School leaders in Brockton, Massachusetts, struck an optimistic tone at a Tuesday night meeting about progress in curbing student violence.
After weeks of discussions on how to deal with violence at Brockton High School — including the state denying some school committee members' request for National Guard assistance — new safety policies are in effect, and morale is improving.
Police in Brockton has been working with the school committee to establish a safer setting. A representative from the Brockton Police Department said at the meeting that while fights are still occurring, they seem to be trending downward.
Get Boston local news, weather forecasts, lifestyle and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC Boston’s newsletters.
Among the policy changes are bag checks with metal detectors and unoccupied classrooms being secured. Former Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis and his team will also work with the school to improve security.
"I'd like to thank our teaching staff, who's doing an outstanding job, -- I'm not just saying it for the TV cameras and the such," Brockton High School Principal Kevin McCaskill said during the meeting. "They come to work every single day, we're seeing an increase in teacher attendance."
"Definitely, it's very different," one student told NBC10 Boston. "It's sort of calming down a little bit."
"It feels great, you know, but again, we still have work to do," McCaskill said. "We are, in no way, shape and form, the school that we need to be. So if we continuously work hard, come in with our hard hats on every single day to provide the best possible outcomes for our students, we will continue to do that."
