Students have assaulted staff members four times recently at Minneapolis schools serving students with emotional and behavioral needs, including an incident Thursday that led to a student's arrest, according to police.
Revelations of three assaults since last month at Harrison Education Center, a North Side alternative high school, and another in November at River Bend, a K-8 alternative school, prompted the Minneapolis School District to call a news conference Thursday afternoon.
Interim Superintendent Michael Goar and other district administrators said they do not tolerate acts of violence.
"We take student violence and the safety of our teachers paramount and very seriously," Goar said.
The district did not provide the number of assaults since the beginning of the school year but said the nature of Harrison, which educates students with severe behavior and emotional needs, can lead to violent situations.
On Thursday, a 14-year-old boy was arrested at Harrison in connection with the assault of a female teacher. A school spokesman said no one was injured.
On Dec. 7, Harrison Principal Monica Fabre was assaulted by a 17-year-old female student who was arrested on suspicion of fifth-degree assault, a misdemeanor, police said.
Fabre, 47, said Thursday that she is dealing with the effects of a concussion and hopes that she can return to work soon. She said the altercation has not made her rethink her career choice. "I would never leave my profession," she said.
