Superintendent outlines rapid response plan for Northridge Middle School after staff injury amid repeated fights

A community speaker told the Danville CCSD 118 board that fights at Northridge Middle School have become frequent and that a staff member was injured while intervening. Interim Superintendent Pete Hart described a short‑term intervention plan the district deployed and the steps the school will take this spring and over the summer.

During public comment, Brenda Brown told the board she was "here this evening…with a great concern" about frequent fights at Northridge and said she had witnessed a staff member injured while trying to break up a fight. "A staff was injured, hurt, still hurt, trying to break up or intervene in the fight to help the situation," Brown said.

Responding during board comments and later in the meeting, Hart said a central office team conducted six to seven days of observations at Northridge to identify changes the school could implement quickly before the school year ended and which items should be planned for the summer. He said district leaders divided findings into items administration could address immediately and items needing longer planning.

Hart described the district’s immediate steps: staff and administration narrowed priorities to three to five implementable actions, the district provided professional development for home interventionists on calm student de-escalation techniques, and the high school provided training on a five‑star digital pass system to improve visible hall passes and monitoring. Hart also said the district has provided radios to Northridge so staff can contact hall monitors and the office when needed.

"We asked Northridge if they mind if we come in and we would do some observations. So we spent 6 to 7 days observing...and we asked them to get back with us what are 3 to 5 things that you can take on this school year," Hart said. He added that staff and administration met and committed to implementing the short‑term items immediately and planning additional steps over the summer.

Hart said the district focused on changes that could be implemented quickly and would have a high impact. He called the staff at Northridge "very appreciative" and said he was "very optimistic" about seeing improvements quickly. The district did not propose personnel changes or new policies at the meeting; Hart said the administration built a framework for staff-led implementation.

The board heard the public safety concern during public comment and received the superintendent’s follow-up plan during the meeting. No formal board action (such as removal or reassignment of staff) was taken at the meeting; rather, the administration described monitoring and training steps and committed to follow-up with Northridge leadership.