by The Albatross
Homecoming Week at Hamden High school should have been a week filled with school spirit leading up to the Homecoming Dance on Saturday night. Instead it was filled with fights and mayhem.
“The climate has shifted in three days,” announced Principal Nadine Gannon at the Hamden High School faculty meeting on November 3. (No, Nadine. It hasn’t changed at all.)
“On Monday [October 31], there was a fight at Panera’s [parking lot],” she continued. “On Wednesday, there was a fight at Panera’s and at Wood’n’Tap. The fights involving Hamden students had adult involvement.” Rumor has it that a father and son showed up to fight students who were picking on the man’s younger son.
It is in these parking lots where many student fights occur. Hamden High School is located on Dixwell Avenue. To the left of the building is the Hamden Plaza where Panera’s and Wood’n’Tap are. Students walk through this parking lot when school lets out. One of Tuesday’s fights began as a verbal altercation among a group of girls on the first floor of the B wing of the school. According to a source who wishes to remain anonymous, Assistant Principal Tegan Willis was standing there, eating soup. “Those are not my students,” she said, and went back to her office. The verbal argument got physical when the girls left the building and went to the Plaza’s parking lot.
On Wednesday afternoon, a fight erupted at Villano Park in the Newhall section of Hamden. Six girls from HCLC, Hamden’s alternative school, enraged that another girl had been talking to someone’s boyfriend, beat her mercilessly and stomped on her head. They knocked her unconscious. A gleeful mob gathered to watch.
“Those weren’t our students,” Gannon said. (Yes, they were, Nadine. They were Hamden High students who were transferred to HCLC.)
The mayhem continued on Thursday, November 3, when the passing bells were held during first period. Scott Trauner, the assistant principal, came on the intercom to announce that “a student was in distress.”
Trauner and Gannon are not skilled at stopping students. They let an angry and aggressive young man in the building. Gannon told teachers that the student was supposed to have been suspended. “We tried to get the student out of the building,” she said. Instead, the student walked all the way down the A wing hall, and busted his way into the main office. The office staff was forced to hide.
Three police officers came. They were not allowed to touch the student. “It took awhile,” Gannon said. “But the situation was defused. I was not attacked.”
No mainstream media outlet covered any of these problems. Not WTNH. Not the New Haven Register. Not the New Haven Independent. No one. Many similar stories are buried each year.
Early Friday morning was a proud moment for Nadine, Scott, and Superintendent of Schools Gary Highsmith. WTNH’s Gil Simmons of “Gil on the Go” appeared at the high school and made a school that has been going straight to hell seem like a paradise. Nadine gave Gil a Hamden High t-shirt. “We are off to a strong start,” she said. “We are getting back to our traditions.” (This is so stupendously bogus, Nadine. Have you been drinking?”) Teachers loyal to Nadine hovered in the background, rictus grins on their faces. Students in the band played a tune and a line of cheerleaders shook their pom-poms. Everyone played their parts beautifully.
Shame on Gary, Nadine, and Scott for using those kids as props.
As a student who attends Hamden High School, you should be ashamed of yourself.
Who are you referring to??
The Albatross lmao
🧢
I’m a senior at Hamden High and I’ve never once felt unsafe or threatened at Hamden High. The actions of a handful of individuals is shading a negative light on our school. In reality there is much more positive happening inside of our building. Instead of bashing the administrators, come spend a day in the building and see how inaccurate the media is.
as a hamden high senior .. everything is accurate. the school is going to shit and it’s happening fast. not only is the violence and drug taking in the school like an episode of breaking bad, but things like sexual assault is completely disregarded by adults including trauner. can’t wait to gtfo
OMG SOO TRUE! Loved this 🫶🏼
wah wah
As a student at hamden high, the people that say they never feel threatened are not completely wrong, but the fact is hamden high is a brawl circle and students attack or fight each other commonly, not all the time, but at least a few times in the school year. I feel like the admins as well are also to blame as they don’t know how to handle serious situations like bullying and harassment, which I’ve seen happen countless times to various friends I had, with it being downplayed and treated like kumbaya can fix it. Hamden High definitely needs reform on how to handle teenagers and learn how to prevent these things from happening. The no care attitude from teachers and admins happen a lot as well as they are also stressed, but still are at fault for saying things like this. Just because you don’t see it or haven’t experienced some of what I listed, doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen to others.
you are so real for that
I worked in Hamden for many years it’s so sad what it has come! The author of this article is 1000 percent correct. Kids rule the roost and the principal allows it. She only cares about her own agenda! So did the principal before her! I left Hamden and I work in North haven now. It’s not much better but at least the admin isn’t corrupt. Principals don’t drink and drive and get into car crashes in north haven! They don’t have affairs with other staff members. In Hamden these are the leaders of the school. Very very sad. I wish someone would step in and change the culture of the school.
I worked in Hamden for many years it’s so sad what it has come! The author of this article is 1000 percent correct. Kids rule the roost and the principal allows it. She only cares about her own agenda! So did the principal before her! I left Hamden and I work in North haven now. It’s not much better but at least the admin isn’t corrupt. Principals don’t drink and drive and get into car crashes in north haven! They don’t have affairs with other staff members. In Hamden these are the leaders of the school. Very very sad. I wish someone would step in and change the culture of the school.
Yo ima keep it a buck wit u ma dawg. U so real fo dis. Keep god in yo life
UPDATE — this piece has clearly touched a nerve; more articles coming on school fights, cyber bullying and harassment. District officials across CT are largely ignoring this issue. If you have a tip or story, we would love to give you a voice — email us at ctltribune@proton.me
We protect inside sources at all costs; writing under a pen name or anonymously is recommended, in particular if your job security is at stake.
please write more this is so good I’m begging
💀
I know this sight is made by and for a certain demographic, so Im not gonna have a back and forth. All I’ll say is that the writing of this article is very similar of a 6th grade boy with anger issues journal. And besides the trash writing, that fact of the matter is that highschool students are at an age where they’re responsible for their own actions. Gannon, Willis, and most of our administration bust their asses to work with what they have (which isnt much). I wont sit here and praise hamden high, but I will have compassion for teachers and administration who have been dealt a pretty garbage hand.
Y’all rockin with Hamden High⁉️⁉️⁉️
I am certain that most of the disruptive students have a history of this kind of behavior. At what point will parents/guardians take ownership in raising (or not raising) respectable young people? It’s very easy to criticize teachers and administrators, but unless I am mistaken, parents are their children’s first teachers.
These administrators should be ashamed and own up to their failures in allowing a culture of bullying, harassment and violence to be perpetuated at Hamden High. This is a typical bureaucratic response by those who seek to protect their poisons, salaries and Pete’s by downplaying negative information that questions their leadership. This shy we have shooter incidents around the country, because administrators don’t respond to warning signs for fear of bad publicity. It’s time for the school superintendent principals and faculty to take appropriate actions to address this system-wide problem and establish protocols to deal with disruptive and violent and bringing in law enforcement where appropriate and prosecute those committing assault and battery.
Why don’t u take yo time to address that crooked ahh hairline⁉️
Simply… Gannon needs to step down her position period! Hamden high is contaminated from within and those that could do something simple look the other way so they don’t loose their paychecks, bottom line very very few care and those few that do can’t do much due to the lack of support and in some cases lack of courage to stand up for themselves and their students. Nobody is held accountable and nobody takes the necessary lead role. I can’t wait for my children to be out of that toxic school
WILLIS IS F I N E
U got good taste ma brotha🤝