Containment measures at high school in Belcourt amid rash of fights

BELCOURT, N.D. (KMOT) – Leadership in the Turtle Mountain Community School district is ramping up security efforts at the high school this week, following a rash of fights among students at the school.

Acting superintendent Dr. Shane Martin said a series of fights last week prompted administrators to put the high school in what they call “containment” and get local law enforcement involved.

This means they’ve added increased security and supervision, some of which are from other parts of the district, as well as controlled passing through the building and more control of meal periods throughout the day.

Martin said communication with families and the school board has been key.

“They are also very in tune on what’s going on and wanting these plans out to the community, out to our stakeholders so that we can be assured that our students are getting the free public education they need underneath a safe environment for learning to occur,” said Martin.

The high school has roughly 500 students.

In some instances, Martin said students were disciplined according to their school policies.

He said they haven’t seen further incidents since they moved to containment procedures.

Martin said they will be in place through at least Tuesday and they plan on meeting with the School Resource Officer and security mid-week to determine if they need to stay in place.