Adult entered Fresno high school to start fight that left teacher injured, district says
A teacher in the Fresno Unified School District says she suffered a concussion while breaking up a fight earlier this month involving students and an adult who came onto campus without permission and provoked the attack, according to police and the district.
Fresno police are investigating the incident, which happened Oct. 3 at McLane High School. No arrests have been made.
Fresno Unified spokesperson Nikki Henry said the district is cooperating with the police investigation. Henry told The Bee in an email the incident involved a student’s adult relative who “unlawfully entered one of our campuses with the intent to instigate and participate in a fight between students.”
“This premeditated act of violence, brought onto our school by adults, is entirely unacceptable.” Henry said. “We hope that the family involved will be held accountable for their actions.”
On Wednesday, McLane High teacher Alison Mattox described for reporters her account of the fight, as well as the events leading up to the incident, at a press conference organized by the Fresno Teachers Association, the district’s teachers union. The Bee also viewed video footage of the incident that the Fresno teachers union says was posted by a student on a private social media account.
Mattox says the incident happened inside her McLane High classroom during lunch period and involved two students on the school’s cheer team, which Mattox coaches. A video recording shows the student who was accompanied by her adult relative lunging at another student from behind and repeatedly swinging her fists. The video shows Mattox getting punched in the head as she tries to separate the two girls.
The adult relative who came onto campus encouraged the attack and hit Mattox and pulled her hair as she tried to break up the fight, Mattox said at the press conference.
Mattox said the student who started the fight had been bullying the other student in the weeks leading up to the incident. She said she reported the bullying to the high school’s principal and administrators and asked them to intervene in the conflict.
“Instead of offering support, everything was put back onto me,” Mattox said. “They (school administrators) have been aware of these issues from the start and something should have happened and they should have stepped in.”
Mattox says she feels unsafe to return to the high school. Manuel Bonilla, a McLane High teacher and president of the Fresno Teachers Association, criticized school leaders’ response leading up to the incident and called on the district to improve safety measures for teachers and students.
“Students who engage in dangerous behavior go unchecked and adults who intimidate or threaten staff walk onto campuses without facing any consequences,” Bonilla said.
This story was originally published October 17, 2024 at 2:23 PM.
