Danielle DuClos and Erin Gretzinger:
After Dane County prosecutors said a brutal physical assault last fall at West High School left a student hospitalized, the Cap Times analyzed the school district’s published assault data back to the 2016-17 school year.
That analysis found 1,476 assaults were reported during the 2023-24 school year, an eight-year high. Another 1,194 assaults were reported last school year, the most recent year of data available.
Since the 2018-19 school year, the published data has consistently shown over 1,100 assaults in Madison public schools, excluding the two years interrupted by COVID-19 school closures.
The recent levels are dramatically higher than prior years. Just 72 assaults were reported in 2016-17 and 58 in 2017-18. The next year, the total jumped by more than 1,800%.
When the Cap Times shared its findings with Madison school district officials, they said the data seemed to exaggerate reality. District officials said they were unaware of the totals published by the state Department of Public Instruction until contacted by the Cap Times.
The school district’s preliminary review of the data suggests the “inconsistencies might span several years,” Fiedler said.
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Madison police calls near local high schools: 1996-2006