When the bell rang for fourth period on Friday, and then again on Monday, students at Jones Valley Middle School were ready to walk out of the school.

They wanted to bring attention to discipline issues, including fights and a recent stabbing, that they felt weren’t being addressed by new leadership. They said they wanted the newly hired principal, Misha Randle, to resign. But both days, teachers stopped them before they could exit the doors, halting the walkout, said eighth grader Victorya Sager.

“As students, we need opportunities to talk and to be heard,” Sager told AL.com Monday. “If we want to make our environment better, they should let the kids talk and actually sit down and listen to us.”

Jones Valley Middle School, located in southwest Birmingham, reported 247 disciplinary infractions last year – 83 of which were for fighting. The school, which enrolls just over 500 students, recorded the second-highest number of fights per student among all schools in the district, according to the latest available state data.

Sager said discipline issues have gotten worse with new leadership, who she said have ignored concerns from her and others about bullying and violent behavior. Sager said she’s complained about bullying and threatening behavior from some of her peers, but officials didn’t take them seriously. She also said she’s warned staff about potential fights, but no one took steps to prevent altercations from happening.

“I feel like every time I walk into Jones Valley, I’m not safe,” she said.

Randle, who previously was an assistant principal at Wenonah High School, did not respond to a request for comment. Sherrel Stewart, a spokeswoman for Birmingham City Schools, said the district was aware of the attempted walkout but said students did not leave the building or campus.

“We want all of our students to be safe,” Stewart said. “We’re concerned about safety throughout the district, not just Jones Valley, but we want all of our students to be safe.”

After the first attempted walkout on Friday, the school suspended Sager for five days, according to a school form provided by her grandmother, Anna Baker, and reviewed by AL.com. Baker said another student was also suspended for 10 days.

“The goal of our educators each day is to provide structured teaching and learning in an orderly fashion in every school. Disruptions to the order of school operations are discouraged,” Stewart told AL.com.

Read more: See data about discipline, safety at your Alabama schools.

Stewart confirmed that an assistant vice principal was placed on paid administrative leave, pending an investigation.

Sager’s infraction was labeled as a class II offense, which covers intermediate offenses such as disruptive conduct, according to the district’s code of conduct. “Victorya incited and participated in a major student disruption/unauthorized student protest,” the notice read.

Baker said officials originally threatened to give a harsher punishment but walked it back after Sager’s mother asked them to put it in writing. She also questioned why officials would say her granddaughter “incited” a protest without conducting an investigation.

“To me, they’re trying to stop the students from having freedom of speech,” she said.

On Monday afternoon, Sager stood across the street from the school to support her peers who had planned another walkout that day.

Friends told her over the phone that teachers shut the demonstration down again and locked them inside. She posted thoughts to Facebook.

“Something needs to be done immediately,” she said in a Facebook video that afternoon.