Education commissioner to meet with parents' group after ceiling fan injures student

ST. CROIX — Students at St. Croix Educational Complex staged a protest on campus Friday, one day after one of their fellow students was seriously injured by a falling ceiling fan.

Images of the injury showed a deep, substantial gash on the left side of the student’s torso. Those images were shared widely on social media and prompted an outcry from the community over the state of the territory’s schools. The V.I. Education Department acknowledged the student protest in a statement released on Friday afternoon, stating that it “recognizes the students’ right to voice their frustrations about matters that directly have an impact on their educational environment and well-being.”

“The students have taken a bold and courageous step in asking to be heard, and we are here to listen,” St. Croix Insular Superintendent Sharlene Belton-Gonzalez stated in the press release. The statement acknowledged that the Parent Teacher Organization sent a letter to Education Commissioner Dionne Wells-Hedrington on Thursday requesting a meeting to discuss the concerns of parents, students and staff. Wells-Hedrington agreed to meeting community members on Tuesday, citing a hearing before the Senate Education and Workforce Development Committee scheduled for today.