Taking Center Stage – Act II (TCSII)

A Portal for Middle Grades Educators

Violence prevention

Although many sources indicate that youth violence has decreased in recent years, high-profile school shooting incidents in the news alert school professionals to the need to be vigilant in addressing potential sources of violence at school.1

In general, schools remain among the safest public places in the country. Citizens expect that children will be safe at school, and educational leaders have focused on providing safe and disciplined school environments. Because students often know when fellow students are planning dangerous activities, educators at effective schools try to develop processes and an atmosphere in which young people are willing to report what they know. Some school systems have invested in high-tech security devices that help to identify threats and reduce violence. Others have hired SWAT teams to practice emergency evacuation drills. Evidence indicates the efforts are paying off. Recent statistics show the number of violent crimes on school campuses is small and continues to decline. Although improvements have been made in school security, safety remains the most important responsibility school leaders face today.2

Violence prevention is part of a comprehensive school safety plan as developed by the safety planning and safe school review teams. Regular review of school data will help the school faculty to notice any negative trends and address them immediately.

Although violent crimes in schools are down, a survey by the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence (CSPV) (Outside Source) found that 80 percent of the programs designed to prevent youth violence are untested for effectiveness. Out of more than 500 programs tested by the center’s “Blueprints for Violence Prevention” project, only ten programs proved to be effective and 30 more showed promise. The ten programs that exhibited a measurable impact on school violence are listed on the Blue Prints for Violence Prevention-CSPV (Outside Source) Web site.

The following resources may be helpful to schools in developing a violence prevention strategy:

Related Links

• National School Safety Center (Outside Source)
• Office of Juvenile Justice & Delinquency Prevention School Violence Resources (Outside Source)
• Safe Schools, California Department of Education.
• Striving To Reduce Youth Violence Everywhere (Outside Source)
• Threat Assessment in Schools: A Guide to Managing Threatening Situations and to Creating Safe School Climates (PDF; Outside Source), United State Secret Service and United States Department of Education.
• Violence Prevention, California Department of Education.

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Footnotes
1California Arrest Rates 1960-2003 (Outside Source), Sacramento: Office of the Attorney General. Accessed on May 9, 2007.
2William Bainbridge, “Public Schools Are Safer Than Ever, Despite a Few Sensational Incidents,” The Florida Times-Union (March 4, 2006).

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