Abbey Zwerner: Part 5: The Final Chapter; How a System Failed and Left One Person to Carry the Blame
By John Huber, MarylandK12.com This is the fifth and concluding installment in our series on the Abby Zwerner case. It is a story that began with a single gunshot inside a first-grade classroom and unfolded into a legal and cultural reckoning for Newport News Public Schools. Over the past four articles, we examined the timeline, …
Raid on Worcester County Schools Official Raises Questions Amid Media Silence
By John Huber, MarylandK12.com On Saturday, December 13, according to OC Today-Dispatch, a multiagency operation descended on the West Ocean City home of Denise Shorts, Worcester County Public Schools’ chief academic officer for pre-K through grade 8. The incident wasn’t broadcast with official press releases or media coverage, only a short article deeply hidden in …
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Abbey Zwerner Case Part IV: Immunity for Leadership, Blame for One: How Principal and Superintendent Failures Left Ebony Parker a Scapegoat
By: John Huber MarylandK12.com This is the fourth part in our series examining failures surrounding the January 6, 2023, shooting of first-grade teacher Abby Zwerner at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, Virginia. Previous installments explored the timeline of events, authority gaps, and the district’s disciplinary practices. In this piece, we focus on why …
Part 3: The Abby Zwerner Case—Why a Missing Reinstatement Conference Matters and What Else Went Wrong
In this third installment on the Abby Zwerner case, we look at this event in a little more detail and uncover some more gaps. The first article outlined the events surrounding the shooting, and the second article, “The Abby Zwerner Case and The Authority Gap,” explored why teachers could not act and why the defense …
Maryland Schools and the Real Risk of Mass Violence
By John Huber, MarylandK12.com A School Shooting, and No One Seemed to Notice On November 7, 2025, a 17‑year‑old student was shot during a fight outside Harper Woods High School in Michigan, during a Friday night football playoff game. The shooting happened in the parking lot as the game against Chandler Park Academy was underway. …
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The Abby Werner Case and The Authority Gap: Why Teachers Couldn’t Act and Why the Defense Got It Wrong
By John Huber Marylandk12.com When defense expert Dr. Amy Klinger testified in the Abby Zwerner case, her statements shocked and stunned many in the school safety community, and not in a good way. She argued that “school safety is a shared responsibility” and implied that teachers could and should have taken action, such as initiating …
