School moves against fighting

After a rash of fights among students at Framingham High School, Principal Michael Welch has begun seeking charges against those who resort to violence.

There have been four fights since school started, Welch said, so he decided to clamp down now.

''We said, 'Look, this is ridiculous. We're not going to allow this to continue,' " he said.

Since charges were filed against two ninth grade boys on Sept. 21, there have been no other incidents, he said.

The charges filed, disturbance at a school, are similar to disturbance of the peace and carry a fine of $50 or a maximum sentence of one month in jail.

''Usually, there's a probation or community service or something that comes with it," said Welch, who is in his first year as principal. ''It usually doesn't have a whole lot of legs provided the kid doesn't get in trouble again."

Superintendent Christopher Martes said it's important to get fights on the record so that if the students are involved repeatedly, administrators will know there's a troubling pattern of behavior.

''I think families need to know -- and particularly kids need to know -- we take those things seriously," he said. ''For 99 percent of the families, it makes them feel safer."

Filing criminal charges in cases of school fights is not unusual, said Thomas Scott, executive director of the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents.

Schools like to handle bad behavior internally, he said, but that doesn't always work and then administrators have to ''set a tone to say this is behavior that's not tolerated."

In Framingham, school officials have occasionally filed criminal charges in the past on a case-by-case basis in response to fighting, said Welch, but it's never been automatic, as it will be now at the high school.

''I see this as open-ended and indefinite," he added of the new approach, which will be in addition to the suspensions meted out by school officials.

Of the four fights this year, two were between boys and two between girls, mostly freshmen, said Welch. The girls tend to fight over boys and the boys tend to fight over girls, he said. Injuries have been minor.

The number this year is pretty typical, he said, and is probably following the usual pattern where there is a burst of fisticuffs right after the start of the school year and then it quiets down.

In an e-mail Monday to faculty, staff, and many parents, Welch also asked teachers to be visible in the hallways between classes to discourage mischief.

A teacher who witnessed one of the fights came to him ''incredulous" that no other teachers were around, he said. And Welch advised teachers, ''Don't shy away from intervening as the moral authority in the building."

Lisa Kocian can be reached at 508-820-4231 or by e-mail at lkocian@globe.com.