Members of the Massachusetts High School Board urged mayors to deploy the National Guard to curtail violent disorder on campuses, from daily brawls in hallways to frequent drug use and lewd acts in empty classrooms. I sent a letter requesting.
“Following the recent events at Brockton High School, we must seek immediate assistance to prevent a potential tragedy,” four members of the Brockton High School Committee said in a Feb. 15 letter.
“Over the past few months, our high schools have seen an alarming increase in related incidents.
Violence, safety concerns, substance abuse, etc. The situation has reached a critical point, with an astonishing 35 teachers absent in recent days, highlighting the seriousness of the challenge we face. ” he continued.
Teachers at Brockton High School (BHS), located about 20 miles south of downtown Boston and the state’s largest high school with an enrollment of about 4,300 students, have been dealing with riots for months. They complained that it was turning into a mob. During class hours, they enter and exit the hallways, enter and exit the schoolyard as they please, and engage in vicious brawls every day.
“They are having sex in empty classrooms, doing drugs and disrupting classes,” BHS teacher Eleri Merikin said at an emergency committee meeting in early February, adding that several teachers and administrators shared their experiences and fears about the BHS crisis. Enterprise reported.
“We are in turmoil and we need help,” said school administrator Cheri Mazzoli. He described being trampled by crowds of students rushing through the hallways to get a glimpse of the fight.
“The crowd came out of the hall so quickly that I was overwhelmed, not by the students fighting, but by the students who were rushing to watch and video the fight,” she said.
Just a week before the rally, a student was taken to the hospital by ambulance after a fight.
“It was a brutal assault,” said School Committee Chairman and Brockton Mayor Robert Sullivan.
Back in May, two students were stabbed during a scuffle on the school playground, and one of the injured had to be airlifted to hospital. According to Enterprise.
“Unfortunately, our staff now feels it is only a matter of time before someone dies in the hallway,” Mazzoli said at the meeting.
But teachers’ concerns extend beyond students, with many predicting it’s only a matter of time before they find themselves in the crossfire, and some have already.
“This year, I feel like it’s not a question of if, it’s a question of when,” said math teacher Julie Fairfield, who said she had never felt fear in the classroom in 21 years. However, he explained that he was now afraid of being attacked by his own students.
Another BHS math teacher, Cliff Canavan, suffered a broken arm in December when he was attacked while trying to stop someone who had kicked an unconscious student in the head.
“My focus was on the safety of the children,” Canavan said. “Where is our focus?”
The problem has become acute for teachers, with many calling in sick for fear of being attacked at school.
“It just breaks my heart. I don’t even know who to call anymore. I don’t know who to call. It’s like there’s no structure,” Fairfield said.
Mayor Sullivan sent a request Saturday to Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey, who has the authority to deploy the National Guard, but the governor said she does not support the measure.
Governor Healey’s office did not respond to a request for comment at the time of publication.
