Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - After reports of several recent fights breaking out inside Buffalo Public Schools, as well as shared footage of multiple students throwing punches inside McKinley High School and one parent bringing a knife through security at Riverside, one longtime BPS teacher is fed up with the typical response he hears from the district: these are "isolated incidences".
"Instead of admitting it's a serious problem and we're going to address it, I always feel it's downplayed. It's an isolated incident. Well, I think if you heard from parent groups and groups like the Peacemakers last night at the board meeting, you know everyone's kind of on the same page. This isn't just happening at Riverside, it's happening at many schools throughout the district and that's concerning," said Marc Bruno, a Riverside teacher and member of the Buffalo Teachers Federation.
Buffalo Peacemaker Pastor James Giles says there's many reasons why students continue to act out including bullying on social media and traumatic experiences at home. But it typically derives from boredom, especially if you're suspended from school.
"There is confusion and contention among groups of young men and young women inside our public schools," said Pastor Giles.
"The atmosphere or the environment is not conducive to them resolving things, in other words, they don't have enough, constructive programmings to offset some of that negative energy that the students are carrying around. So as a consequence, the students are spending time [sending messages via social media], creating stuff and when one person says something about another person, then that stuff spreads through the chatline. And now you got several groups, talking about it and being at odds with other groups, that is creating is tension amongst students."
Giles mentioned that in order to alleviate the fights that ensued last November amongst a group of suspended kids downtown near the public library, it took law enforcement and the Peacemakers to gather all the instigators and have a conversation with all the students to get to the root of the situation.
"We finally were able to get the players, the instigators to get all of them in one room and resolve it. It died down because we were able to get to the crux of the beef and resolve that."
Buffalo Common Councilwoman and Education Committee Chair Zeneta Everhart wants to ensure that there is adequate support systems in place for students to reach out to and to inform parents and students of the resources, tools and programs available for students in the City of Buffalo, but it starts with open communication from all parties: parents, students, government, school administrators, teachers and the community outreach programmers.
"It's getting out of control. And we're getting more and more of [fights]. But that speaks to the culture of the world we live in. What is happening with these students on a day-to-day level? Are we are we getting these kids counseling? Right? Are we making sure that they have the supports that they need in school and outside of school? That, for me, is the crux. And that's where I'm going to continue to stay as education chair, I'm going to continue to convene with all of these different parties and bring them together to have these conversations. Because, it cannot just start with 'Oh, there was a fight.' That's not enough for me."
Bruno has a few ideas he would like to see seriously considered from the board and BPS Superintendent Dr. Tonja Williams so eventually schools can alleviate the amount of "routine" 911 calls made to our local law enforcement.
"A state-of-the-art school of students support, where most neediest students get the help they need, you know, anger management class, trauma-informed care class, and possibly for the most violent students, a state-of-the-art virtual academy, with teachers who just teach virtually and not try to teach a live class of actual students and teach virtually at the same time -- concurrent teaching, which is insane and doesn't work -- and putting police in some of the schools in crisis."
The Buffalo Public School District released the following with WBEN on the matter:
"Superintendent Williams has prioritized safety and security for all Buffalo Public Schools. All options are on the table, and she continues to have conversations with the commissioner of the Buffalo Police. Under this administration, BPS has increased the number of BPS security officers for schools, installed Evolv security scanning systems in all schools, implemented both a school visitor and sports spectator policy, and worked with community-based partners that provide mentoring, restorative practices, and safety patrols around school buildings after hours. Additionally, BPS has provided schools with significant supports, including full-time Student Support Teams, which are comprised of social workers, a school psychologist, and school counselors.
Additional Information:
- The decision pertaining to off-duty officers was made by the previous administration.
- Physical altercations among students unfortunately occur in schools both nationwide and throughout Western New York.
- While there are a small number of misbehaving students among our students, BPS is proud that the majority of our 30,000 students are responsible, respectful, and come to school eager to learn.
- Superintendent Williams has urged parents and others in the community to help establish expectations for student behavior."