WATTS : Students Get Third Principal in a Year

Students at Grape Street Elementary School returned from spring break to be greeted by their third principal in less than a year. Jeri Dunnigan said she hopes to focus her efforts on rebuilding community-school relations after her predecessor was allegedly assaulted last month by a parent.

Jacqueline Morris-Mack was named principal in September, replacing Alvin Andrews, who was transferred to another school last summer.

Morris-Mack left the 670-student school after she was allegedly assaulted by the mother of a 9-year-old who was suspended from the school after he accidentally killed Kimberly Bracey, 7, with a high-powered military-style rifle while the two were playing at his home.

No criminal charges were filed against the boy or the adult who owned the gun, according to police Detective Paul Mize.

Police said the boy found the gun in a bedroom of a boarder in the boy’s home.

The assault on Morris-Mack took place during Kimberly’s funeral, according to Wesley Mitchell, chief of the Los Angeles Unified School District Police Department.

Mitchell said Morris-Mack was struck in the head by the woman’s purse as she and her son left the service.

“We are working on getting (the boy) reinstated to another school,” said Yvonne Chavez, a regional director with the school district.

School officials said that Morris-Mack has been out ill since the incident but declined to comment on her injuries.

No charges have been filed in the alleged assault.

“We are working with the staff to find out what they feel they need to bolster up the morale and reduce stress,” Chavez said. The district added patrols around the campus immediately after the shooting, she said.

“My focus is on improving the students’ achievement,” said Dunnigan, who took over at Grape Street on March 21 after serving as an assistant principal in the San Fernando Valley.

“Even though . . . I haven’t had interaction with anyone at the housing projects, I know the needs of the students are great and I plan to do community outreach.”