MANASSAS, Va. — Following a mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, parents have expressed fear for student safety measures and there's been a noticeable increase in police presence outside of area schools. A new report out of Prince William County provides the numbers to back up the concerns.
WUSA9 obtained an April "Behavior Report" through a FOIA request from Prince William County Public Schools, which shows an increase in fights and drug use among middle and high schoolers.
Despite the lack of in-person classes during the pandemic, alcohol and drug-related violations more than doubled among middle and high school students. The number of students caught with e-cigarettes has skyrocketed from 56 in the 3rd quarter of 2020 to 241 this quarter.
According to the school calendar, the 3rd quarter runs from Jan. 31 to March 31. The report shows the school system had a total of 409 fights in those 43 days compared to 235 in the same time period in 2020. Also, in the 3d quarter, 18 staff members were assaulted compared to less than 10 in 2020.
“School violence is not new," said Dr. Susan McMahon, a professor of psychology at Vincent de Paul in Chicago. "It's been a big problem for the U.S. and other countries for many, many years. But violence against educators is new."
McMahon is a also the chair of the American Psychological Association’s taskforce on violence against educators. Her team released a study in March saying one-third of teachers, nationwide, report being threatened or harassed by students.
“We're really in an unprecedented time of dealing with all that past trauma [from the pandemic]," McMahon said. "But we can't just look at students because it's an entire ecological context with many different stakeholders. So, if you just focus on one stakeholder, you're going to be missing part of the puzzle.”
McMahon said part of the solution involves a comprehensive approach that focuses on addressing the trauma and root causes of violence, not only for students but teachers too, many of whom she discovered don’t feel listened to.
“Over 50% [of educators] talked about the needs for different kinds of training and those included social-emotional learning approaches, trauma-informed practices, working with diverse populations, de-escalation strategies and restorative justice practices,” McMahon said.
WUSA9 reached out to PWCPS and in a statement, a spokesperson said the school district's 4-year strategic plan to address the violence includes:
- A security audit to improve and update building safety.
- Proactive social and emotional support to students which includes training and supporting teachers.
- The PWCS Heals Initiative to implement trauma-informed and healing center practices in schools.