Teachers Face Attacks on Job, Union Officials Say

Safety at Work

Newburgh, NY (WorkersCompensation.com) – Officials at the Newburgh Free Academy said a teacher was assaulted by a student in their classroom recently.

The Newburgh Enlarged City School District said the teacher required emergency medical care. The incident, teacher union officials said, is just another example of how teachers are under attack at work.

According to the school district, the student attacker was experiencing a “mental health episode,” and that police and an ambulance were called to assist the teacher. Witnesses told News12 Westchester the teacher was hit in the face and throat at least six times. The district said no weapon was used, but, in an email to parents, did not reveal any additional details. The school did say the student will face disciplinary action and possibly face criminal charges.

“I want to assure you that the safety and well-being of our staff and students are always our top priority,” the school district said in a statement. “School and district administrators are taking this matter very seriously and I’ve already taken immediate steps to address the situation.”

The school district also said they would be providing support to staff and students who witnessed the attack.

Union leaders say for many teachers, the funding cuts, the lack of support and the intense scrutiny of their jobs leaves them feeling the pressure.

"That's a crisis for our country. We need to have teachers," said National Education Association President Becky Pringle. "So, it is of great concern as we end this year that our teachers are feeling overwhelmed by the attacks, and in too many places discouraged by the lack of support in every way."

Continued physical attacks on teachers add to the pressure.

In Boston, one teacher who was repeatedly punched by a student, said she was not supported by her school district. Maya Jones was teaching eighth grade at the Tobin School near Roxbury Crossing in Boston last year when she was attacked. The school district retaliated against her when she asked for safeguards ahead of returning to the classroom, she said.

“I could have been hurt. I could have been killed. I could have been maimed,” Jones told Boston.com. “We have no security protocol in the building. There’s no discipline protocol. The Code of Conduct isn’t being followed.”

Jones had been holding a community meeting about student disrespect with a number of other adults in the room when one of the students, a teen girl, verbally assaulted her and then charged her.

“She punches me directly in my face. She’s repeatedly hitting me in the head, in the face, in the jaw,” Jones said of the attack.

The girl and Jones then fell to the floor and a Boston Teachers Union representative tried to restrain her. The girl also assaulted the union representative, and the attack continued until a school principal restrained the attacker, Jones said. Police weren’t called, Jones said, and the student was back in the classroom in a few weeks. Jones said the district told her the student was going to be transferred to another school. Jones has been adamant that she doesn’t want to be transferred to another school.

“I want to return back to my school. I want to go back to my school,” she said. Instead, she’s been on medical leave with PTSD since the assault last year.

Officials said stories like Jones are becoming more common for public school teachers. Since the pandemic, nearly 80 percent of teachers report at least one verbal assault or threatening behavior, according to research from the American Psychological Association. Prior to the pandemic, only 65 percent reported similar assaults.

In Rochester, N.Y., a student has pleaded guilty after threatening a staff member with a knife.

Officials said a student at St. John Fisher University pleaded guilty to attempted assault after he was accused of brandishing a knife at a university employee in her office in February 2024. The incident prompted the school to go on lockdown while sheriff’s deputies searched for the student.

Shalom Mathews was 19 at the time. On May 12, he admitted guilt in the incident. Police said Mathews walked into an office at the School of Pharmacy clearly upset. Officials said he was concerned about poor grades and problems with his family. An employee said Mathew had some “emotional disturbance issues” and tried to direct him to the school’s wellness center. Instead, Mathews shut her office door and attempted to injure her with the knife while apologizing to her.

The school said the employee safely disarmed Mathews and got him out of her office, then locked the door behind him.

After pleading guilty, he was placed on interim probation. He is due back in court on Nov. 24, officials said.

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