Students Address District Following Recent School Safety Incidents

Students addressed the School Committee on Tuesday evening about two recent incidents regarding school safety and urged the district to communicate more transparently with families regarding such incidents.

On Friday, September 20, a student at Burlington High School brought a kitchen knife to school. An notification was sent to parents in the district, saying the knife had been confiscated but not before the student "showed" it to some students. The sister of two of those students spoke at School Committee last night, saying the student had threatened the girls with the knife—a story that was corroborated by another student who spoke. The speakers stated their desire for the student, who they say has brought weapons to other schools before, to be expelled and their disappointment that, according to them, while police did engage with the student who brought the weapon, they didn't question the other students who were involved.

On Tuesday, September 24, a faulty wire triggered an alarm at BHS, and the entire school (including the Burlington Early Childhood Center preschool) was sent into lockdown. The Burlington Police and many off-duty peace officers responded within one minute and entered the building expecting a major incident. They performed a partial sweep of the building, which involved entering classrooms near where the alarm was pulled with guns and asking students to show their hands. Many parents waited outside the school while the lockdown was in progress, and many dismissed their children after it was over.

In both cases, students criticized the district's communication about the topic, suggesting the incident with the knife was downplayed and communication about the lockdown needed to be faster and more accurate.

Regarding the knife incident, the School Committee and District administration say they can't share information on individual students.

Students, school committee members, and the administration praised the Burlington Police Department for their quick response to the alarm and the staff and students for knowing and seamlessly implementing the lockdown procedures; the faulty wire has been fixed, according to the district, and all other systems are being inspected to ensure such a school safety scare doesn't happen again.

School Committee Chair, Christine Monaco, advocated for a stronger cellular or wi-fi network inside the school, so students can reach their parents in the case of an emergency; Operations Director, Bob Cunha, said he'll look into reinforcing the wi-fi network, though he and Committee Member, Jeremy Brooks, cautioned such a solution may be expensive and difficult to implement.

In other Schools news:

• The Student Council has been elected.
• All elementary schools now have a single unified handbook.
• The School Committee voted 4-0-1 to endorse Question 2 on the Massachusetts State Ballot, which would eliminate MCAS as a graduation requirement. Member Jeremy Brooks abstained, saying he wants to know what would replace the standardized test.
• Superintendent Conti used family survey results from the spring and AI to test generating some goals for himself. Communication, community partnerships, and student performance were themes that emerged. Dr. Conti is still deciding how to work this family input into his goals.
• The Fox Hill School will be built, and the next Building Committee meeting will bring the project into the detailed design phase. This process, plus bidding, will take the better part of the next two years, and groundbreaking is expected to happen in 2026.
• Pine Glen air conditioning units are getting up and running.

The next School Committee meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, October 8.