An attack two days ago in which a parent slugged a 10-year-old elementary student in Homewood is among several recent in-school assaults by parents that area officials can't remember happening before.
One explanation frequently cited for violent, out-of-control parents attacking educators or students is the growing desperation over the sinking economy, but there are no clear answers.
"We've never had a lot of this," said Pittsburgh Public Schools police Chief Robert Fadzen, whose officers have dealt with three incidents just this year and can't recall any others in prior years. "If it's a glitch or a blip on the radar, I don't know. This behavior is not acceptable."
The latest incident occurred Friday, when Artiella Bennett of Homewood was arrested after police said she attacked a student at Helen Faison Primary School while she was dropping off one of her children. The girl Bennett allegedly attacked was involved in an earlier altercation at Bennett's house with one of her daughters, who attends Faison Intermediate School.
Bennett was charged with aggravated assault and carrying a weapon on school property.
"From working in schools across the country, one of the topics we're being asked to assist with is increasingly aggressive parents," said Kenneth S. Trump, president of National School Safety and Security Services, a Cleveland-based company that trains school employees. His company helps schools develop security plans and train staff in how to defuse confrontations.
The state tracks school violence by victim, but not perpetrator. Statewide, assaults on teachers make up 3 percent of all the incidents reported at schools, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Education's report released in 2008. Students are more than three times as likely to be assaulted in school than staff.
Violence against teachers in Pennsylvania schools grew from 2,262 incidents in 2005-06 to 2,714 in 2006-07, an increase of 20 percent. In 2006-07, the state recorded 7,391 assaults on students, compared with 5,950 in 2005-06.
June Arnette, associate director of the National School Safety Center in Westlake Village, Calif., said there are no data on how often parents attack someone at schools.
Last month, a father roaming around in Morrow Elementary School in Brighton Heights hit Principal Annette Scott Piper in the face and hit a female assistant, police said. He was angry after they refused to let him take his son from a classroom. Taru Davis, 40, of Marshall-Shadeland was charged with assault.
Piper has not returned to school since she was attacked. She said she is undergoing physical therapy, but declined further comment.
In September, a mother assaulted two Brashear High School employees who brought her daughter home.
In February, Wendy Thomas, 40, of Uniontown was accused of hitting and pulling the hair of Yolanda Defino, principal of Benjamin Franklin School in Uniontown.
Kenneth G. Meadows, president of the Uniontown Area School Board, said the assault occurred when the mother came to school to review her child's suspension. As a result, he said, the mother will not be allowed back on school property, and the district is considering changing how it handles such cases.
"I seriously doubt something would have happened like this in Uniontown five, 10 years ago," Meadows said. "We have lot of economic issues in town. Our city's bankrupt, broke. It's just the picture of America right now."
"We're looking to change our policy of having the principal meet (alone) with the parents of suspended students or in any volatile situation," he said.
Trump said he worked last fall in one Midwestern school district, which he declined to identify, that also had three outbreaks of violence by parents at school.
"People are under so much pressure at home, at work, there's some people among us that have that fast food, me, me, me mentality," Trump said. "When things don't work that way, it doesn't take one straw to break the camel's back. It's just a half straw."
John Tarka, president of the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers, agreed that the worsening economy is adding to parents' pressures.
"Historically, it's safe to say that in times of increased unemployment and uncertainty people are restless and concerned," he said. "Parents are concerned about families being provided for, and we see that in other parts of the community, not just in school."
Fadzen said it is difficult to ban parents from school buildings. Many parents volunteer or wait for their children at dismissal or visit teachers.
"This behavior is so against society's norm, how do you plan? We've prepared crisis plans. We lecture staff and principals about vigilance. For every incidence like this, there's probably 100 irate parents that never reach this level," he said.
Assaults in schools affect not only employees who are the victim, but also students.
"The safest eight hours a day our kids spend is in our schools," Fadzen said. "When something invades that sanctuary, our kids worry about it."
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