Violence in schools: How the biggest Mass. school districts compare

BROCKTON, Mass. — Earlier this school year, a history teacher at Brockton High School had enough.

After a series of fights that led to arrests and out-of-school suspensions, he wrote a two-page letter to the school committee pleading for help. He said his kids were out of control and impossible to control.

"We experience violence and major disruptions on a regular basis," Richard Bennet wrote. "I am shocked that no one has been seriously hurt yet."

The high school that celebrates the home of Rocky Marciano has seen its share of fists thrown this school year. We found evidence of fights, from YouTube videos that went viral, and spoke to students who told Boston 25 News, they’ve seen it often.

Boston 25 News’ Jason Law wanted to know how often schools punish kids, and if it even makes a difference.

In September, eight kids were arrested and 16 were suspended after a series of fights over two days.

"There's so much stress in school. That to me has increased a lot," said Dr. Lisa Fiore, professor of education at Lesley University.

She believes kids today aren't more violent, but finding ways to get through to them is getting harder.

“What disciplinary actions can be taken now? You put people in detention?" she added.

The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education keeps a record of the number of students disciplined for possessing weapons, fighting, or threatening to attack another student or teacher.  Boston 25 News compiled the data from some of the area’s biggest school systems.

Reports of Violence from the 2015-16 School Year Data from Mass. Department of Elementary & Secondary Education

But those are just the cases that are reported. Dr. Fiore says many times incidents aren't reported, either because the teacher doesn't want to look incompetent, or students are too embarrassed to come forward.

"The beginning of the year, I think the kids were basically going to test the limits of what was going on up there,” said Brockton School Committee Vice-Chair Tom Minichiello.

He told Boston 25 News, the district added more hallway monitors and teacher assistants.

"You have to understand when you're dealing with 4,000 kids there are going to be incidents," said Minichiello.

Overcrowded classrooms and overwhelmed teachers can contribute to the problem. At Brockton High, they average close to 30 students in a class.

"Even the best teachers, when you're getting your license you're not trained in class size. There's classroom management which is always the class everyone wishes they had more of, but even if you had the best tool kit, much of it just goes out the window," said Dr. Fiore.

What can teachers and school administrators do? It sounds like a small thing, but Dr. Fiore says greeting students at the door, learning their names, and breaking them into smaller groups can help make their jobs easier, and lower the chances of a child acting out with violence.

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