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The ultimate goal of any school violence prevention program is to
create safe and orderly schools. However, school violence is not and
should not be viewed solely as a school-based problem, nor will any
single intervention be effective in combating school violence.
Rather, any strategy to combat school violence must be a multimodal,
comprehensive, and coordinated effort that involves schools,
communities, businesses, public and private agencies, parents, and
elected officials.
Incidents of school violence and in-school weapon violations
actually have decreased significantly during the last several years.
Despite the occurrence of crime in schools, they remain one of the
safest places for youth today. Linked to this decline are advances
in understanding what works in planning and implementing school
violence prevention strategies.
Although school violence is, in many respects, a local problem,
Governors can significantly impact the preparedness of schools to
combat school violence. Through leadership, the bully pulpit,
legislative agendas, and the forging of interagency partnerships,
Governors can develop a statewide capacity to effectively and
proactively respond to this issue. Likewise, there are many
strategies that schools can adopt, including incorporating codes of
conduct, increasing student involvement, promoting positive adult
interaction, using basic security measures, and developing crisis
response plans.
However, some of the best advances in combating school violence
come through the early identification of those youth most at risk of
perpetrating it. While by no means definitive, researchers have
identified risk factors and early and imminent warning signs for
troubled youth. Understanding these signs within the proper context
can help avoid further incidents of school violence. Although
research is relatively new, within the last several years there has
been a tremendous growth in research, information, and funding for
school violence prevention efforts. As understanding increases about
the causes of school violence, policymakers will be able to create
and implement more effective policy. |
Making Schools Safe