Teacher Attacked And Injured By Three Students in Riverside County

A teacher was attacked at Paloma High School Monday by three students according to school officials. The school is located in the city of Menifee and part of the Perris Union High School District.

According to Deputy Superintendent, Candace Reines the incident took place during lunch. The students have all been suspended. It is reported there was a verbal confrontation that grew into a physical altercation when all three students attacked the male teacher. Today more information came out that the teacher attacked was allegedly escorting one student when two other students confronted the teacher. Also reported today was information that two school employees received medical attention for minor injuries.

Officials initially reported there were no major injuries and a police report was filed with the Riverside County Sheriff Department.

The case has been sent to the Riverside County Juvenile Probation Department “for disposition and court proceedings.”

Fights are not new to schools but fights, where students attack teachers, are less common. At least three other lunch time fights affecting thousands have taken place in Riverside County District since May 2019.

At Temecula Valley High School in September, there was a lunch time fight that resulted in more than 500 students gathering to watch and video the incident. Lunch had to end early and many students weren’t able to eat.

On March 7, at Great Oak High School across town in Temecula, CA, two students were hospitalized in a preplanned lunch time fight that also resulted in a mob of kids emerging onto the scene ignoring Campus Resource Officers demands to disperse. Principal Aimee Ricken said in an email to parents, “They had arranged the fight after a dispute on a social media app.”

The phones and use of apps to quickly share news about an impending brawl contributes to the fast assembly of students that can quickly get out hand. The fight at Great Oak also resulted in two school employees being injured who sought medical attention.

All the schools mentioned are staffed with campus resource officers and supervisors who have managed to keep most students and employees safe.

Temecula Valley High School sent out a press release on October 3, with a message to parents stating, “Many of our students escalated today’s incident because they prioritized the need to record the activity with their phones or physically pushed themselves to the front.”

Principal Ricken included a similar statement in a to letter to parents: “Many of our students escalated today’s incident because they prioritized the need to record the activity with their phones or physically pushed themselves to the front of the activity.”

Principal Allen Williams told parents, “It is important for students to listen and respond to adult instructions during times of crisis or incident command. We will continue to work with our students on conflict resolution strategies in lieu of physical or verbal altercations, as well as safety protocols.” 

Schools across the state continue to seek a balance between school safety and student consequences as state legislators continue to pass laws that can tie administrators and educators hands.

Beginning next July, teachers in California will no longer be allowed to suspend elementary and middle school students from school for disrupting classroom activities or defying school authorities, as the result of Senate Bill 419 signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom in September. Sen. Nancy Skinner, (D-Berkeley) who authored SB 419 said, “Ending willful defiance suspensions will keep kids in school where they belong and where teachers and counselors can help them thrive,” Skinner said.

However, starting in 2020, schools can give students in-school suspension where they remain in an educational environment and counselors will be able to address the behavior that led to the suspension.

An article by LifePersona.com stated the top 10 types of school violence can affect any member of the educational community from the janitorial staff to students and teachers and anyone can be the victim or perpetrator. 

Violence of the teacher to the student.

Violence of the student to the teacher.

Exclusion.

Intimidation.

Sexual Violence.

Coercion.

Bullying (bullying or harassment).

Vandalism.

Violence among teachers.

The violence of parents and teachers’ representatives.