GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — Fight after fight have been recorded over the last week at Gwinnett County high schools, leaving some administrators injured.
The latest video surfaced of an altercation among several students at Meadowcreek High School. The district said it happened around 7 a.m. on Monday when two students got into a fight resulting in their friends joining in, as well.
Just hours after that, teachers and staff held a closed door meeting to discuss their concerns over the increase in violence.
A teacher who attended spoke to 11Alive, but asked to remain anonymous out of fear of losing their job.
“Parents are not completely aware of what's going on within the school system. They are basically aware of the fights and the behavior that's going on, but not necessarily that it's because of the discipline changes or the official discipline changes," they explained.
Just last Friday, the district said a school administrator was injured while trying to separate two students who got into a fight at Lanier High School. Just days before that, a teacher was allegedly attacked by a student at Discovery High School.
Data from the district showed as of November, fights involving students had increased by 35% this year. The attacks come amid ongoing complaints about a new discipline policy that was rolled out earlier this year, focusing on keeping violators in schools after offering intervention over discipline.
However, staff said it's putting administrators, teachers, and students in danger, "they’re wanting to call it empathy, but it's not necessarily empathy when you just let things slide."
The district said the violence violates its student code of conduct and so does recording the attacks.
The district said the student who allegedly attacked a teacher at Discovery High is facing criminal charges, and the students involved in fights at Meadowcreek and Lanier High School are facing consequences.