Modesto City Schools teachers say classroom destruction and violent student behavior are reaching a breaking point, and they’re calling on district leaders to take action.
Photos shared with the Modesto Teachers Association show overturned desks, ripped bulletin boards and supplies scattered across the floor. Educators say they’re often forced to evacuate students during outbursts and wait for help to arrive.
Jennifer McGrath, president of the Modesto Teachers Association, said the problems stem from changes made after the pandemic.
“When COVID hit and the students were isolated, coming back to school was not easy, and the district had to do a lot of quick fixes to get these kids to come back,” McGrath said.
Teachers say those “quick fixes” included new behavioral policies known as Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports, or PBIS, a program to keep kids in school by promoting positive behavior instead of suspending them.
McGrath said the policy is being misapplied.
“What’s been happening is they get counseled, and then they would come back with a bag of chips, or they would come back with a juice box or a prize,” she said. “That’s rewarding them for their bad behavior.”
During Monday night’s board meeting, several teachers described being kicked, bitten and cursed at, while others spoke about students destroying classrooms and frightening their classmates.
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