A staffer at the largest high school in Massachusetts was hurt Monday in a fight between students after the state governor declined a request from school officials for National Guard support, according to reports.
The Brockton High School staffer was injured during a “physical altercation between students” and was medically evaluated and sent home, the Boston Globe reported. Neither the staffer nor the student were named, and no further details were released. The students involved will be disciplined according to district policy and procedures, Brockton School District spokesperson Jordan Mayblum reportedly told the outlet.
The Brockton School Police was investigating the matter alongside the school administration, a Brockton Police Department spokesperson reportedly told the outlet.
Fights break out at the nearly 3,600-strong school as often as three or four times per week, with the Monday incident being the latest, according to the outlet. This — as well as unauthorized student departures, trespassing, substance abuse and other social issues — prompted four Brockton School Committee members to petition Democratic Gov. Maura Healey via Brockton’s Mayor and School Committee Chair Robert Sullivan for “the deployment of the National Guard to assist in restoring order, ensuring the safety of all individuals on the school premises, and implementing measures to address the root causes of the issues we are facing,” a Feb. 15 letter from the petitioners showed.
Gov. Healey, while expressing understanding of the situation, reportedly refused the request nearly two weeks later, saying, “I don’t think the National Guard is appropriate.” Her administration reportedly opted instead to finance an audit of the situation. (RELATED: ‘A Discouraging Story’: Teachers Continue To Flee Profession Years After Pandemic)
Teachers at the school were at breaking point, the Boston Globe revealed. One teacher reportedly got his arm broken two years ago while trying to break up a fight, the day after he warned that someone could wind up “seriously hurt — or God forbid — killed.” Recently, 35 teachers were absent from the school, a development the committee members who petitioned the authorities called “alarming”.
About seven out of 10 Brockton High School students come from low-income backgrounds, and staffers spoke of vaping, drug dealing, sexual intercourse in empty classrooms and violence going on at the school, according to the Boston Globe.
The school recorded no progress toward English language proficiency, showed no achievement in English Language, Mathematics, and Science, and was plagued by chronic absenteeism, according to a 2023 Official Accountability Report.
The school’s current principal, Kevin McCaskill, was appointed early this year to “set the tone for what it means to be a Brockton Boxer,” The Enterprise reported. Announcing a raft of disciplinary and capacity-building measures soon after, he reportedly urged the School Committee to “watch the repairs.”