Schools Wrestle With Covid-Fueled Fighting

As the Covid-19 pandemic drags on, more fights are breaking out in halls and more students have been acting out in class, adding to stress in public schools and prompting a search for solutions.

In interviews with the Independent, teachers, students and administrators described a new normal of almost daily physical confrontations in schools, one that reflects a trend of misbehavior affecting schools throughout the state and the nation.

Teachers' Take

“If people think schools are safe from Covid that is a big lie,” one New Haven teacher told the Independent. ​“We don’t feel safe emotionally and physically.” The teacher described a steady deterioration of discipline within the school and of repercussions for misbehavior for offenses ranging from refusal to wear face masks to major fights that result in at most a two-day suspension: ​“There is no restorative justice, suspensions and kids are doing whatever they want with no consequences.”

“We’re feeling battered, scared, lost, without support, no backup, demeaned, and pressured with no outlet.”

Other teachers offered similar takes in comments posted to a recent Independent story about the increase in teacher departures: 

“It is the the violence and chaos in the buildings that is driving people to quit. Students are out of control on all levels. Wake up!! The district policy of no expulsions and no consequences for violent , disruptive behavior by students will have a devastating effect on student learning, student retention from the other towns, and teacher retentions. It’s a madhouse in the schools and the district is covering it up. Quitting teachers and staff are a visible response. I just pray that there is not a tragedy that has to happen to make people see.” 

“Currently sitting in a classroom, covering an absent colleague for the umpteenth time. 9th grader walks in, notices a sub (me), and cheers ​“Ayoo his dumbass ain’t here today.” I’m already a little ticked because I have coverage immediately — this young man’s comments trigger me. It’s 8:09AM. A week of gun threats, COVID resurgence, nonsense, and icy roads with no delay.” 

“The labor shortage is why my partner is leaving teaching in NH. She has not had a prep period all year because she spends her preps substituting for other classes. She works 7:15 to 5:30 most days and has correcting to do most evenings. She has 10 years of experience and has worked in two other districts. The chaos is the biggest issue and it links to not having enough teachers. Students fighting, yelling at teachers and teachers several times a day needing to call for ​“back up” from administrators to handle behavior issues. It has been getting worse, not better all year. Not sustainable especially for certified teachers with Masters degrees making under $60K a year. No one is going to want to teach in New Haven if this keeps going the same direction.”

“All I can say is that the bottom line is the work environment for teachers is unsafe and illegal. If students were members of any other work environment and they committed the same offenses they would be held accountable and the victims would be protected. Not teachers. They are not protected. This is a terrible work environment, doesn’t discipline children, prevents others kids from learning, discourages people from the teaching profession, and the situation has no chance of improving without strong/firm action. But who has the resolution to do that nowadays?”

The ongoing pandemic and understaffed schools play a role in the uptick of student fights and school stress, said incoming teachers’ union (Local 933) President Leslie Blatteau, a Metropolitan Business Academy teacher. A lack of drinking water, communication, and accountability are creating a ​“collective frustration” for students, staff, and administrators, she said. 

“We don’t have a clear end in sight for the pandemic so it’s stressful,” she said. ​“It feels like one thing after another.”

Staffing vacancies and absences due to quarantines and personal reasons have led to less hall monitoring, she noted. Schools ​“really use to count on robust staffing” which now ​“creates a hole in the safety net.”

Blatteau described a ​“collective exhaustion” of youth and adults. ​“When we’re not operating at full capacity, there’s a lot more vulnerability,” Blatteau said. ​“Every level of the system is stressed.”

Blatteau added that many teachers have been ​“dreaming of what education could be over last year.” Instead of shifting to offering new ways of educating students ​“people are feeling like we picked up where we left off,” she said. 

Students' View

Cooperative Arts and Humanities High School seniors Xeleen Rosario and Aiyara Diaz, who are both 17-years-old, said violence and misbehavior have become far more common since students returned from remote learning.

Rosario observed a lack of enforcement by school staff. ​“Priorities got really messed up over quarantine,” she said. Leaving school though side doors and skipping class has gotten easier because students aren’t given repercussions. 

“It’s a lot easier to get dangerous weapons into the building even with metal detectors because they’re just not being as thorough as they use to be,” she added. 

She said most of the school’s violent incidents like fights are caused by younger students who ​“didn’t get broken in like we did” and came in with middle school mindsets. The younger students are hyper and easily frustrated in and outside of school, she observed.

She estimated that she sees fights or students sneaking weapons once every two weeks. 

Recently, Rosario said, a student was let in by another student from a different school, who came with a knife ​“intending to hurt someone at our school.” 

Both Rosario and Diaz agreed, however, that they don’t feel less safe while at school than they have in the past. 

Diaz also agreed that enforcement at the school has diminished this year compared to her past three years at Co-op. 

“Students are kind of just running around now without their mask, skipping class, being in the bathrooms, destruction of bathrooms, and there’s no repercussions,” she said.

Diaz connected the increase in violence to the year of remote learning due to Covid.

She recalled having breakdowns once a week while remote. That ​“paused me mentally, physically, emotionally as a person.” 

“Having a pause in 6th, 7th, 8th grade when you’re learning to actually grow is very detrimental on a student,” she said. 

Diaz estimated that she sees fights happen once or twice a week. 

This past Thursday, Diaz recalled, a fight almost started between four sophomores who were trying to ​“bully older kids into listening to them.”

