Manchester High School Melee

So the latest excitement in Manchester is the fight at MHS.  I watched the news coverage, talked to some school officials, and attended the parent meeting that was held on Saturday.  For those that might not have seen the story, at least 8 kids got into a fight at 9:01 am in the school last Thursday, and there were many onlookers, some of whom refused to disperse when order to do so by the police.  The story made all the local papers and the local TV news. 

The forum I attended had about 250-300 parents, and a few students, most of whom where angry.  Very angry.  The forum generally went well.  There were a lot of questions, along with some angry rants from members of the community.  The comments and questions mostly boiled down to this:

• People were angry because either their students didn't feel safe attending the school, or they didn't feel safe sending them, or both.
• People felt that information wasn't shared well - and that some of the information shared was inaccurate.
• People felt that the students involved in this fight should not be coming back to MHS.

The second point above was highlighted by some misunderstandings, which may or may not have been intentional.  There WERE altercations later that day.  They may not have been physical, although some claimed they were, but clearly there were additional altercations, and this information seems not to have been communicated by administrators.  I didn't know that these had taken place, and the police officers involved noted that there were "incidents" although they were verbal in nature.

This is a very important point.  While such incidents may not have resulted in arrests, there WERE incidents, and the message that "all was quiet" after the school got out of lockdown was, at best, disingenuous. 

When things like this happen, it is very important for ALL relevant information to be shared.  It doesn't matter if such incidents are common, or unrelated.  What matters is that people were watching, and now many felt lied to.  It's never the crime that gets you, it's the coverup.  While I don't feel there is a cover up here, the APPEARANCE of one was critical to avoid. 

The biggest question at this point is, what to do now?  Well, I'd offer the following suggestions...

1. Say as honestly as possible, without violating any confidentiality, that the school system will seek the most severe penalties for the behavior of these students.  If they can be suspended, say that the system will seek to suspend them.  If they can be expelled, say that the system will seek to expel them.   Then carry through on those statements.
2. Examine very carefully what could have been done to KNOW about this fight ahead of time.  There were at least 10 students not involved in the actual fight, who knew it was going to happen.  There may have been more.  
3. Plug into the social networks that these kids have.  Facebook, Twitter, hallway conversations, stoolies, girlfriends/boyfriends, etc.  At least some of the kids knew that this was going to happen... how does the administration find out too?
4. As Chris Pattaccini noted, change the culture at MHS.  This includes teachers, administrators, and students.  While "zero tolerance" may not be an option legally, whatever is legal should be adopted.  If there is a question, err on the side of order and safety.  
5. Staff needs to work as a team.  That means strong leadership and loyal support.  Anyone who can't sign up for that should do the lemon dance or find a new job.  
6. Parents need to be called to task.  The administration knows who the gang members are.  Parents should be sent a letter saying that their child is identified as such.  They should have to come in to the school.  Expectations need to be laid out for the parents.  The kids will lose their gang affiliations, or their kids will lose any privileges they have at that school.  Parents that don't respond should be sent certified letters.  And if those letters go to a non-Manchester address, the students should be disenrolled immediately. 

Some may say this is all an over reaction.  It was just a fight, right?  Wrong.  This is the tip of the iceberg.  If MHS cannot be made a safe place for learning, the students that make that school great will leave.  And if that happens, God help MHS and the Town of Manchester.

TTFN