Philadelphia principal struck with a brick, attacked by students

PHILADELPHIA — A Philadelphia principal suffered serious injuries when he was struck in the face with a brick at dismissal — a symptom, some administrators say, of a larger problem at some city schools.

The incident happened Wednesday outside Fitler Academics Plus School in the Germantown neighborhood, officials said.

Anthious Boone, principal of the K-8 school, was overseeing dismissal when a fight broke out between Fitler students and pupils from various nearby Mastery Charter schools, officials said.

Boone waded into the fray to try to break it up, said Robin Cooper, president of Commonwealth Association of School Administrators Local 502, the union that represents principals.

“They beat the crap out of him,” Cooper said. “They hit him in the face with a brick. They ganged up on him.”

Boone was rushed to an emergency room for his injuries and symptoms — blurry vision, an eye scratched and swollen almost shut, and a headache. He needed eight stitches. His glasses were ruined. His suit, shirt, and shoes were “a bloody mess,” Cooper said.

According to the police complaint, an unknown male student punched Boone in the eye, causing a cut. The police report did not mention a brick.

The assailant, who stands about 5 feet, 8 inches and weighs about 160 pounds, was seen running on West Seymour Street. Police had not made an arrest as of Thursday afternoon.

Boone, recovering at home on Thursday, declined to comment, but he authorized Cooper to discuss the incident.

Cooper said Boone’s injuries were emblematic of wider issues.

“There are not enough safety resources,” she said. “The principal has to jump in and stop fights, and he can’t protect everybody alone. We just want safe schools.”

Fitler, she said, does not have a full-time school police officer. Having such a person might have calmed the situation before it escalated, Cooper said.

Gloria Tankard, mother of two daughters who attend Fitler, said that some Mastery students had come to the school for the last two Wednesdays, early-dismissal days for Mastery schools.

“They get out of school, and they wait for the Fitler kids to come out, and they start fighting,” Tankard said. “They walked in the schoolyard, and they started punching some seventh and eighth graders in the face, and they knocked some little kids down.”

Both her girls have attended the school since first grade, Tankard said, and she has been pleased with its academics and, until now, her children’s safety.

“It’s a great school, but it feels like we’re under attack,” Tankard said. “The community needs to get involved.”

One Fitler teacher sent home an email after the fight telling parents that the school had asked for help at dismissal, but did not receive it. She asked parents to either pick their children up Thursday or send relatives to do so.