Teachers Attacked in Separate Incidents

Danville, CA (WorkersCompensation.com) – A California high school teacher was hospitalized last week after being attacked by a student.

CJ Cammack, the superintendent of the San Ramon Valley Unified School District in Danville, Cal., told staff and families of students that the teacher at Monte Vista High School was attacked Monday, March 10.

"This afternoon, during lunch, a Monte Vista student physically assaulted one of their teachers in the classroom," Cammack said in an online statement on the district website. "San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District (SRVFPD) and Danville Police responded immediately, and the staff member was transported to the hospital for medical care."

Both the teacher’s and the student’s identities were not released, the teacher’s for privacy and the student’s because of age.  

"The student responsible for the assault was identified and removed from campus,” Cammack said. "We are cooperating with Danville Police in their investigation, and we will ensure appropriate consequences will be administered to the student in accordance with our policies and provisions of the Education Code."

Danville Police said the student was arrested and booked into Contra Costa County Juvenile Hall, but no other details were released.

The school district is offering student counseling support and encouraging parents to reach out to school officials if they feel their child could benefit from talking to someone.

We understand that hearing about this incident may be disturbing for our students, staff, and our community. We want to remind you that each of our schools has options for students to receive counseling support, and we encourage you to reach out to your principal if you feel your student could benefit from speaking with someone,” he said in the statement. “This incident does not define the exceptional character and conduct of our student body at Monte Vista and SRVUSD. As a community, we share a collective responsibility to care for one another and ensure that SRVUSD is a place where everyone is physically and emotionally safe.”

The incident was just one of the attacks on teachers in the past month.

In Florida, two students were arrested after attacking a teacher. According to the Fort Lauderdale Police Department, the students were arrested after they violently beat the teacher.

Police said the altercation was captured on video. In the video, Jayvis L. McClover, 19 and Roddrick McQueen, 19, approached a teacher in the afternoon on Thursday, March 13. After verbally threatening to attack the teacher, the two “intentionally launched a synchronized physical attack” on the teacher, officials said. The two students, who are both enrolled at Dillard High School, “repeatedly punched the teacher in the face and head with closed fists,” police said, which caused the teacher to fall to the ground.

The video showed the students continuing to punch the teacher while he was on the ground “in a fetal position attempting to guard himself against injury,” police said.

Officials with the school said Dillard High School security staff stepped in and tried to break up the fight by pulling the two students away from the teacher. The teacher reportedly suffered injuries to his face and reported pain in his back because of the incident.

Florida Department of Education board member Daniel Foganholi Sr., said the incident was a “failure of respect, discipline and accountability.”

"No educator should fear for their safety while doing their job. Schools must be places of learning, not battlegrounds," Foganholi said in a statement while calling for stronger discipline, better security and a culture that respects and protects teachers to prevent future attacks. "If we fail to act, we fail our educators, our students and our future. Enough is enough."

The two alleged attackers were prohibited from returning to the school.

And in New York, a teacher confronted a woman in court who attacked her last year.

Former Syracuse City School District teacher Meghan Reno confronted the woman who attacked her in February 2024 during the woman’s sentencing.

“My classroom, which was supposed to be my safe space both for myself and my students, was violated in that moment,” Reno said in court.

Her attacker, Lynzina Sutton, 32, previously pleaded guilty to second-degree assault for sneaking into Lincoln Middle School and repeatedly punching Reno. Sutton was arrested after posing as a student to slip past school security. Sutton, who is 4-foot 10-inches tall, pulled up a hoodie as she walked past security guards, Syracuse School Superintendent Anthony Davis said at a news conference last year.

Reno said she had never spoken to Sutton before she was attacked in her classroom in front of her students. Sutton repeatedly punched her in the face. Officials said Sutton was motivated by a report that her child had lied about her whereabouts on a school day. Reno had made the report about the child’s absence the next day. A referral about the student’s discipline had been made, but Sutton attacked Reno before any action was taken.

“This assault has had a profound impact on my life, physically, emotionally and mentally,” Reno said in court.

Reno suffered a fractured nasal bone and fractured maxillary bones, officials said. The teacher had to take medical leave for the rest of the school year.

“Many teachers, after experiencing such an assault, may have walked away from their careers, but I have not,” Reno said. “I’m proud to be back in the classroom doing what I love.”

Sutton was sentenced to two years in prison for the attack. Her attorney, Heather Vincent, said Sutton has expressed remorse about what happened and has accepted responsibility for the attack. Vincent said Sutton would suffer hardship being separated from her four children.

Judge Gordon Cuffy said Sutton had modeled violent behavior to her children, and that while she has expressed remorse, that will not prevent Reno or Sutton’s children from feeling the impact of her actions.

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