This is scary. Look at the disaster happening in Brockton, Massachusetts. The high school is so bad there are calls for the National Guard. No wonder education will be a huge issue come November. Mandy McLaren and Christopher Huffaker report for the Boston Globe:
After four Brockton School Committee members called on the governor to send in National Guard troops to bring order to the state’s largest high school, education specialists, racial justice advocates, and even other Brockton officials on Tuesday overwhelmingly rejected the prospect of a militarized campus.
“It’s a ridiculous idea that is incredibly problematic on multiple levels,’’ said Leon Smith, executive director of the Boston-based advocacy group Citizens for Juvenile Justice.
Backlash to the proposal comes as Brockton High’s nearly 3,600 students, home on February break, await news on how leaders will address their school’s unruly environment when classes resume Monday. The school, 25 miles south of Boston, has been engulfed in turmoil for months, with its halls and classrooms drastically understaffed due in large part to cuts last year caused by back-to-back multimillion-dollar budget deficits — and worsened by staff attendance issues as teachers seek to avoid the disruption. Staff, students, and parents have reported verbal abuse, regular fights, and open drug use.
The fever reached a new pitch Friday when the four School Committee members — Claudio Gomes, Ana Oliver, Tony Rodrigues, and Joyce Asack — called for the National Guard to be brought in. The committee members said they were seeking additional adult supervision at the school.
Aside from the Guard, “everything is on the table,’’ said Mayor Robert Sullivan, who holds a seat on the School Committee and opposes bringing in the National Guard. “I’m ready, willing, and able to work with anyone to alleviate the situation.’’
Sullivan said he’s met in recent days with Police Chief Brenda Perez, US Representative Stephen Lynch, and Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll to discuss the state of affairs at Brockton High. But Sullivan on Tuesday could not provide concrete plans on how to resolve the upheaval. The state’s top education office would only say in a statement that it is “committed to making sure our schools provide safe and supportive environments for all students, educators, and staff.’’
The school district and Police Department have not responded to requests from the Globe for the number of suspensions, arrests, or emergency calls this year at the school, which might shed light on the full extent of disruptions. In prior years, according to state data, as many as one-third of Brockton High students were suspended, either in-school, or out, in a single school year.
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