Reducing School Violence in Florida. Hot Topics : Usable Research / Stephanie Kadel and Joseph Follman.

Violence pervades schools across the nation, disrupting school functioning and preventing students and teachers from learning and teaching. The most effective crisis management and response strategies are designed by a school team that includes administrators, faculty and staff, students, parents, bus drivers and other support staff, as well as representatives from the school district office, law enforcement, and health services. Effective policies work with the media, assist victims, and enforce discipline. Suspension and, in extreme cases, expulsion, but not corporal punishment, may be components of such a strategy. Schools may also implement alternatives such as giving students service assignments on the school grounds or placing them in alternative educational programs. In promoting campus safety and a positive school climate, principals play a critical role. In addition to walking the halls and school grounds regularly, principals who have succeeded in creating peaceful schools out of previously violence-ridden campuses make themselves available to teachers, students, and parents and show a genuine interest in their students' lives and potential; they also emphasize prevention and nonviolent conflict resolution. In implementing a strategy, schools need the expertise of law enforcement and social service agencies, and they must involve parents and the community to reinforce lessons. The roots of violence lie in a great number of social ills, including the prevalence of weapons, prejudice, gangs, drugs, the cycle of disadvantage, media imagery, and moral decay. A glossary, a resource guide, and several appendices outlining response strategies for students, teachers, and administrators are included. Throughout the document, a series of "dynamite ideas" are highlighted in sidebars set off from the main text. (TEJ)

Policymakers. ericd

Practitioners. ericd

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