Surviving to graduation, Part 1
Post Reports
The Washington Post
4.4 • 5.1K Ratings
🗓️ 15 November 2023
⏱️ 39 minutes
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Summary
Gun violence is reshaping U.S. education. The Washington Post spent a year inside a Richmond high school facing a surge in shootings and deaths to learn what schools are doing to stop students from dying – and whether their efforts are working.
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Youth gun violence is soaring nationwide, and schools are on the front lines dealing with the fallout. Three Washington Post reporters were embedded inside Richmond's Huguenot High School for one year to find out what that looks like.
During The Post's first visit to Huguenot, a student, Jaden Carter, was shot and killed behind the baseball fields. The Post was inside the school the next day as administrators grappled with the death – and spent the following months tracing how the tragedy affected Jaden's school, friends and family.
Today on “Post Reports,” education reporter Hannah Natanson explains what happened.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hey, it's Alahay. Over the next three days, we're bringing you something really incredible on post reports. |
| 0:09.0 | For the last year, reporters at the post have embedded inside of one school as it grapples with community |
| 0:16.0 | violence and how to protect its students. |
| 0:19.6 | These reporters witness things few journalists have ever seen in person. |
| 0:23.4 | And trust me, you won't want to miss this reporting. |
| 0:26.5 | The story is just so different from a lot of the stories you hear |
| 0:30.3 | of school violence and shootings. The first episode is our show today and |
| 0:35.0 | you'll hear the next two episodes come out Thursday and Friday. |
| 0:39.0 | And just a warning, this episode contains descriptions of violence. Okay, here's the show. |
| 0:47.6 | On a cold January day, Tess Short woke up at 6 a.m. It was a Wednesday, a work day, but she didn't pull on her usual |
| 0:57.1 | blouse and slacks. That morning, Short thought about what a teenager might wear. |
| 1:03.0 | Then she picked out a hoodie, jeans, and a pair of pink converse. |
| 1:09.0 | She got in her car and drove 45 minutes to a high school in Richmond, Virginia. That's where I |
| 1:14.7 | first met her, in the hallway. She was standing with her arms folded outside a |
| 1:19.4 | classroom, watching the students talking in groups nearby. |
| 1:23.0 | She told me she left her staff badge behind. |
| 1:26.0 | That was intentional too. |
| 1:28.0 | So I dressed down because I'm a habit older than the students, |
| 1:31.0 | so I don't stand out as much. |
| 1:32.0 | I just pick something out of my |
| 1:34.0 | closet that it's kind of what I do on the weekend on the wavelength of what the |
| 1:37.7 | students I'm aware. Short is 45. She's an instructional specialist for Richmond Public Schools. She was at |
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