unless they have a scheduled vacation. He said that intelligence units would also block off certain streets to ensure pedestrian safety.
"They could have done a better job at preparing the process because you know it's coming," Ewing said.
Saint Francis Seraph School sits at the intersection of Vine and Liberty, where students told me they see violence nearly every day. Seventh-grade student Jaysiona Blebins said she thinks there should be more patrolling officers at the parks.
"Sometimes, older people will be at the park and go chill, but every time they start arguing, and they create violence, so I think it should be supervision around all parks," Blebins said.
The city offers dozens of programs for youth and teens, even earning recognition for them in 2012, but students said they still want to see a deeper investment in programs in OTR.
"We have a school that's right here in OTR that's 98% plus African American, and what they see outside is a reflection of what city hall says is a safe community," Ewing said.
De'Jah Gross covers education for WCPO 9 News. You can contact her here:
Ewing told me he focuses on talking to students about making choices during his lessons.
"We can't blame the city for everything. If there are programs that are in place and needed, and we have these great programs, we need to look deeper into why the students aren't utilizing them," Ewing said.
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