Columbine, Newtown, Danvers ….. Submitted by a member

School violence is pervasive and getting closer to home.  What if the telltale signs of school dysfunction were salient and you or someone you knew had the foresight to prevent an atrocity before it occurred?  To whom would you communicate this information … to the principal, to the superintendent, to the mayor??? What if those concerns repeatedly fell on deaf ears?  What if reports of increasing violence within the school remained ignored?  What if the violence and fear persisted and intensified?  What if you then went to every available avenue to disseminate information including written media, broadcast media and social media?  What if people remained indifferent to your plea for help?  Would you give up and wait for the inevitable?

WE WILL NOT!  We are the educators of New Bedford Public Schools and we will not accept indifference where our students are concerned.  This is why we will meet on December 13th at New Bedford High School Auditorium – for the safety of all students and staff.  To that end here is a proposal for moving forward and addressing the issue of increasing school violence.  What if instead of hiring new administrative personnel at PRAB, NBPS hired more clerical staff to handle the IEP process in each school.  This would free our school psychologists, adjustment counselors and behaviorists to do more than evaluate students and make appointments for TEAM meetings.  It would allow them valuable time needed to educate students and families that aggression in any form is unacceptable in school.  In theory this might reduce the time teachers spend disciplining students thereby allowing them to concentrate on teaching specific subject matter.  Reassessing the manner in which support staff are utilized is a basic function of administration and may be a key factor in decreasing school violence at the elementary, middle and high school levels.