Staffer injured trying to break up fight at violent Mass. school after governor refused to send National Guard
A staffer was hurt trying to break up a fight at a violence-plagued Massachusetts high school that has weathered such turmoil that officials asked for help from the National Guard.
The Brockton High School employee was hurt trying to intervene in a “physical altercation between students,” school officials told the Boston Globe.
That employee was a teacher, WHDH reported, and they suffered a concussion during the incident.
Another teacher filmed the chaotic scene in a video that showed two students raining punches on one another as somebody appears to leap between in an attempt to separate them.
Although official details of the injuries weren’t immediately available, the school confirmed that a staffer was treated by a nurse and returned home for the remainder of the day.
The incident is the latest in a series of violence involving teachers and staffers at the school, about 20 miles south of Boston.
Math teacher Cliff Canavan previously told The Post he had his arm broken trying to break up a student fight last year, and said a science teacher was left with brain injuries after they were knocked down during a fight.
“The day before I had my arm broken, I was talking with the colleagues in my office about how bad it had been getting,” Canavan previously told The Post. And that at some point, we’re either going to have someone get seriously injured or killed.
“And little did I know that less than 24 hours later, that was going to be me.”
Other teachers have come forward during school committee meetings in recent weeks to recount their own stories — including one educator who was allegedly trampled by students stampeding down a hallway to watch and film a fight with their cellphones.
Fights and disorder at the school of about 3,500 students have become so severe that in February four members of the school committee asked Gov. Maura Healey to send in the Massachusetts National Guard to bolster the ranks of the overwhelmed staff.
Healey refused but instead committed funds for a safety audit at the school, which has been plagued by staffing shortages and multi-million dollar budget deficits as it struffles with employee turnover for the last two years.
The students involved in Monday’s altercation will face disciplinary action in line with district procedures, a representative for the school system told the Globe, while police said they were working with administrators on the issue.
Brockton schools did not respond to requests for comment at the time of publication.
“School safety is our highest priority, and our leadership team is working closely with our state and local partners to explore all opportunities to enhance safety at BHS,” a Brockton schools spokesperson previously told The Post.
