Guide For Preventing And Responding To School Violence

This guide presents strategies and approaches for members of school communities to consider when creating safer learning environments. Violence prevention programs work best when they incorporate multiple strategies and address the full range of possible acts of violence in schools. Most of the interventions presented here have the potential to yield benefits beyond just reducing hazards associated with school shootings; lowering rates of delinquency, disruptive behaviors, harassment, bullying, suicide, etc.; increasing the likelihood troubled youth will be identified and receive treatment; improving the learning environment; preparing communities for responding to all human-made and natural disasters. Chapters: prevention; threat assessment; crisis planning and preparation; during a major crisis; after a crisis; legal considerations; working with the media; resources. This is a print on demand report.

The purpose of this document is to present different strategies and approaches for members of school communities to consider when creating safer learning environments. No two schools are exactly alike, so it is impossible to establish one plan that will work well in all schools. Violence prevention programs work best when they incorporate multiple strategies and address the full range of possible acts of violence in schools. For any set of policies to work, it must be established and implemented with the full participation and support of school board members, administrators, parents, students, community members, emergency response personnel, and law enforcement. Without such shared responsibility, the chances of safe school policies being successfully implemented and accepted are low. All involved in working to prevent or respond to school violence should be aware that no strategies in this or any other publication provide any guarantees against violence. Recognition of the rarity of school shootings and the complexity and unpredictability of human behavior should temper community initiatives as well as expectations. Most of the interventions presented in this document, however, have the potential to yield benefits beyond just reducing hazards associated with school shootings. Additional benefits include the following: Lowering rates of delinquency, disruptive behaviors, harassment, bullying, suicide, and all other forms of violence and antisocial behavior; Increasing the likelihood troubled youth will be identified and receive treatment; Improving the learning environment by reducing intimidating, disruptive, and disrespectful behavior; Preparing communities for responding to not only shootings at schools, but also all other human-made and natural disasters

This timely book presents a data-driven approach to preventing and responding to school violence. As school violence receives increasing attention across the nation, the application of scientific knowledge is critical. For maximum effectiveness, transdisciplinary teams should use school data, logic models, and theories of change to design, implement, and evaluate interventions. Collaboration among key stakeholders is also necessary to address both structural and systemic barriers to success with violence prevention. With concrete methods for promoting safety in primary and secondary educational settings, this book will engage and enable school faculty, counselors, administrators, and other partners to better understand areas of common interest and learn how to work together more effectively.

Your school must be prepared to face problems that range from name calling and bullying to extortion, rape, and homicide. Decrease the chances of tragedy and learn how to respond most effectively! This essential handbook explores the causes of school violence, presents state-of-the-art information on preventing school violence, and arms you with practical interventions to use when violent incidents occur. You’ll also learn about the best Internet sites on school violence issues. This book—prepared by the editor of the Journal of School Violence—can help you decrease the chances of tragedy. It will also show you how to respond effectively when violence does occur. Part I: Causes of School Violence focuses on the ways that connectedness and identification with academics influence school violence. This section presents a framework for creating developmental interventions as well as a chapter examining the concept of “bonding to school,” with two interesting scenarios to consider. Part II: Prevention of School Violence examines the effectiveness of interventions in use today and brings you important information on threat assessment, peer mediation, and weapons reduction. You’ll also find an insightful chapter on the value of developing empathy and good communication with youth who are gang members. Part III: Interventions in Cases of School Violence provides you with effective strategies to address the consequences of crisis events and takes an incisive look at crisis events themselves, what they are, how they progress, and what you may encounter in their aftermath. In addition, you get an invaluable inside look at crisis intervention and support services in the aftermath of the 2001 Santana High School shootings in San Diego, California. With your purchase of this essential handbook, you’ll also be kept up to date by the author’s new Internet forum—a space where scholars and practitioners from around the world come together to create new strategies for school violence prevention and intervention and develop new online and print publications that address school violence. “When I was like 11, I was hanging out. I used to go to a middle school. It was for bad people, only bad people go there. It's a school just for bad people that had gotten kicked out of school. And I had got kicked out of my school cause they found me with a gun.” The Handbook of School Violence brings together many voices—those of violent youngsters and the helpers who provide the care they need—those of students who feel no connection with their families or with their work at school—those of the professionals who strive to prevent these students from acting on their feelings of alienation in violent ways—and those of scholars who create theory and research, laying the foundation for prevention and intervention. Add this book to your collection, and you’ll benefit from the contributions of this rich chorus of voices. And through the Internet forum, the chorus can add a new voice—yours. Visit the Handbook of School Violence Web site at http://genesislight.com/hsv%20files/about.html

The Handbook of School Violence and School Safety: International Research and Practice has become the premier resource for educational and mental health professionals and policymakers seeking to implement effective prevention and intervention programs that reduce school violence and promote safe and effective schools. It covers the full range of school violence and safety topics from harassment and bullying to promoting safe, secure, and peaceful schools. It also examines existing school safety programs and includes the multi-disciplinary research and theories that guide them. Examinations of current issues and projections of future research and practice are embedded within each chapter. This volume maps the boundaries of this rapidly growing and multidisciplinary field of study. Key features include... Comprehensive Coverage – The chapters are divided into three parts: Foundations; Assessment and Measurement; Prevention and Intervention Programs. Together they provide a comprehensive review of what is known about the types, causes, and effects of school violence and the most effective intervention programs that have been developed to prevent violence and promote safe and thriving school climates. Evidence-based Practice – Avoiding a one-size-fits-all approach to prevention and intervention, the focus throughout is on the application of evidence-based practice to address factors most commonly associated with school violence and safety. Implications for Practice – Each chapter bridges the research-to-practice gap, with a section delineating implications for practice of the foregoing research. Chapter Structure – To ensure continuity and coherence across the book, each chapter begins with a brief abstract and ends with a table showing the implications for practice. International Focus – Acknowledging the fact that school violence and safety is a global concern, this edition has increased its focus on insights learned from cross-national research and practice outside the USA. Expertise – The editors and authors are experienced researchers, teachers, practitioners, and leaders in the school violence field, their expertise includes their breadth and depth of knowledge and experience, bridging research, policy, and practice and representing a variety of international organizations studying school violence around the world.

Is your school prepared to deal with a crisis, whether it’s a hurricane, an earthquake, an explosion at a nearby chemical facility, an active shooter, or one of many other possibilities? Does your school have an up-to-date plan to deal with hazards of all sorts? Do teachers and other staff members know what to do in emergency situations to protect their students and themselves from harm? In this informative and comprehensive guide, school safety experts Amy Klinger and Amanda Klinger offer significant--and sometimes surprising--statistics on school safety, dispel common misunderstandings, and provide preK–12 school leaders with the specific information they need to prepare for and effectively respond to natural disasters, accidents, or violent events. Readers will learn how and why it is important to • Realistically assess threats and vulnerabilities. • Create and implement an emergency operations plan that follows government guidelines and best practices. • Decentralize authority and responsibility for crisis response. • Distinguish between three levels of “lockdown.” • Plan for short- and long-term recovery following an incident. • Make school safety an everyday component of school operations. At a time when schools at every level and in every community face the possibility of a crisis event, Keeping Students Safe Every Day equips leaders with the knowledge they need to give their students, staff members, parents, and the broader community confidence that their school knows what to do and makes safety a top priority.