And Another School Shooting Death to End the School Year
No School in America is Immune from
School Violence-- Making Schools Safer during the Summer,
so They are Safe in the Fall
Dear Colleagues,
Today's Focus:
Another Shooting Victim, and the 2013 National
School Crime and Safety Report Just Released
It's been an
interesting, but tragic, two weeks.
Just as I finished
working with eight school districts around the country on their School Climate
Transformation grants, and turned my attention to a new federal grant to
implement Positive Behavioral Support Systems in 80 schools around the country,
I received two pieces of news.
The first piece of
news was of yet another end-of-the-year (not that they don't occur almost
year-round now) school shooting (and student death) just outside of Portland,
OR- - in the state's second high school. According to CNN, since the December,
2012 Sandy Hook massacre, there have been 74 school shootings.
The second piece of
news involved the release, by the U.S. Departments of Education and Justice, of
the Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2013 report. This report noted that-
- while large-scale and dramatic acts of school violence have increased the
public's concern about safety concerns in U.S. schools- - violent deaths at
school remain statistically rare.
I guess you will have
to explain that to the victims (fatally, physically, and emotionally) of the 74
school shootings that have occurred in the past 18 months.
CLICK HERE TO SEE REPORT
According to the
Report:
* In 2012, students ages 12-18 were victims of about 1,364,900 nonfatal victimizations at school, including 615,600 thefts and 749,200 violent victimizations.
* The rates of
non-fatal victimization at school for students 12-18 increased from 35
victimizations per 1,000 students in 2010 to 52 victimizations per 1,000
students in 2012.
* In 2011-12, about 38 percent of teachers agreed or strongly agreed that student misbehavior interfered with their teaching, and 35 percent reported that student tardiness and class cutting interfered with their teaching.
* In
2011, about 28 percent of 12- to 18-year-old students reported having been
bullied at school during the school year and 9 percent reported having been
cyber-bullied.
* During the 2011-12
school year, 88 percent of public schools reported that they controlled access
to school buildings by locking or monitoring doors during school hours, and 64
percent reported that they used security cameras to monitor the school.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
While,
statistically, some of these numbers reflect decreases in some of these
incidents over time, we all know that these numbers fluctuate, and
that-regardless of any decreases-these numbers reflect an ongoing problem in
our schools.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
There are No Easy Answers, but There are
Resources Available
One of the free
resources on our website is:
The School
Safety Audit and Emergency/Crisis Prevention Audit Protocols
This brief document emphasizes the
importance of conducting periodic "School Safety Audits" of the
classrooms and common areas of a school (e.g., hallways, bathrooms,
playgrounds), and provides an outline of what specifically needs to be
analyzed. The document also provides an "Emergency Operations
Handbook" outline, and notes that schools need to plan for three types of
crises: Crises with Advanced Notice, with Minimal Notice, and with
No Notice.
CLICK HERE FOR DOCUMENT
(Go to the middle of
the webpage)
With the students now
gone for summer break, this is a perfect time to do a school safety audit, and
review your emergency plan and operations handbook. Hopefully, the time that
you invest now will pay dividends in a safer school and student body for the
coming school year.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Another
Resource:
Project
ACHIEVE PBIS/School Discipline Planning and Implementation Guidebook (FREE)
For almost 30 years
and across the country, we have been helping schools and districts with
approaches that-- when implemented correctly and in a sustained way-- have
successfully improved school climate and safety, classroom management and
engagement, and students' prosocial and academic outcomes.
These approaches also
have been used--over the past decade--with the Arkansas Department of Education
through its State Improvement/Personnel Development Grant (SIG/SPDG) with
significantly positive results relative to positive school climate, student
classroom engagement, disproportionate office discipline referrals and school
suspensions, and academic achievement.
To help you
understand these evidence-based approaches, we hope you will download the FREE
Positive Behavioral Support System Implementation Guidebook that is available
to you.
(Click on the Link below;
Find the document titled: PBSS School Implement Fact Sheet)
CLICK HERE TO ACCESS RESOURCE
This recently updated
100+ page resource has the following sections:
* The Components of
an Effective Positive
Behavioral Support System (PBSS)
* A Step-by-Step PBSS
Implementation Blueprint
* Professional
Development Approaches and
Resources
* Evaluation and
Outcomes
* Appendices
As always, if you would like a
free, one-hour telephone conference call to ask questions about implementing
this document or process, please feel free to e-mail
me:
knoffprojectachieve@earthlink.net
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
I hope that you will
download and read the new School Crime and Safety Report, and I invite you to
look at the Project ACHIEVE resources above as you look to make your school and
district safer this coming year.
Well. . . I'm off to
look at this next school safety grant. Best wishes for a successful,
safe, and productive June.
Howie
