MISSOURI, USA — Teachers are getting hurt amid more fights at school.
“And we were kind of pinned in the corner," said former educator Marla Arinze, describing a recent experience. “I remember that my hands were just numb and my feet were numb.”
Arinze said it’s not just the violence that's shocking, it's the aftermath, the bureaucratic barriers she faced when she tried to get help. She was a sixth-grade math teacher at Washington Elementary in the Normandy school district. Four separate times, in just a couple of years, she said she was injured while breaking up fights.
Todd Fuller with the Missouri State Teachers Association said physical altercations are on the rise as teachers are getting caught in the middle of fights amid increased violence at school.
Data shows about four in 10 public schools in the U.S. said fights have increased since before the pandemic, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. The most recent data available also shows a total of 61% of public schools reported at least one physical attack/fight without a weapon and 4% reported at least one physical attack/fight with a weapon.
Among the causes, researchers said the isolation of the pandemic may have worsened mental health problems. It’s leaving educators battered, bruised and traumatized.
“I've had neck surgery, I'm still having neurological problems. I've had seizures and strokes," Arinze said.
She thought filing for workers' compensation would be a lifeline, but instead, she said it became a nightmare. A Normandy schools spokesperson turned down an on-camera interview. But they told us, “The district has taken steps to improve safety and security.”
About a year after Arinze’s attack, the district rolled out a new policy, telling staff to not break up fights and instead call for help. Christopher Trahan, a spokesperson with the Normandy Schools Collaborative, the school district where Arinze worked, told us in an email: “After an employee makes a claim, the insurance company works directly with the employee to resolve the claim in a timely manner. We understand that the worker’s compensation insurance company is in full compliance with the law. The insurance carrier is accessible to address any concerns directly with an employee using the District’s worker’s compensation benefits. Because worker’s compensation is both a health and personnel issue, no information regarding specific employees will be shared... This school year, the district implemented a new policy to de-escalate situations between students before they can lead to a physical altercation. We have also directed staff to call security instead of trying to break up an altercation… Additionally, Normandy Schools Collaborative has spent more than $400,000 on safety upgrades this school year to make sure our environment is conducive to teaching and learning..."
But Arinze said it is not enough.
"When you're on work comp, it’s really like you have no say. You have no say about anything," she said.
“Do you feel like your treatment has been delayed because of workers comp?” the I-Team's Paula Vasan asked.
“Oh, I know it has been delayed because of workers comp," she said.
“We've had to fight for every treatment that she's gotten," said Alan Mandel, Arinze's attorney.
Mandel reveals a surprising truth about Missouri's workers' compensation system. In many states like Illinois, teachers can choose their own doctors. But in Missouri, the system dictates medical care.
“That's a real dilemma... The physician who is hired by the worker's compensation carrier to treat the patient, where do the loyalties really lie? Do they lie with the patient or to the insurance company that's paying them and controlling the medical care?” he said.
“Is there a conflict of interest?” asked Vasan.
"I think so. But the law doesn't," he said.
“I had to wait almost over a year just for neurologists," Arinze said.
She got paid a portion of her paycheck for seven months. That’s until she said the school district’s insurance company stopped medical care. Now, she’s fighting for help without a paycheck. She says she is now relying on donations to pay for expenses.
“Because they act like it didn't happen," she said.
A new survey by the Missouri State Teachers Association shows the top reasons teachers are leaving the job are stress, lack of pay and student behavior.
The American Psychological Association has said school violence is a global epidemic that affects educators and school personnel in Pre-K through 12 grades. The American Psychological Association Task Force on Violence against Educators and School Personnel conducted an assessment of nearly 15,000 teachers, school psychologists, school social workers, administrators and staff perspectives on school violence during COVID-19. The organization’s goal was to gain insights into the causes and effects of the violence.
Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s spokesperson Mallory McGowin told us in an email: “DESE does not collect any data that specifies if a teacher was the victim of violence in the building. Discipline incidents are reported, but not who the victim was in that incident… DESE cannot speak to the feedback regarding workers’ compensation systems…
DESE provided this statement:
"The State Board of Education’s Teacher Recruitment and Retention Blue Ribbon Commission (Commission) focused on strengthening the teaching profession through school climate and culture during the group’s second phase of work (April-August 2023). The Commission heard similar feedback from educators during their work — safety concerns and increased student discipline incidents are a key contributor to stress and burnout among Missouri teachers.”
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