Teachers and community activists are offering up solutions to the violence at Brockton High School after a fiery school committee meeting Tuesday night.
At the meeting, the Massachusetts city's police chief said she has discovered the district's safety plan is roughly 10 years old and in serious need of updating. The school committee is working on coming up with a concrete plan to address all of the concerns as the state steps in to help.
The state has given Brockton a grant to fund a public safety audit. The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education said it will help implement improvement findings that emerge because of the audit, but students and staff worry the audit could take a while, and they need help now.
"I love my class. I love my students. That's why I do it. Everything else is a nightmare," Cliff Canavan said.
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Canavan, a teacher at Brockton High School, was injured breaking up a fight between students two years ago. He said he is cautiously optimistic change is coming, but he still does not feel safe.
"I had my arm broken. I had my glasses knocked off and stomped on. I have been shoved," he said. "So no, I don't feel safe like I should."
Canavan said he hopes whomever is auditing the district talks directly to the teachers. He said many of them want the state to adjust its school discipline law, which he argues severely limits a school's ability to punish and suspend students.
"We are not even allowed to stand in front of the students and tell them to stop. We have to stand to the side so when they they walk by and ignore us, we're not impeding their movement," Canavan said.
Jamal Gooding, a community activisit, said as Brockton faces a teacher shortage, more supervision is another solution. He said his organization, People Affecting Community Change, has at least 50 volunteers ready to go to help patrol Brockton High School.
"The situation warrants drastic action, and we are ready to go today," Gooding said.
Gooding spoke out about his offer at Tuesday night's meeting and is working on setting up a meeting with the mayor to see if the city will accept it.
"We will work for free," he said. "Our kids can't go another day, another minute, another hour. Our kids need help."
