School Safety

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.

Security expert Kenneth S. Trump outlines school security issues and provides nuts-and-bolts strategies for preventing violence and preparing for crises. Includes author's companion website.

Schools across the U.S. look very different today than they did a generation ago. Police officers, drug-sniffing dogs, surveillance cameras, and high suspension rates have become commonplace. The Real School Safety Problem uncovers the unintended but far-reaching effects of harsh school discipline climates. Evidence shows that current school security practices may do more harm than good by broadly affecting the entire family, encouraging less civic participation in adulthood, and garnering future financial costs in the form of high rates of arrests, incarceration, and unemployment. This text presents a blueprint for reform that emphasizes problem-solving and accountability while encouraging the need to implement smarter school policies.Ê

Witnesses include: William Strauss, author and generational historian, McLean, VA; Denise C. Gottfredson, prof., dept. of criminology, Univ. of Maryland; James Alan Fox, dean, College of Criminal Justice, Northeastern Univ.; Paul F. Evans, Commissioner, Boston (MA) Police Dept.; Karen L. Bierman, dir., Fast Track Program, Penn State Univ.; Jan Kuhl, supervisor of School Counseling, Des Moines Independent School District, Des Moines, IA; Kenneth S. Trump, pres. and ceo, Nat. School Safety and Security Services, Cleveland, OH; and Robert Eagan, v.p. of Energy and Critical Infrastructure, Sandia National Labs.

Explains why it is necessary to be careful around strangers and offers advice on ways to stay safe.

Violence among youth in public schools is one of America’s most pressing concerns. Once thought to be something only inner-city schools faced, it has spread to suburban and rural schools. There are no easy solutions to the problem, but this book explores what administrators and other school officials can do to structure school safety programs to curb student violence. An introduction provides information and statistics about the causes of school violence. Chapter One considers government legislation and resulting initiatives to reduce youth violence and improve classroom discipline. Chapter Two covers strategies for building a school safety program, and offers recommended and tested approaches for creating safety initiatives. Chapter Three provides additional information about school-wide strategies and presents model programs that can be implemented at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. Chapter Four examines character-building educational programs and discusses training for teachers and parents. Chapter Five is a directory of organizations, alliances, centers, professional development groups, publications, and websites dealing with school safety.