Wicomico Co. educators raise concerns over student violence, alleged lack of administrative support

May 10, 2023

Han Cechini,

WICOMICO COUNTY, Md. – Members of the Wicomico County Education Association (WCEA) are asking for more support from the (WCBOE) Board of Education. This comes as teachers report increasing incidents of student violence and behavioral issues.

“Many educators do not feel safe in their own classrooms.”

A letter sent to the WCBOE by the WCEA says that as Wicomico County’s at-risk population is high, student violence and academic achievement continue to be pressing concerns.

47 ABC WMDT reached out to WCEA for additional comment, and did not hear back. The following quotes and information were taken from the letter.

“Some believe that student violence and other extreme behavioral problems seem to be downplayed or ignored,” writes WCEA President Joan Joan Smith. “Consequently, many educators do not feel safe in their own classrooms. Lack of administrative support is cited by many as the primary reason the issues of student discipline continue, and educators leave the profession.”

Smith also writes that a system-wide approach to discipline does not seem to be endorse or upheld. She said administrators are not given enough guidance to take action in matters of student discipline. A combination of factors leading to these students’ behavior is to blame, says Smith;

“Peer pressure, drug and alcohol use, the influence of mass media, and overall school climate. Students’ individual characteristics, socioeconomic status and history of violence also play a significant role. Whatever the root cause, students are not trying to resolve issues,” Smith wrote.

Students’ Frustrations Grow, Says WCEA

In the letter, Smith adds that curriculum could be part of the problem. She writes that as education becomes “less of a positive experience,” students struggle to achieve; becoming “angrier and more confrontational, and the staff bears the brunt of the students frustration.”

“Some suggest that students’ menacing behaviors are ‘part of the job’ or suggest that the teacher was somehow at fault. Neither is an acceptable response,” writes Smith.

Smith says these ‘menacing behaviors’ have only risen in recent years, writing, “After the tragic shootings in schools and in Virginia, the shooting of a teacher by a first grader, how can we ignore/downplay student threats and violence?”

Schools are slow or hesitant to use strong disciplinary action, says Smith, which leads to underreporting, leaving staff and other students vulnerable. Any threat made must be investigated, Smith implores in the letter. “In today’s world, students have the capability and the means to carry out their threats and our teachers are worried,” she writes.

“Fear and long-term trauma”

The remainder of the letter outlines 21 separate complaints from members of the WCEA, and other local teachers. Smith says the accounts are anonymous, because “Most who have responded say that they fear the vindictiveness of administrators and fear retaliation.”

In one account, an educator writes about a third grade student repeatedly threatening to stab the teacher and classmates with scissors and pencils. “The classroom is no longer a safe place for students or for me,” writes the educator. The educator said the student was never removed from the classroom, and has attacked teachers in the past.

“On one occasion, the student took a pencil sharpener apart, removed the blade, then threatened to cut students in the classroom and me,” the teacher wrote. “Each time I tried to move students out of harm’s way, the student came with the blade. Though I called for help, too many minutes passed before anyone came to remove the student… Because of the frequency and intensity of the behaviors, I believe this student would carry out the threats.”

Another educator writes about a middle school student bringing a BB gun to school. At first, students and staff thought it was a real gun, the educator wrote.

“Administrators told teachers that the student brought the gun to school for another student to use to kill himself/herself. Teachers were told that the student would be back in school. This student had, had previous issues with students and with teachers,” wrote the teacher. “The incident was minimized by calling the weapon ‘only a BB gun’ as if it was a child’s toy. The fear and long-term trauma felt by students and staff who experienced the situation was no game, no drill.”

Other educators raised concerns about even younger students; one writing, “Students yell obscene language, push, kick, spit, bite. One exposes in front of other students and has purposely urinated on me more than once and laughed about it. There is no assistant in the classroom to help with these young students though I have asked many times. Administration says they can’t do anything about it.”

Concerns Over Facilities, Discipline

Another educator wrote in about concerns over school facilities, saying it was too small, too old. “There is no room for classrooms, and we are not being fully equipped with what teachers need to do their jobs,” they wrote. Another writing, “The stench in hall makes me and others feel sick. Why aren’t the dogs being sent in?”

Concerns over inequitable discipline were also raised in the letter.

“We have heard of a Comprehensive Coordinated Early Intervention System program that directs administrators to pay attention to the disproportionality of student suspensions within the school,” the educator wrote. “More specifically, suspensions of students with IEPs and African-American students with IEPs. Students who create disruptions regardless of the number of times or seriousness of the issue are sent to a room with counselors. When they return, there seems to be no change.”

WCPS Responds

47 ABC WMDT reached out to Wicomico County Public Schools for their response to this letter. The district sent the following statement:

“We certainly recognize some tremendous challenges including improving school climate and the safety of our students and teachers. In his State of the Schools address last month, Superintendent Dr. Micah Stauffer shared that one of his main priorities is school safety for all.”

The statement continues, “The Wicomico Board of Education members have stressed that improving school safety and revising and enforcing the Code of Conduct policy is their top priority as well as a topic of discussion at almost every Board meeting in the past few months. The Board asked for feedback on the Code of Conduct in April, for example, and received numerous comments, concerns and suggestions. We are taking the issue of student and teacher safety seriously and are vigorously looking at solutions to improve this issue.”