Student violence toward teachers at Washington, D.C., academy raises concerns

From The Washington Post: Woodson Academy, a 260-student ninth-grade program in Washington, D.C., that is housed at Ronald H. Brown Middle School while a new Woodson High is under construction, is overcrowded and dangerous, some teachers say . They contend that seven teachers or administrators have been attacked this academic year, including one who was pelted by textbooks and another pinned to a desktop and choked. Other teachers are routinely subjected to verbal threats of violence. Principal Darrin Slade says he knows of three student assaults on staff members this year. He argues that the teachers are distorting the situation to deflect attention from their own professional shortcomings.