Woburn school leaders outline response after student raises safety concerns at high school

Woburn Public Schools leaders said they are increasing on-site supervision, sharpening investigative procedures and expanding restorative supports at Woburn Memorial High School after students and community members raised safety and harassment concerns at recent meetings.

Superintendent Matthew Crowley told the School Committee he had met with the student who spoke earlier and that the district is treating the report with urgency. "I wanna echo first a lot of what's been already said about the student who spoke last week and how brave that was," Crowley said, adding the district must "create an environment where students feel safe to come to us with things and parents feel safe to come to us with things because we do investigate everything that comes our way."

Administrators gave specific counts and described where incidents have occurred. Assistant Principal Ed McGuire said, "there's been 16 fights in the school this year," and that the majority of physical incidents have happened in bathrooms, hallways and the cafeteria. McGuire said many conflicts, when investigated, could be traced back to social media escalations.

Assistant Principal Alyssa Allen described steps taken to reduce problems in unsupervised bathrooms: the school has closed some facilities, kept 10 open with teacher supervision at each, introduced sign-in/sign-out sheets and limited the number of students allowed in a bathroom at once. "Issues occur in unsupervised bathrooms," Allen said, describing the balance the school is trying to strike between access and supervision.

Administrators emphasized that state law and due-process requirements shape discipline practices. Crowley summarized a legal change that took effect in 2022 and said suspension "is supposed to be a last resort," and that administrators "shall use alternatives to suspension whenever possible," such as restorative justice and mediation.

School leaders described existing and planned supports: a peer mediation program, mandatory anti-vaping education for students caught with vaping devices, increased counselor referrals, an in-school behavioral support hub under development and a partnership with an outside clinician (Home for Little Wanderers). Crowley said the district will expand outreach so students and families feel more able to report concerns and will maintain confidentiality in investigations.

Administrators also described technology and operational changes aimed at reducing hallway and bathroom incidents. The high school is evaluating SmartPass, a digital pass system that would let staff see who is out of class and how long they have been gone. Assistant Principal Alyssa Allen said SmartPass provides "visibility for everybody in the school" and stressed it does not require student phones to operate; teachers can activate passes on a computer or phone so the system tracks time out-of-class.

Student voices were part of the discussion. Student representative Jenna Lessie told the committee she feels safer at the high school than in prior years and that improvements to bathroom management have helped. "I do feel the school is a safe environment," Lessie said. The committee also heard from public commenters who urged faster or clearer responses from the administration.

Administration outlined next steps: increase visible administration presence in hallways (especially after lunch), continue and refine bathroom supervision and sign-in procedures, pilot SmartPass in a limited rollout, expand peer mediation and in-school behavioral support options, and offer ongoing weekly student listening sessions to collect direct input. Crowley said the district will provide regular updates to the committee and the public as the initiatives progress.

The presentation drew questions from committee members about data and follow-up. Members asked for counts beyond fights — including bullying and vaping incidents — and for clearer reporting on how victims are supported; administrators said victim support is a regular part of investigations, including safety plans and referrals to counselors.

The committee praised administrators for presenting quickly after the recent public comments and asked for continued communication about program pilots, discipline outcomes and changes to supervision practices.

Ending

Committee members asked administrators to return with regular updates on the effectiveness of the steps described, and to include student and staff feedback from the planned listening sessions and any SmartPass pilot data in those reports.