Violence 'really bad' after COVID, Brockton superintendent says. What he saw, what helped

BROCKTON — Although the safety and security concerns that schools in Brockton are experiencing have existed since before the pandemic, Brockton Public Schools saw a huge increase in violence once it returned to in-person learning, said BPS Superintendent Mike Thomas.

Violence among students “got really bad after COVID,” Thomas told The Enterprise in an interview last week.

“The year we came back fully in person was harder than the year we went virtual. No one was ready to come back. No one knew what it was going to be like,” said Thomas, who was placed on administrative leave in February and prior to that was on medical leave since the revelation in August of a bombshell $18 million budget shortfall from the prior fiscal year.

Brockton, like schools everywhere, at the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020 spent the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year virtual. But unlike many other districts, Brockton remained fully virtual for much of the following school year, all the way through to April of 2021. The year after that, 2021-22, marked the first year that would be fully in-person.

Thomas said the school environment post-pandemic was “a whole different world.”

“It’s just a lot to adjust to a post-Covid world,” Thomas said.

According to Thomas, since the pandemic, a female student was stabbed in the leg and was brought to the hospital with severe injuries; another student was stabbed in the neck and hospitalized; another student brought a gun into Brockton High; and more fights in the hallways led to hospitalizations than ever before.

“It gets to the point where no one can be killed on my watch,” Thomas said. “No one’s going to die in school because of violence.”

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Student mental health needs on the rise

Thomas said the level of stress placed on students and teachers in the district rose significantly once they emerged from virtual learning. More faculty were taking off or resigning due to mental health concerns, and it was clear BPS needed to hire more social and emotional learning staff.

Using money from the pandemic-era ESSER funds, the district brought in more adjustment counselors and mentors to help manage a growing mental health crisis.

Thomas said the district had prepared protocols for handling external school threats like an active shooter, but didn’t have enough resources to deal with internal school threats like violent fights or the presence of a weapon.

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Students using social media to plan fights

Plus, with the rise of cell phone use in schools, students began using social media to plan and spread the word about school fights without the awareness of teachers or staff, Thomas said.

Student discipline and Chapter 222

Thomas said that along with mental health, the pandemic exacerbated various behavioral issues among some students, which has led to more violent incidents.

Thomas held individual meetings with roughly 400 students who were creating problems, along with their parents and school principals, to find the root cause of their misbehavior and propose a solution. Thomas said the meetings had a positive impact.

“They were important because the parents needed to be heard. It was important to hear that dialogue back and forth,” Thomas said. “You pick up so much when you meet with them. There’s no substitute for that.”

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According to Thomas, having the superintendent present during those meeting “shows how serious it was,” and assistant superintendents are still holding these meetings with students currently.

“I prided myself on meeting with as many kids as I could,” he said.

Thomas took this idea from former Brockton High Principal Susan Szachowicz, who served as principal during the height of BPS’ student enrollment and academic achievement in the early 2010s, when Brockton High was considered a model school.

Thomas said Szachowicz was a “tough boss” and enforced a strict discipline policy for BHS students.

“She was the best principal I’ve ever seen. She knew how to get everyone on the same page,” said Thomas. “She created a culture of achievement and everybody wanting to be a part of it.”

Disciplining students has become more challenging in recent years since a state law known as “Chapter 222” was passed that bans the use of out-of-school suspensions in schools across Massachusetts under many circumstances.

Thomas said that while suspending students is “a waste of time,” the law doesn’t give teachers enough support to carry out the policy effectively.

Students with gang affiliations

According to Thomas, some students in Brockton Public Schools have ties to local gangs. Even five or six years ago, the fallout of gang-related murders would periodically spill into the schools. Mentors hired by the school district would visit those students at home or in school to give them extra support.

“The best way to get them out of those situations is education,” Thomas said. “It’s our job to do the best we can.”

Thomas has worked in the Brockton Public Schools at various levels for more than 30 years, and he said one thing that hasn’t changed over the years is the passion staff have for helping their students.

“I’ve never seen them lose their love for the kids,” he said. “I have not seen the dedication wane.”

This article originally appeared on The Enterprise: Brockton schools superintendent Mike Thomas: Violence bad after COVID