BALTIMORE — Dozens of teachers from 60 schools in Baltimore County came together for the first time this school year to talk about safety issues in the classroom.
Many of the teachers complained about fighting and behavioral concerns from students, and others want schools to create new standards for discipline for schools to follow.
“Because the topics we hear about most of all are discipline and safety concerns, and so we really need to have a multifaceted, multi-pronged approach with everybody who is affected because it’s not one person in the school system. Who is it affected by this?" says Cindy Sexton.
The Teachers Association of Baltimore County decided to launch a new campaign called Safer Together. The goal is to come up with ways to solve the issues teachers are faced with and present a plan to the Baltimore County School Board.
“We know that a plan won’t fix the problem, but you can’t fix the problem without a plan," says Cindy Sexton.
The union hopes the plan it comes up with will get approval and support from the school board so teachers, counselors, coaches, bus drivers, and administration can get the support needed to have safer schools in the county.
Cindy Sexton, the president of the teachers association, says the plan will involve many small steps, but it's the small steps that make huge impacts, like when the county decides to regulate cell phones in the classroom.
She says the pilot program has been successful, but there needs to be more.
“Cell phones are such a huge distraction—distraction to the instruction, of course, but to safety as well—you're videoing people who have not given permission. Students who are using them may be using them inappropriately, and so we just need to get the cell phone issue under control," says Sexton.
Now that the union is launching the safer together campaign, it is hoping parents and students get involved too so it can be a collaborative effort.
“It can’t just be the unions and BCPS leadership; we have to get buying by the parents and the students, or else it’s not going to be as successful as it could be," says Sexton.
The union is planning to present the campaign plan to the board on October 10th. If the board approves, the union will work on creating a pilot program that it will test out in the 2025–26 school year.
