Fights are breaking out almost every school day near Carver Middle School once the dismissal bell rings, and parents in Orlando’s Washington Park neighborhood say they are running out of patience waiting for someone to fix it. One mother has recorded three separate altercations in the last five school days, all within a block of the campus on Columbia Street, and she is warning that the pattern will end in tragedy if nothing changes.
Janacha Ford told WFTV she is afraid a student could get seriously hurt, or worse. According to the station’s report, Ford said she is concerned someone might die if the fighting continues unchecked. She has urged other families to get involved, asking parents to help find a solution and to start picking their children up directly from school rather than letting them walk home through the surrounding blocks.
Who Is Actually in Charge Once the Bell Rings
Part of what frustrates Ford and other parents is confusion over who is responsible for students the moment they leave school property. Carver Middle School’s resource officers are Orlando police officers who watch over the campus itself, but per the same WFTV account, those officers cannot police the surrounding neighborhood once students step off school grounds — that area falls under Orange County Sheriff’s Office jurisdiction. WFTV said it reached out to both law enforcement and Orange County Public Schools and is still working to determine what can be done to keep students safe, as well as who bears responsibility for them after the final bell; the outlet says it plans to update the story as more information comes in.
That split in authority is not just a matter of confusing paperwork. Under Florida Statute § 1006.12, School Resource Officers are certified law enforcement officers whose primary authority is tied to district school board property, meaning coverage of the public streets just beyond a campus requires regular municipal police or county sheriff patrols unless a formal mutual aid agreement is in place. That statutory framework helps explain the exact jurisdictional gap parents are describing during dismissal at Carver Middle.
A School With a History of Dismissal Violence
This is not the first time violence at dismissal has put Carver Middle School in the spotlight. In December 2021, two teenagers from a nearby private school were arrested — including a 13-year-old charged with attempted murder — after gunshots were fired during an off-campus altercation near the school on Columbia Street, according to ClickOrlando. That shooting prompted community town halls and demands for more off-campus security around the school, which sits at 4500 W. Columbia Street in the Washington Park neighborhood and enrolls roughly 540 to 640 students in grades six through eight, a student body that is about 85% Black and 13% Hispanic, per Niche…