Another Staff Member Injured At St. Paul's Central High
ST. PAUL (WCCO) -- A St. Paul Schools employee returned to work Tuesday just five days after getting hurt during a fight involving students.
It happened at Central High School last Thursday. Police say the female staff member was trying to break up the fight, but a district spokesperson says the woman was standing near the fight when she was hit.
The spokesperson says the woman was hit in the back of the head by one of the student's elbows. Police believe the woman sought medical treatment on her own.
The incident put Central High School at the center of another incident involving fighting students and an employee getting hurt.
Teacher Jeffrey Ekblad suffered a brain injury while trying to break up a fight in the cafeteria in December of 2015. A student involved was convicted of assault. Ekblad decided to sue the district.
Ramsey County Prosecutor John Choi decided he had enough with violence in schools and decided to help create a task force to address what he said was a growing problem.
The Community Task Force on Safe Schools was formed in June of 2016. It was comprised of nearly 40 teachers, parents, police officers, youth outreach workers and more.
After working together for several months, they recently released a 40-page report outlining ideas to not only stop violence in schools, but address its root causes. They came up with the following:
The report was mailed to 275 community leaders in Ramsey County.
Parents outside Central High School told WCCO off camera that it bothered them to hear a staff member was hurt in the most recent incident.
But they say it doesn't change their belief that the district is on the right track to creating a safer environment for everyone.
Police say they're reviewing surveillance footage from inside the school to see if the recent incident was caught on camera. No arrests have been made.
A district spokesperson released a statement saying safety is a top priority, and that it will follow the discipline procedures.
