![]() 16 at the end of their first day of in-person classes of the fall 2021 semester. Students exit Everett Middle School and meet up with their parents and guardians on Aug. Sometimes they work, and sometimes students end up suspended. The SFUSD handbook makes it clear that school administrators must be particularly careful about disciplining Black or other disproportionately disciplined groups of students, noting “that prior to suspension of an African American student, the school must contact the Assistant Superintendent or designee, who will ensure that the Matrix interventions have been exhausted and documented.”Įarly said that she gets involved when most violent incidents take place at the school, and has held “thousands of restorative circles” with students this year, bringing in therapists and violence intervention workers. ![]() The school follows SFUSD policy in its de-escalation and restorative practices, avoiding disciplinary suspensions whenever possible. The school district, meanwhile, has declined to comment on these incidents, citing an obligation to protect student privacy. While Walker was evidently disliked by other Everett teachers, and both Walker and Castro-Mitchell were seen by former colleagues as outlier cases that were appropriately handled by the administration, no one Mission Local spoke with denied their allegations of being physically abused, threatened and harassed in the classroom. In at least one case, the school tried to cover up an assault. The school district declined to comment on these claims.įormer music teacher Ethan Walker said he was physically and verbally assaulted by multiple students and received a gun threat, but that the follow-up from the school was inadequate. Since that additional help is often not available, and not every teacher feels comfortable getting involved in a physical altercation, some situations get out of control, resulting in situations where teachers are injured or leave the school.įormer computer science teacher Yesi Castro-Mitchell told Mission Local that she was struck so hard by a new student that she lost 75 percent of her hearing, and when she asked to have the student transferred, the school retaliated against her.Īfter last week’s article was published, an Everett employee told Mission Local that the district had failed to inform the school that the student in question had needs requiring additional attention. Wrycza has personally stepped in to de-escalate situations at the school, and has called for assistance when needed, but has noticed that the days when the district sends a Street Violence Intervention Program worker to the school, “everything just feels lighter.” “There’s definitely a huge need for change,” she said. “I don’t think the district is purposely not giving the support, but we don’t have it.”Īnd, during a year with more frequent incidents of violence than past years, science department head Traci Wrycza said more security is needed to help intervene when violence breaks out. Many disabled students at Everett require a paraprofessional educator, but go without the extra help because of lack of staff, Early said. Meanwhile, a district press release on Monday said teacher turnover rates across SFUSD are consistent with last year, and lower than before the pandemic.Īt Everett, 70 percent of students are Latinx, 44 percent are English learners, 62 percent are “socio-economically disadvantaged,” and only about 30 percent met grade level standards in 2019.īut the support for this plethora of needs isn’t there. It’s unclear how many are full-time teachers versus other staff.ĭudnick did not confirm the exact number of full-time teachers and supporting paraprofessionals at Everett but, over the course of this school year, Everett has reportedly lost at least nine teachers. The school employs rough 70 staff members, according to district spokesperson Laura Dudnick. With over 630 students enrolled, and more than 20 percent of students needing special education support, Early said Everett is the highest-needs middle school in the district. Under the San Francisco Unified School District’s tier system for behavioral needs, Everett ranks as a tier 3 school that’s the highest level of need. “We’ve been asking for support from the district I think that the district is also spread thin,” Early said. This, coupled with absent teachers, complicated matters further. ![]() Students returning to the classroom after nearly two years cooped up at home have struggled to readjust, several teachers said, leading to behavioral issues and conflict. “It’s bigger than our school,” said Bridget Early, Everett’s social worker of 14 years. ![]()
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