DeKalb County schools superintendent responds to viral video fight between MLK High students and teacher

DEKALB COUNTY, GA–A viral video fight between a group of students and a teacher at Martin Luther King Jr. High School is not as “cut and dry” as it appears, DeKalb Schools Superintendent Devon Horton said during a press conference on Tuesday at the school. 

Although three students have been charged in connection with the April 22 incident and the teacher has been placed on administrative leave, Horton said the students should not be criminalized. He said the ongoing investigation involves ninth grade students and the student who threw the first punch had only been at the school for less than a month. Horton said there was an exchange between the new student and the teacher before the fight began. 

“A few minutes later, it escalated into something different,”

 Horton said. 

Horton said he could not elaborate on what prompted the exchange because the investigation is still underway. 

The teacher can be seen on the video striking back after the student struck him. He continuing hitting the student, despite security stepping in to intervene. Other students then began fighting the teacher.

Horton said the video is being reviewed and students involved are also being interviewed as part of the district’s investigation. 

“Every student deserves an opportunity. Right? And I would say There are some factors that we are aware of that did not, uh, that could have prevented this.” 

Horton spent several minutes during the press conference discussing how the school district is making strides in providing support for students who act out, acknowledging that many come from broken homes, environments where they may not even have food to eat. He also discussed how teachers across the nation may be challenged and pushed to the brink where they, too, need support –and de-escalation training. He said the DeKalb school district is working on getting that training, but it is expensive.

Meanwhile, the district last year launched an initiative called Family and Community Engagement (FACE), Horton said. Under the initiative, advocates who have been hired by the district are assigned to 12 students to mentor who are chronically absent and/or acting out. These advocates, Horton said, have made a dramatic difference in helping students to stay on tract and reduce absenteeism. 

One FACE mentor who did not wish to be identified said that they are like parents that many mentees simply don’t have. 

“We are there to guide them and encourage them, to hold them accountable. They can come to us throughout the day to blow off steam. They just aren’t getting it at home. Some of the environments they are growing up just are not good.” 

 Horton acknowledged challenges teachers are experiencing in an urban climate, saying they now must handle situation differently. 

“We have to do school differently. Those golden days of when you tell a student to sit down and they sit down, that’s not the case anymore. That doesn’t mean that it’s right or wrong, it’s just how we approach our students. We have to treat them as human and humanize our approach in everything we do.”

Following are key excerpts Superintendent Horton made during his April 29, 2025 press conference.