http://www.wvwnews.net/story.php?id=4065
There were more than 200 student assaults on county public http://www.wvwnews.net/story.php?id=4069 teachers last academic year, according to a state report. But school officials said many of the incidents weren’t serious assaults and involved elementary schoolers.
However, Tim Mennuti, president of the Teachers Association of Anne Arundel County, wrote in a newsletter to union members that the http://www.wvwnews.net/story.php?id=4371 has a “climate of secrecy” around student-on-teacher assaults.
During the 2006-07 school year, 209 suspensions were given for assaults on teachers, according to a state Department of Education report. That’s an increase over the 123 that occurred in the 2005- 06 school year. The report for the 2007-08 school year is not available.
That means that, statewide Anne Arundel schools had the fifth-highest number of student-on-teacher assaults in 2006-07. Baltimore City had the most with 515; followed by Baltimore, Prince George’s and Montgomery counties.
Bob Mosier, a spokesman for county public schools, said many of the incidents wouldn’t have been considered assaults a few years ago, but a change of categories in state reports led to minor incidents being considered assaults.
Of the 209 assaults, 23 were considered to be grounds for expulsion or a lengthy suspension and were likely the most serious incidents, Mr. Mosier said.
Elementary school students were involved in 139 of them, and 60 were either kindergartners or first- and second-graders, said Sally Pelham, the county assistant superintendent for strategic initiatives.
“It wasn’t really an assault on a teacher; it was more of a behavioral issue,” in many cases among younger students, Ms. Pelham said. “We found a lot of biting or kicking.”
Still, Mr. Mennuti is concerned about violence against teachers. He said the school system doesn’t inform the union about assaults. While he said he thinks violence against teachers is on the rise, he said inconsistency in reporting incidents means the amount of violence against teachers would still be unclear even if the school system shared the data.
That’s because under a policy adopted in 2006, the local principals ultimately decide whether something is an ‘attack’ or not.
http://www.redorbit.com/news/education/1439783/state_209_assaults_on_teachers_last_year/