Edited by Sarah Cook
How often have you seen a fight at school?
Sadly, it’s pretty common. According to the East Rock Record Fall 2024 survey, 72 percent of students reported seeing a fight this year, either in the school building, on the bus, or at recess. Thirty percent of students said fights bother them. Fifteen percent admitted to being in a fight at school this year.
The problem is not just the numbers. At East Rock School, teachers and students say fighting has become more violent. Some blame social media.
Amy Binkowski, a 6th grade teacher, said that over the past decade reasons for fights have changed. Before, she said, they were driven by students’ tempers. Now, she said, they are more related to video games and sports. And now, fights typically involve curse words.
“They have become more vicious. There’s more hair pulling,” said Ms. Binkowski. “Before it used to just be throwing punches,” which she pointed out is still a problem.
Social media has become a place where students post videos of fights, which spread like wildfire in schools. Marlin Rodriguez, a 7th grader, said most fights start on social media. She said the videos can turn viral, which leads to more fights. That’s because, as Ms. Rodriguez explained, “If you are in the video you are known for being cool or brave.”
Some private accounts on Instagram and TikTok used to post about flights at East Rock School. But when school leaders found out which students had the accounts, they were shut down.
East Rock School principal, Sabrina Breland, has noticed a change since the COVID-19 pandemic in behavior broadly, with more “mean behavior.” While there were few fights when she first arrived at the school, the culture is different following the COVID-19 pandemic. “We had a lot of new students who did not grow up the East Rock way,” Breland said.
Fighting is not a new problem in schools, including in New Haven, and at East Rock Community & Cultural Studies Magnet School. Still, Ms. Breland said the school has “zero tolerance for physical contact or fighting.”
“Fights shouldn’t happen, because we should all love each other,” said Fatia Riaz, a 3rd grader. “We should all care about each other. We’re all different on the outside, but we’re the same on the inside.”
Many experts emphasize the increase in bad behavior in school following the Covid-19 pandemic. And the numbers support that. During the 2023-2024 school year, the state of Connecticut reported 1,062 bullying incidents, a big increase from the pandemic. There were 582 bullying incidents in the 2019-2020 school year. Suspension rates have followed a similar trend, with 2023-2024 rates about 40 percent higher than the 2019-2020 school year.
When students act out, there are steps teachers usually take. If there is a verbal altercation, those conflicts are sorted out through conversations. If there is a “push and a shove,” teachers often handle that in their classrooms, said Ms. Breland. If a student strikes a friend, they will be sent to the principal’s office, where they may have to write a reflection paper. But if there are serious injuries, said Ms. Breland, these can lead to an out of school suspension, which is a “last resort.”
“We try not to be in the business of punishing people, but we do issue consequences,” for bad behavior, said Ms. Breland.
She also said that teachers also are trained in de-escalating emotional situations. When students act out at East Rock, they can be sent to the “Dream Den” for an in-school suspension.
John Kennedy, a math teacher at East Rock School, often tries to first encourage students to “talk it out” with other students to mediate conflict.
“Some of the things that I use in my classroom, if kids are getting too excited, I’ll ask them to step out, not necessarily to tell them how bad they’re acting, but to give them some space to get their emotions under control,” said Mr. Kennedy.
East Rock School follows what is called the “DREAM” behavioral intervention system, he added. It tries to focus students on positive behavior and stands for “Dedication,” “Responsibility,” “Etiquette,” “Attitude” and “Motivation.”
Some students agree that de-escalating is better than fighting. “If you’re getting annoyed by someone, you shouldn’t just, like, punch them in the face,” said Eliseo Plascencia, a 6th grade student. “You should just calm down.”
Teachers turn to serious punishments when a fight gets violent. One fifth grader, Serelle Barsalou, told The East Rock Record that recess was taken away for her entire grade because of fighting at recess the previous day. She said students spent the time signing a contract to agree to improved behavior. The student felt this was unfair because the fights were only among a “couple kids acting really, really bad.”
Ms. Breland said she “was not aware of that. I am sorry that happened.”
Recess may be a place where fights break out. But it is also protected by law for students in grades kindergarten through 5th grade. A bill proposed in 2022 that became part of a children’s mental health law requires every district to have a policy about recess — and that policy must not allow recess to be taken away unless a student poses a danger or there is another recess that day. State Rep. Liz Linehan (D-Hamden), who championed this bill, told East Rock Record reporters that recess should only be taken away for a short period for one student and never an entire grade.