“We need more authority,” Diaz said. ​“Without that a lot of these kids feel as though they’re at the top of the world and when they face the real world they’re going to hit rock bottom real quick.”

Hillhouse High School senior Symphani Evans, 17, used to be the fighter in school as a first-year student.

Since then, she has left ​“school drama behind her.”

Evans said the student body is close and the older students like herself have been reminding younger students about the consequences of fighting this year. 

She added that the educators have also been supportive and reminding students of the importance of being mature. 

Meanwhile, Hillhouse Seniors Lee, 17, and Thomari, 18, agreed that ​“fights barely happen… everybody cool with each other and if you got beef you handle it outside of school,” in Lee’s words.

An assistant principal was videorecorded breaking up a fight in the halls and needing to restrain a student.

It’s usually the younger students who get in fights, Lee and Thomari agreed.

“Us older ones we know the seriousness of it,” Thomari said. 

The View From Central Office

School system Director of Student Services Typhanie Jackson provided an administrative perspective on schools’ increased behavioral disruptions and fights this school year. 

This year Jackson is not only overseeing special education services as usual for New Haven Public Schools but also the district’s social emotional learning (SEL) services for schools, which include wellness workshops and counseling.

Many schools are struggling to tackle the behavioral concerns because they are also dealing with teacher shortages (a national problem) and bus driver shortages .

“When we get into a place where we’re not in crisis, the schools will be less stressed,” Jackson said. ​“The problem is that we have more gaps now and it’s hard to respond to them all accordingly.”

Jackson noted that suburban schools are wrestling with the same challenges of increased misbehavior and violence as well as teacher and driver shortages. Hamden, for instance, has wrestled with numerous incidents involving kids bringing weapons to school or attacking each other near the building.

NHPS has sought to deemphasize out-of-school suspensions except in the most serious disciplinary cases, instead pivoting to a ​“restorative justice” approach that emphasizes working with students to accept responsibility and make amends.

As a result, ​“We have fewer suspensions in 2021 compared to 2019,” reported schools spokesperson Justin Harmon. (He wasn’t figuring in the school year in between because of the time off for remote learning in the pandemic.).

“From August through November there were 102 fewer out of school suspensions compared to the same timeframe in 2019,” Harmon stated, noting that the data is preliminary.

“From August through November 2019, there were 201 in-school suspensions and 530 out-of-school suspensions. This year, there have been 37 in-school suspensions and 428 out-of-school suspensions.”

NHPS has an Office of Youth, Family, and Community Engagement that has worked hard to reach students affected most by the pandemic. They went door to door during remote learning to track down ​“ghost students” who weren’t ​“showing up” to online class. Kermit Carolina, a member of the office, has worked with highest-risk students to try to steer them away from settling disputes through violence. Cameo Thorne and a team of ​“restorative coaches and mentors” have worked both with students and families as well as school staff to reduce and prevent violence.

What Else Might Help

The teacher who spoke to the Independent for this article (and requested anonymity) suggested that the schools’ administrative teams keep in contact with teaching staff more frequently with daily memos to inform them of acts of violence that have occurred and updates of how they are dealt with. 

“We never hear anything, which makes us think there are no consequences,” the teacher said. ​“We just don’t know what’s going on around here. They should remind us that we’re safe.” The teacher also suggested that continual reminders of the school’s expectations of student conduct be shared with students so the students aren’t ​“creating the culture of school.” 

An idea for the Board of Education to craft a policy requiring school administrators to communicate with staff about school violence was also suggested.

Jackson suggested that the district work toward regularly recognizing the ​“level of heroism being displayed by educators” amidst a pandemic this school year. 

Rosario and Diaz suggested more school assemblies and schoolwide gatherings for students to build better bonds. They suggested frequent reminders from school administration aboutf repercussions for violence, along with more active student council programs and honors programs. 

This year the district has expanded counseling services to students with the help of Yale Child Study Center and Clifford Beers. Trainings on deescalation and restorative practices will also soon be underway, Jackson said. 

Twenty-nine new full time social workers, psychologists, and counseling staffers have been hired to offer the students with mental health support this year, Jackson reported. Wellness actives like reiki lessons, chat and strolls, and meditation are being offered to school staffers as well. 

She added that the district is aware that ​“SEL tips and wellness activities are not enough.” The district is looking to work with the community on other ideas. ​“We know people need support and coverage,” Jackson said. 

Meanwhile, Blatteau said the teachers union plans to demand more help from the state to support teachers.

“We need to make our voices collectively heard by our state and federal legislators that the strings attached to Covid relief funds hinder us from meeting our students’ needs and rebuilding our school communities in the midst of the ongoing pandemic,” Blatteau said.

To work toward making students and staff safe in buildings, Blatteau suggested administrators open their lines of communication and put more into teaching the collective ​‘why’ with explanations of policies requiring masks be worn, phones be put away, and fighting not occur.

“We need to be more willing to talk about the ​‘why’s of the rules and the ​‘why’s of the consequences,” she said. 

She suggested educators be given the freedom to pause lessons and have those conversations with students at a classroom and school-wide level. Solutions should be gathered through ​“no-fault problem solving” and transparent communication, Blatteau added.

“We want to feel like when we raise these concerns that they’re heard and that some response is shared with us so that we can continue to know that raising concerns in our school communities is the best option,” she said.