A r c h i v e d I n f o r m a t i o n

Making Schools Safe and Drug Free

The great majority of schools in the United States are safe places. Some schools, however, struggle with crime and violence, which compromise the peaceful learning environment that is so crucial to personal and academic growth. In the past few years, a number of schools have seen outbursts of more severe violence than ever before in our nation's history. Parents, teachers, students, and communities are all concerned about the health of our youth and the safety of our schools, and understand the need to reconnect disengaged students. Research shows that it takes the involvement of the whole community to establish a comprehensive approach to reducing violence and drug and alcohol abuse among youth. School violence is being redefined to indicate that it is not a school problem but a school-family-community problem.

The U.S. Departments of Education and Justice are collaborating on a number of efforts to help principals, school administrators, teachers, community leaders, and parents address safety and violence issues in their schools and communities. Real progress on these issues will take place only through the collaborative efforts of educators, parents, law enforcement agencies, youth groups, civil and religious organizations, mental health professionals, and state and local leaders.

Related facts:

90 percent of schools reported NO incidents of serious violent crime in 1996-1997.
There was no change in the percentage of students reporting any (violent or property) victimization at school (14.5 percent versus 14.6 percent), or the percentage of students reporting property victimization at school (12.2 percent versus 11.6 percent) between 1989 and 1995.
Crime is more prevalent in city schools: 17 percent of schools located in cities reported at least one serious violent crime, 8 percent of rural schools, and 5 percent of schools located in towns.
A 1998 National PTA survey found that 75 percent of people favor increased federal funding to prevent violence in schools by hiring school counselors or security officers.

Model programs:

Project ACHIEVE, facilitated by Howard M. Knoff at the School Psychology Program at the University of South Florida in Tampa, helps individual schools with large numbers of special education referrals and schools at-risk for multiple incidents of violence to strategically plan for and address their immediate and long-term student needs. At-risk and underachieving students in pre-K through middle school learn social skills, problem-solving methods, and anger-reduction techniques. Teachers, parents, and school administrators are trained to employ these techniques. Since its inception in August of 1990, the program has generated incredible results in its attempt to decrease referrals to and placements in special education (by 75 percent), disciplinary referrals to the principal's office (by 28 percent), and suspensions and expulsions. Student academic engagement has increased, as have the academic achievement scores within the context of highly mobile populations and students in poverty. For more information, contact: Howard M. Knoff and George M. Batsche, Co-Directors, Institute for School Reform, Integrated Services, and Child Mental Health and Educational Policy, School Psychology Program, College of Education, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33620-7750, (813) 974-9498.
The Resolving Conflict Creatively Program (RCCP) is a comprehensive, school-based program in over 110 New York City public schools that emphasizes conflict resolution and intercultural understanding. Through peer mediation, training for teachers, administrators and parents, and the RCCP curriculum of creative conflict resolution and inter-group relations, RCCP strives to achieve a long-term reduction in violence and promote caring and cooperative behavior among children, adolescents and adults both in and out of school. The program also promotes greater student achievement and a reduction in absentee rates for both teachers and students. For more information, contact: Linda Lantieri, National Center, 40 Exchange Place, Suite 1111, New York, NY 10005, (212) 509-0022; (212) 509-1095 (fax).

America Goes Back to School Ideas:

Hold a 'Health Awareness' night at school for students and families to learn about drug and alcohol prevention, local mental health resources, and the possibility of receiving free or low-cost insurance for children 18 years of age and under, through the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Call 1-877-Kids-Now for more information about CHIP.
Organize local summits, and form a committee of teachers, students, school administrators, mental health professionals, law enforcement officials, and parents to assess the problems your school faces in regard to alcohol, drugs, violence, and disorder, and review what your school is doing to deal with these issues. Come up with recommendations or strategies to change these patterns in your community and school.

Resources:

The U.S. Department of Education has a variety of materials, programs, and information to help schools and communities make their schools safer and more orderly. To request products related to any of these programs, call 1-877-4ED-Pubs. For additional information on these programs, call 1-800-USA-LEARN or visit the following Web sites: