Safety Policies and Procedures in Schools

1089 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Bullying on student achievement

Introduction

Violence in schools has become a growing epidemic. Hearing of a school shooting where students are gunned down for no apparent reason is a reminder of the seemly increasing national problem of school violence. Dewey Cornell (2010) a clinical psychologist and education professor at the University of Virginia suggest that school shooting in “Columbine High School in Colorado and Virginia Tech has reinforced a perception that schools can be dangerous places” (p.1). Yet, there has been a downward trend in school violence over the past several years. According to the CDC (2010) violent deaths at school among students has “accounted for less than 1% of the homicides and suicides among children ages 5-18” (p.2). Many factors can influence or trigger violent behavior, and certain risk factors make students more susceptible to violence such as “limited or diminished economic opportunities, low income, lack of education, social rejections by peers, bullying, poor academic performance” (CDC, 2010, p.1). Research shows that many students feel unsafe at school, and feeling safe at school is associated with academic performance (Pearson, Muller & Wilkinson, 2007). Students who felt less connected to the school and or community did not perform as well academically and were poorly prepared for college. (Pearson, Muller & Wilkinson, 2007). In addition, studies indicates students who are harassment at school was linked to lower academic achievement almost half a grade lower than students who were less often harassed (Clark & Russell, 2009).

Objective

An analysis of schools safety polices and procedure for building a positive climate and culture, and maintaining safety in an emergency or crisis situation. The studies sugge...

... middle of paper ...

...states require school districts and administrators to develop and maintain a comprehensive written safety plan or manual. The safety manual provides guidelines and instructional information necessary for comprehensive plans, procedures and mechanisms for responding to emergencies and crises (NJDOE, 2004). The key to maintaining a safe school environment is coordinated planning that result in a comprehensive emergency and crisis management plan for the district and its schools. These plans should include clear policies, an ongoing collaborative planning, prevention, intervention strategies and programs, preparedness procedures, communications, roles, responsibilities, and crisis response plans. The planning process is essential for an effective plan. (NJDOE, 2004). A comprehensive collaboration between school and community is necessary in the planning stages.

Show More
Related

  • Media's Role in Mass School Shootings

    2224 Words  | 5 Pages

    The history of school shootings has shown an increase in mass school shooting. The very first known school shooting in the United States occurred on July 26, 1764 in present-day Greencastle, Pennsylvania. As part of the Pontiac's Rebellion, four Lenape Native Americans entered the school house and started shooting, killing the schoolmaster Enoch Brown and about nine students. Only two students survived the massacre (“History”). Since the 1700s the United States society has changed in many ways. Schools have become more than just one room school houses and each grade has its own teacher. Furthermore, the problem of school shootings has not decreased but rather increased over the years. On the one hand, reports from the Centers for Disease Control showed that in general school violence decreased from 1992 to 200...

    Read More

  • Persuasive Essay On School Shootings

    1212 Words  | 3 Pages

    It is a sad time in American history when one can easily recount recent school shootings in their own area. This ease stems from a sharp increase in the number of firearms brought into elementary and middle schools across the country, with an intense focus on the issue beginning after the shooting of 20 children from Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut. Most school shooters are male, white, and often upper middle class. They are also more, often than not, under some type of mental stress that is causing them to create this type of violence in our communities. In fact, many school shooters are never suspected of doing any harm to their peers and teachers until it is much too late.

    Read More

  • Evaluating the Safety of a Keyless Entry System at a Junior College

    1157 Words  | 3 Pages

    School safety plans have had an increase in focus over the past decade due to the increase of televised coverage in mass school shootings. School officials relied upon the moral rationales that support aggressive street policing as they struggled to” reach the students” and make sense of the new disciplinary policies while maintaining their identities as educators (Garret, 2001). In reacting fashion, schools placed an emphasis on gun safety. As originally enacted on March 31, 1994 the Gun-Safe Schools Act (GFSA) required each state receiving Elementary and Secondary Education Act funds to have in effect a state law require local educational agencies LEAs to expel from school for a period of not less than one year a student who was determined to have brought a weapon to school (Thomas, 2006). The focus of trying to keep guns out of schools had administrators putting plans in place with little information as to what works for schools. Additionally, the U.S. Department of Educatiohttp://ed.grammarly.com/editor/content?page.paperReportKey=#n (2003) informed educators that they needed to add the possibility of terrorist attacks to the safety plans of schools knowing that this would stretch the ability of schools to meet the needs of the students and community. Reactions to school sho...

