Students returned to classrooms at Hazelbrook Middle School in Tualatin on Tuesday after a video of a violent student attack went viral last week, followed by threats to the school that led administrators to send students home Friday and close school through Monday.
District leaders are focused on where to go from here how to help students and staff and how to heal the community moving forward. But according to a former teacher who had a key role at Hazelbrook, the national condemnation of the attack and the districts response misrepresents underlying tensions at the school.
Behavioral incidents in schools have spiked across the country since the return to in-person learning following COVID-19 lockdowns three years ago. The national nonprofit news outlet Education Week has reported increases in school violence, including school shootings, since students returned. EdWeeks latest data found violence had become a bigger problem than before the pandemic, reaching a peak in 2022.
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