Roseville educators speak out after third-grade teacher attacked by student

Educators spoke about classroom safety and discipline procedures during a Roseville City School District board meeting Thursday evening after an incident occurred at Diamond Creek Elementary last week where a student pushed a third-grade teacher, resulting in the teacher leaving campus in an ambulance. After the injury occurred, Diamond Creek Principal Lisa Phillips sent a message to parents explaining the situation two days later last Thursday. "On Tuesday morning, a student pushed a teacher, causing them to fall and require medical attention," the email said. "They were transported to the hospital by ambulance and released later that afternoon. They are expected to return to their classroom soon." The message confirmed the school district cannot discuss the consequences for the student involved in the incident. "While we cannot discuss consequences for the student involved, please know that we take any incident of physical aggression seriously, and the district is taking disciplinary action consistent with our policies and Education Code. It's important for families, students, and staff to know that safety is, and will always remain, our top priority," Phillips wrote. "Please also know that we are sharing all information that we are legally and ethically able to provide. Out of respect for student and staff privacy, and in accordance with state and federal confidentiality laws, we cannot share additional details." Educators spoke out against the incident, stating this is an extreme situation of abuse within the classroom but this is the norm in a post-COVID environment. "Though this may have been the most severe attack by a student on our campus, it was only one of many attacks that has occurred in the last four-plus years at Diamond Creek. Many of these students are repeat offenders that have had a number of violent outbursts that should have resulted in the student being removed from the school," Summer Depue, a fourth-grade teacher at Diamond Creek, said in front of the board during public comment. "These earlier incidents should have been investigated," the teacher continued to explain. "The district should have evaluated whether there were alternative learning environments that were more appropriate for the students' needs. The district and admin should, above all, do everything it can to ensure the safety of its students and educators." Teachers' voices cracked as they teared up speaking about how they felt the current administration in schools and within the school district are failing teachers, students and families. Kim Triplett, a fifth-grade teacher at Diamond Creek, said procedures in the school district teach students that when they misbehave there isn't punishment but there are rewards and then they are sent back to class. "Students have learned that when they misbehave they receive other means of correction, such as a sticker, an Oreo, maybe those or kinetic sand, and then they're sent back to class," Triplett shared. She said her school needs a psychologist on site at least four days a week to help students who act out in violence. Shannon Murphy, a kindergarten teacher from Ferris Spanger Elementary whose children grew up going to Diamond Creek, said they don't have wellness counselors or vice principals because the school district has said in the past they cannot afford it. "What did you all sign up for?" she asked. "Did you sign up to protect the education of students in this community? Did you promise to create and vote for policies to keep them safe? Did you sign up to ensure that teachers have what they need to do their jobs? Because we don't. We don't have what we need. "They say we can't afford it. We can't afford wellness or counselors or tosas (Teachers on Special Assignment). We can't afford a VP (Vice Principal)," Murphy said. "But I ask you this, can we afford to not do something? Can we afford to continue having schools in a constant state of crisis? Can we afford to have our teachers and students traumatized daily?" The educators' comments were shared during the board's public comment period, and no action was taken.