Editorial: Fresno classrooms should be safe havens, not boxing rings

A classroom is supposed to be a safe haven from the dangers of the outside world.

But thanks to the popularity of cellphones with video cameras, we know that two violent attacks recently occurred at Fresno’s Roosevelt High School.

In the first attack, a student punched a substitute teacher several times. Two 15-year-old girls beat another girl in the second attack after being incited to do so by a boy. They punched and kicked the victim with such ferocity that a teacher couldn’t break up the fight. Finally, a school resource officer was able to end the thuggery.

The victims in these beatings extend beyond the teacher and girl who were physically hurt and likely are suffering psychological wounds. When teachers are unable to control their classrooms, learning suffers. And in extreme situations, education becomes next to impossible.

We don’t affix blame for these violent attacks on Fresno Unified School District. The district’s schools reflect their neighborhoods – the good, the bad, the spiritually uplifting and the utterly disgusting.

But Fresno Unified’s leadership in concert with teachers, students and community members would be wise to closely examine the district’s disciplinary methods. These same stakeholders also need to review the alternative educational programs for students who disrupt classes, lash out at students and teachers, bring weapons and drugs to school and engage in violence.

Many of these troubled students are victims of their upbringing. Without intervention from responsible adults, these children have little chance at productive lives. The behavior they exhibit at school is what they have learned at home or from their peers. In many Fresno homes where the father is completely or largely absent, the adult male role model is a neighborhood gang member.

To give you an idea of what Roosevelt High teachers face, consider this: Fresno Unified Trustee Luis Chavez said that a parent of one of the participants in the second attack posted a video of it on a social media site and bragged about the beating.

Highly troubled youths aren’t likely to succeed in traditional neighborhood schools – unless the schools offer strong alternative education programs and have teams of counselors and psychologists. The other avenue that Fresno Unified should consider is expanding its community day school.

At the urging of community members and students, Fresno Unified is now using a restorative justice discipline program that relies on conflict resolution instead of suspensions or expulsions to address students’ bad behavior. The goal is noble: keep students in school and on track to graduate.

But if the cost for retaining troubled students in neighborhood schools is unruly classrooms, commonplace defiance of teachers and a failure to hold troublemakers accountable for their actions, then the discipline system must be fixed.

Chavez said that the district is adding two or three security assistants at Roosevelt and more hours to the school resource officer’s schedule. That is the appropriate immediate reaction to the situation there. We hope that it helps settle things down.

The district and community, however, must come up with policies for the long term that restore civility and safety to classrooms.

The classroom, after all, is supposed to be a safe haven for students and teachers.

This story was originally published October 2, 2015 at 8:30 AM with the headline "Editorial: Fresno classrooms should be safe havens, not boxing rings."