I-Team: More Massachusetts Students Arrested Since Return From Pandemic Shutdown Than Year Before
NATICK (CBS) -- In Natick, school officials are investigating a violent fight that broke out in the hallway a few weeks ago that was posted on social media.
It was a repeat of what students and staff at schools across Massachusetts have been witnessing since returning to full-time in-person classes after the pandemic shutdown.
"I just seen people throwing hands," said Lawrence High School student David Herrera describing fights he witnessed in school this fall.
"I was getting scared to come in school," said another Lawrence High student, Madeline Feliz.
"I think we were all kind of taken by surprise," said Brockton High School Principal Cindy Burns.
A police officer at Brockton High School was placed on leave after holding down a student there this fall. It was one of several incidents that made headlines when the school year started.
"We had a weapon in the building. We had ammunition in the building. We had kids pulling the fire alarms," said Burns.
The WBZ I-Team dug into school data and found more students have crossed the line into criminal behavior in Massachusetts this school year.
Records from Worcester, Lynn, Brockton, Lowell, Lawrence, and Newton showed at least 23 students were arrested at those schools combined, and 56 were summonsed to court before winter break.
In comparison, there were no arrests or summonses in any of those districts during the 2019-2020 school year.
"There is trauma because my students have expressed it to me, of seeing another kid detained in school," said Anna Seiders, who teaches math at Everett High School, where a string of fights had the community on edge. "We need training and support in that training, how to deal with social emotional crises. It feels like every day it's another kid that needs help, and there's only so much you can give out."
"Everyone is struggling," said Everett High senior Ashley Jose. "I just think they forget how to actually…be in school, how to actually react to certain problems."
In Worcester, not one student was expelled in the months before the pandemic shutdown. This year, records show 46 were kicked out before Thanksgiving. In the same period in Brockton, police tell the I-Team they filed 10 incident reports at the high school.
Brockton High School recently had nine new metal detectors installed at its doorways.
"It is not what I wanted to see happen, but I need my students to be safe," said Principal Cindy Burns.
To offset the harsh tone of the metal detectors, the school just brought in a therapy dog.
There are also "peacemakers," who are street workers from the local YMCA, roaming hall monitors, and there's a new program underway to hire members of the community to help monitor students in school.
"Any place where students are congregated, that we need to move them along and get them into class, but also to create positive relationships," said Burns, who said the administration is looking for creative ways to meet students' social and emotional needs.
In Lawrence and Boston, teachers have staged walkouts demanding better protection in schools.
In some cases, they say tensions have cooled off, but with new video of school fights still popping up on social media every week, they say the road to mental recovery in school is still uncertain.
