Interim principal Laurie Fong on returning to Montgomery High, increasing school safety and rebuilding trust after fatal stabbing

Walking down familiar hallways and classrooms of Montgomery High, Laurie Fong popped into classrooms to introduce herself to students and teachers Monday.

Fong was Montgomery High’s principal of 10 years. She left in spring 2016 and was elected as a trustee on the Santa Rosa City Schools District board in fall 2016.

But in the wake of a student death, countywide school violence walkouts, calls for better school safety, and the former principal being placed on paid administrative leave Sunday, Fong has resigned her trustee position and stepped back into her old role for the rest of the school year.

“I thought that I had a unique opportunity to step in, kind of hold center, keep grounded and make people feel like ‘OK, we can move forward from this horrible tragedy. We will move forward.’ And let me just spend this last quarter helping them do that so they don't have to worry so much.”

Fong said that over the next three months, she’s ready to do her best to build trust and community again.

On Sunday, the district announced that principal Adam Paulson was placed on administrative leave for the rest of the year. Vice principal Tyler Albourn was placed on leave for an undecided window of time, according to district spokesperson Vanessa Wedderburn.

The district has not specified why Paulson and Albourn were placed on leave. Wedderburn said the district considers it a private personnel matter. Officials would not say whether it had anything to do with a delayed police report after a student with two knives was found on campus Friday in the wake of Jayden Pienta’s death.

Things are not the same

Fong, who was born and raised in San Francisco, started teaching when she was 22. She taught for 23 years, then worked 17 years as a school administrator at various levels, 10 of which were as principal at Montgomery High.

Much has changed since then, Fong said, though she still knows many families who have younger siblings there now.

“It's like a river,” Fong said. “You can't step in the same river twice. So it's not the same school I left. Things can't be the same. They are not the same.”

Since she’s been gone, thousands of Sonoma County families were affected by wildfires, and then there was the pandemic, she said.

Two years of isolation and virtual learning shuttered classrooms.

But in 2022, students and teachers came back as COVID-19 restrictions eased. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

But, “They have missed out on two full years plus of socialization,” Fong said. “Two years may not seem a lot to an older person, but in a kid that is developing, ages 13 to 15 to 16, are huge chunks. So they're kind of starting back out again.”

After Pienta’s death, Montgomery students who were angry and grieving spoke out about weekly fights and not feeling safe on campus.

Fong believes a lot of the school violence can be linked to larger societal issues in addition to lack of funding to support all of the social services schools offer.

Some students struggled more than others to return to socialization after the pandemic, with many families struggling to pay rent and feed their families, Fong said.

“I believe that there's a big lapse in the greater society,” she said. “We are not providing enough of these kinds of supports for families, so that the kids are falling through the cracks.”

“You can't do your homework because it's too noisy at home, because maybe there's two families living in your place. So there's no computer connection or all the different reasons. Maybe you're having not enough dinner.”

They're roaming the halls possibly because they're failing, Fong said. “Why would you want to be in class if you're failing?”

“So all those societal problems weigh on the children and they come to school and we expect him to sit up straight and remember what to do for homework and have a nice binder and it's just ― it's criminal. Criminally insane,” she said.

“Schools are hurting,” Fong said. “And teachers are shouldering this demand. Staff is shouldering the demand for the failings of how we provide for human beings.”

Solutions

In present day, schools have become centers for social supports, like providing youth mental health and food, Fong said.

“I'm like a broken record,” Fong said. “We do not fund schools to the extent of which we're asking them to play certain roles.”

As a board member, Fong said she could advocate for more long-term state funding to support the increase in mental health support and increased supervisors. She plans on running for her old seat after the school year ends.

For now she’s focused on listening and rebuilding the sense of trust and community at the school, as well as communicating their needs to the board, she said.

“I am listening to what people are telling me,” Fong said, adding that the key to rebuilding trust, is through communication. “It’s the only thing that works. You just keep trying.”

She is also pointing students to the increased school counselors available on campus, which the districts put in place after students experienced trauma from their classmate’s stabbing in an art class.

She said in regards to videos of fights being posted on social media, “We make sure we recognize who's in the video and we pull them in and we say ‘What's going on? What's going on with you that you need to do this?’ and we involve the parents. That’s it.”

She said, school discipline will be issued based on the state education code, including suspensions and expulsions.

Since starting Monday, Fong has introduced herself to students and staff in hallways and classrooms, held a meeting with classified employees to listen to their needs and sent an email out to parents to update them on her first day as well as ask for any feedback.

Starting Wednesday, Fong planned to go to every single ninth grade English class and talk with them for 15 to 20 minutes. She plans to say:

“I want to hear from you. And I want you to hear from me. What do you need? What's going on? You ready to do the rest of your school year? We're here together. I'm going to take care of you. We love you. We're here for you. Your teachers are here for you. Your counselors are here for you. Every single person on campus is here for you. I want them to know that we are watching them, that we are watching them so that we can support them, not to get them in trouble.”

Fong said: “And I think that's how we increase safety because when we're talking about safety on the campus we're talking about relationships. And when we built really, really strong relationships with as many people as you can build, you can mitigate fear, you can mitigate isolation. And you can mitigate some of that bad behavior that's really, really hurting us.”

Student, teacher reactions

Ava Parmelee, a senior at Montgomery and a member of their student government, said Fong brings “a much needed change to Montgomery's campus.”

Parmelee added that she will be able to look at situations from an administrative and board perspective.

“So far she's been incredibly involved and has made a great effort to interact with students ― and truly listen to what they have to say,” she said. “I'm very grateful that she stepped up to the challenge and is taking this on.”

Joey Bowser, a Montgomery High senior, said Fong “knows how to listen to the students and staff.” He added that it’s unfortunate Montgomery hasn’t been able to keep an administrator “as good as her on staff for more than a few years.”

Jim LaFrance, a math teacher at Montgomery, says he’s noticed Fong trying to meet with every student on campus by going to each English class, as well as going to club meetings during lunch.

He said she spent an hour with the student government answering questions.

“I don’t know if she’s sleeping right now,” he said. “She must be doing all her other work after hours.”

You can reach Staff Writer Alana Minkler at 707-526-8531 or alana.minkler@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @alana_minkler.