MARBLEHEAD, MASS. (WHDH) - Four elementary school staff members in Marblehead are on paid administrative leave while the Marblehead public school district reviews protocols and policies around restraining students, officials announced.
The school district in a recent statement said this is due to a recent incident involving the restraint of a student at Glover Elementary. The district continued, saying officials were bringing in an outside evaluator to assist in the review process.
“The safety and security of all of our students and staff is our top priority,” said Marblehead Public Schools Interim Superintendent Theresa McGuinness. “The district will take whatever measures are necessary to ensure that all of our schools are safe and welcoming learning environments for all.”
State guidelines allow staff who have received proper training and certification to restrain students, but only as a last resort in specific situations when a student’s behavior poses a threat of assault, or imminent, serious, physical harm to self or others.
Officials did not share further information on the incident at Glover Elementary. Grappling with their own questions, parents on Monday shared their reactions.
“It’s a very touchy subject,” said parent Bill Murray. “What you might say is physically unnecessary and what other people would say was necessary could be two different things.”
Murray continued, describing situations he said he saw involving students while he was working as a substitute in the Lynn public school system.
“They can inflict some harm on teachers like kicking and biting and scratching and spitting, the whole nine yards,” he said. “And there has to be some way of handling it.”
Marblehead school officials said the suspension of teachers is not punitive.
The Massachusetts Teachers Association in its own statement said any injury to an educator is unacceptable. While the state teacher’s union said any alleged mistreatment of students should be seriously investigated, the union said it is also considering any options to protect its teachers.
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