Chaffee Trail Middle School, which opened on Jacksonville's Westside in fall 2024, logged 117 reported fights during the 2024-25 school year - more than any other public school in Florida. Principal Dr. Cicely Tyson-White has said the campus was incredibly overcrowded during that first year, and two other Duval County middle schools, Highlands and Westside, also landed in the state's top ten for reported fights. Duval's new school year begins next Monday, and district leaders say boundary changes, added supervision and new campus routines are meant to push those numbers back down.
The No. 1 ranking comes from Florida Department of Education data analyzed by WJXT News4JAX, which maintains the state's School Environmental Safety Incident Reporting system. Highlands Middle School reported 89 fights and ranked sixth statewide, while Westside Middle School reported 92 fights and ranked fifth - giving Duval three of the state's ten most-cited campuses for reported fighting.
Raw Counts vs. Per-Student Rates
Chaffee Trail opened with more than 1,200 students enrolled, well beyond what the campus was built to hold, before district boundary changes trimmed enrollment down to just over 1,000. The Westside campus was constructed as a $50 million to $56 million, 124,000-square-foot facility designed for 994 student stations, funded through Duval County's 15-year half-cent sales tax that voters approved in November 2020, according to Gilbane Building Company construction records. Students from different communities contributed to conflicts on campus during that crowded first year, per the outlet's report.
Raw totals aren't the only way the state measures the problem, though. Ranked by fights per 1,000 students instead of total incidents, Chaffee Trail actually falls to 18th statewide, while Highlands climbs to third and Westside lands at 15th, according to the same account. The shift suggests Chaffee Trail's sheer enrollment size, not just its climate, helped push its raw fight count to the top of the list.
Boundary Changes Reshape Two Other Campuses
Dr. Jenifer Boatright, Duval County Public Schools' regional superintendent for middle schools, said Westside and Highlands both saw shifts tied to boundary and attendance zone changes. She said a cultural shift happens when students from different neighborhoods start attending the same campus together, and that those students may experience friction while getting used to one another, per the same report.
Highlands and Westside each reduced reported fighting by between 20% and 40% using their own new strategies, Duval County Public Schools officials said. The district has also focused on building relationships with students to spot potential conflicts early, and individual schools have studied student movement patterns to adjust supervision and add staffing in high-traffic areas. Officials say they hope smaller enrollments, redesigned boundaries and more adult supervision will keep fight numbers down as the new year begins.
New Rules for Bystanders and Recorders
Students can submit anonymous tips through the FortifyFL app or report concerns directly to administrators. The app was created under Florida Statute 943.082 as part of the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Duval County Public Schools' Student Code of Conduct also bars students from filming fights on campus or on buses, and students who run toward altercations, form crowds or record video can now face discipline themselves.
The district's middle schools already screen students at entry points with CEIA OPENGATE weapons detection systems, funded through the district's half-cent sales tax school safety allocations. State law separately requires every public school campus in Florida to keep at least one armed safe-school officer on-site while classes are in session, per the Florida Legislature's statute on the subject.
Chaffee Trail's Own Fixes Cut Incidents in Half
At Chaffee Trail specifically, administrators hired additional security guards and placed more adults in high-traffic areas of the building. Sixth graders were moved to the first floor, and class transition times were adjusted based on the building's layout. Tyson-White said those changes have helped reduce reported incidents by about 50%, according to the same account.
A Statewide Reporting Overhaul
State officials say much of the increase in reported fights across Florida traces to stricter definitions and reporting requirements, not necessarily worse student behavior. The Florida Department of Education classifies
