More Student-Teacher Conflicts In Baltimore Area Have School Staffers, Unions Concerned
BALTIMORE (WJZ/AP) — Another staffer at a Baltimore City school has reportedly been assaulted on a campus, the third attack on a school employee reported in Baltimore this month.
City Schools spokeswoman Edie House-Foster confirmed a teacher at Baltimore Polytechnic Institute was assaulted by a student Wednesday, but not how old the student was.
The second attack came earlier this week when a cafeteria worker was involved in yet another incident involving students and staffers recently.
Baltimore City Schools said a cafeteria worker at National Academy Foundation "was injured as the result of an alleged assault" on Tuesday afternoon.
It started when she allegedly denied a student a carton of milk, in accordance with school protocol.
The video, recorded inside the school shows a cafeteria worker walking away from a crowd of students, her back turned when two girls jumped her Tuesday.
The attack sent the worker to the emergency room, bruised and with a broken arm.
She was released from the hospital Wednesday night.
"Our thoughts are with her and her family during her recovery," said city schools spokeswoman Edie House Foster. "Pending completion of investigations by school staff and City Schools police, the students involved will receive all appropriate consequences according to the law and the district's code of conduct."
The National Academy Foundation School of Baltimore is a public school serving grades 6 through 12 that offers four high-school level "academies": finance, information technology, hospitality and tourism, and engineering.
Union Forms Task Force As Another Schools Staffer Assaulted
The President of the City School Police Union is now speaking out.
"These incidents have raised our eyebrows and officers were called into the office today and said 'How can we be of more assistance?'" said Sgt. Clyde Boatwright.
Sgt. Clyde Boatwright said the reality is that these attacks may happen more often than we know.
"It's just now the world is starting to see those incidents because of the you know, advanced technology such as cell phone cameras and surveillance cameras," Boatwright said.
The Baltimore Teacher's Union said it's creating a school safety task force to combat the violence.
"It is inexcusable that teachers and paraprofessionals, school administration and staff keep being assaulted by students who are in desperate need of help", says President Marietta English. "Our school workers need provisions in place to help protect them when things like this happen, which is why the BTU is putting together a School Safety Taskforce that will meet on December 14th to examine Baltimore City Public School's Code of Conduct in order to improve it.
The Taskforce, that includes community leaders, clergy, parents and legislators, will develop a plan to be implemented by the end of January 2019.
The safety of our teachers, paraprofessionals, school staff and students is of utmost importance. We must act now to ensure that everyone who works in our schools is able to do what it is they were hired to do. Teach."
Antoinette Ryan Johnson is the president of the Union that represents Baltimore's school cafeteria staff.
"No one wants to go to work and feel threatened. No one wants to go to work and feel like their safety is not a vested interest," Johnson said.
Earlier this month, cellphone video showed a 17-year-old student punching a teacher at Frederick Douglass High School. The consequences for the student have not been released.
VIDEO: Student Seen Hitting Teacher At A Baltimore High School
The clip of the attack went viral, the teacher-turned-victim later said the assault happened on her 57th birthday after she had just returned to the classroom from taking medical leave to get cancer treatment.
"It's disturbing that children are expressing violence or their feelings in this way," said Marietta English with the Baltimore Teacher's Union.
Union presidents for both teachers and staff said they plan to meet with clergy, parents and community leaders to try and get a grip on the problem.
"It's not going to be a conversation. We need to leave this meeting with a definitive course of action and how we're going to address these things," Johnson said.
In the meantime, a spokesperson for City Schools wrote to WJZ:
"Pending completion of investigations by school staff and City Schools police, the students involved will receive all appropriate consequences according to the law and the District's code of conduct,"
There is no word at this time what kind of discipline they may face.
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