Albany High School students were greeted by new security protocols on Monday, when they returned to school after last week’s February break.

Increased backpack searches, metal detector checks and more administrators placed throughout the building are just some of the enhanced security measures Superintendent Kaweeda Adams said have been put in place at Albany High School.

“We know there may have been some slow down with regard to that, but as far as we have heard, everything has gone according to plan,” Adams said.

The changes come about two weeks after a fight between two students that resulted in one being injured with a knife. A staff member who tried to intervene was also hurt.

Adams said it is part of an alarming trend that began when students returned to the classroom last spring for the first time since the start of the pandemic.

“We have seen it throughout the Capital Region. We have seen it throughout our United States in different school districts. There is an uptick of aggression and verbal altercations and physical altercations,” Adams said.

She believes stressors brought on by the pandemic are partly to blame.

Along with new security protocols, she said the district’s counselors, psychologists and other staff members are working to address many of the issues impacting students’ mental well-being.

“Many of them may not know how to deal with some of the stresses that are happening in their home," Adams said. "Some of them have lost family members. COVID has taken its toll on all of us in many different ways.”

While she expects the increased security to have an immediate impact, Adams acknowledged the efforts to address student mental health will take time.

“The timeframe for addressing the impact and the lasting effect of COVID-19, we don’t have a timeline," Adams said. "It is whatever time is needed to help our children work through all of the challenges they have been through, as well as our adults."