"What would make it better?" asked Cynthia Byrd, 17, on her way into West Philadelphia High School. "Better books. Better equipment. We don't have new things." Fellow senior Michael Cade is behind her.
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West Philadelphia students speak out
"There's nobody better with school climate than Ozzie Wright. Ozzie knows this building inside and out, and he knows the community, and he's going to help stabilize the West Philadelphia community."
For Cheadle, the sophomore, it was a matter of adopting the proper perspective.
"It's still good and stuff - some of us do work," he said. "I just go in and do my work."
He said he was optimistic that Wright could help quell the violence.
"It's going to stop," Cheadle said confidently. "A new principal will help."
Many students were not so sure.
Sophomore Richard Washington, 16, said his family was attempting to get him transferred out of West, to Bartram High.
"It's crazy," he said. "The security guards sit there and say, 'Stop it,' but no one listens."
Cynthia Byrd is a senior and has seen things worsen during her four years at the school.
This week has been particularly tough, with the fires, new assaults, and then James' ouster. She said some students loyal to him reacted to the news with shouts.
"They were saying, 'We want Mr. James! We want Mr. James!' " said Byrd.
Student frustration is due to a lack of opportunities at West, she said.
"What would make it better? Better books. Better equipment," she said. "We don't have new things."
Despite the recent rash of incidents, opinion was mixed on the overall climate: A senior, rushing to beat the late bell, said things were fine. A group of boys said that violence against teachers was unacceptable, but that some adults provoked attack.
Many students said they were unaware of the new district policy calling for harsher penalties for students who attack adults and including the creation of a teacher-safety hotline.
Jasmine Lawrence, 18 and a senior, said there had been some improvement in student climate during her time at West.
"It had gotten better - when I was here earlier, it was really wild. You could walk out of school," Lawrence said.
Her friend Kyona Walker, 17 and a junior, said she thought things had gotten worse. She characterized the situation as "out of control."
Bullying is more prevalent, Walker said, and students are chafing under new, stricter rules brought in by James.
"They're trying to make it like a behavior school, and it's not," Walker said.