    Read More

  • School Shootings: The Social Problem Of School Shootings

    948 Words  | 2 Pages

    In September of this year there was a school shooting in Washington and the suspect, who was a sophomore, wanted to teach the school a lesson about bullying. The authors state “Bullied children are shamed on a regular basis, and psychologists have long known there is a strong causal link between shame and violence (Gilligan,1997)... and There’s only so much torment and humiliation bullied children can take before many resort to lashing out in return” (Twenge et al., 2003). There have been many cases where bullied victims shoot up schools because they have been humiliated too many times and want to retaliate to release their anger and feelings. Victims of bullying resort to violence against their school because they had enough of being teased at, friends leaving them, and not being felt cared about so this leads to extreme violence costing lives of many innocent

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of School Shootings

    1724 Words  | 4 Pages

    In conclusion, School Violence is a widespread issue that must be addressed. School shootings and bullying are some of the biggest issues in today’s school system. Many times the seed of the issue begins with bullying and ends with consequences like suicide and school shootings. They affect people as early as elementary school all the way to the college level, some even ending with death. Only together can we stop school violence if we take a stand and change the world.

    Read More

  • In the School System, Student's Safety vs. Student's Privacy

    1144 Words  | 3 Pages

    BRYDOLF, CAROL. "Preparing For The Unthinkable: School Safety After Sandy Hook." Education Digest 79.3 (2013): 4.MasterFILE Premier. Web. 13 May 2014.

    Read More

  • Preventing Mass School Shootings

    1426 Words  | 3 Pages

    In order to solve the problem of violence in schools, we must first find out who the problem is. Being that not every teenager is prone to participate in such violent acts as what happened at Columbine, there must be specific environment imposed on a particular biology to turn a teenager into an Eric Harris or a Dylan Klebold. These are not normal, healthy teenagers, and they don’t just become killers overnight. They become killers because they are already deeply disturbed individuals who can be sent over the edge by all sorts of innocuous influences. Violent teens often have specific characteristics that put them at high risk for committing these crimes. These high risked students may display some of the following traits. First, violent students often indicate their intentions before acting violently through drawings or writings. (Juhnke et. Al., 1999) They also make threats of violence towards others. Next, students prone to violent behavior tend to have a history of violence or aggression. (Juhnke et. Al., 1999) This may include other students, boyfriends/girlfriends, and animals. Violent students often have hypersensitivity toward criticism. (Juhnke et. Al., 1999) These students report perceptions of being teased, harassed or being picked on by those they were violent toward. This tormenting can also cause a student to isolate him or herself and withdrawal from friends and family, which is another sign that something is wrong. Another fairly obvious characteristic includes those children who are inappropriately given accress to firearms. (Juhnke et. Al., 1999) When students are given a gun, it gives them a sense of power. Some choose to take advantage of that power, as we have seen in numerous high school shoot...

    Read More

  • Increasing Violence in Youth Culture

    1103 Words  | 3 Pages

    It is true that due to the positive learning atmosphere, schools have been regarded as a safe place for many years. Even today students and parents believe that schools are safe. If violence is increasing in youth culture, schools would be considered a dangerous place, but yet it remains known as secure. In addition, security has increased tremendously, within airports, major league sporting events, and upgraded police surveillance at American schools. Knowing this a logical assumption would be that violence has decreased. However, in my opinion, youth’s culture is changing and as a result violence is rising.

    Read More

  • Mass School Shootings in America

    500 Words  | 1 Pages

    Bullying, often dismissed as a normal part of growing up, is a real problem in our nation's schools, according to the National School Safety Center. One out of every four schoolchildren endures taunting, teasing, pushing, and shoving daily from schoolyard bullies. More than 43 percent of middle- and high-school students avoid using school bathrooms for fear of being harassed or assaulted. Old-fashioned schoolyard hazing has escalated to instances of extortion, emotional terrorism, and kids toting guns to school. It is estimated that more than 90 percent of all incidents of school violence begin with verbal conflicts, w...

    Read More

  • School Safety - A Modest Proposal

    686 Words  | 2 Pages

    In this day and age where school administrators consider backpacks, lockers, and baggy pants to be potential dangers to students and faculty, what will be next? Perhaps pencils, pens, scissors, and glue will be added to the list of items to ban from schools. These, along with other hazardous educational necessities pose real threats to maintaining an orderly school and should be prohibited.

    Read More

  • School Safety

    966 Words  | 2 Pages

    In recent years, tragedies have been visited upon schools across the country. From Kentucky to Oregon to Colorado, the notion of schools as safe havens has been shattered by the sound of gunfire. These acts are not limited to any geographic regions or family backgrounds, nor do they have a single catalyst. Those who have committed such heinous acts have done so for different reasons, at different times, in different schools. But these acts of school violence have at least one thing in common- they have spurred all of us to take a look at what can be done to better protect children and teachers at school. Protecting our children is not simply a matter of public policy. It is a matter of strengthening basic values, of teaching children right from wrong, of instilling in them respect for others. We each have a responsibility to work to end youth violence and to keep schools safe for children and for those who teach them. Youth violence in many schools has reached universal proportions. It is not only happening in our high schools, it has also made its way into our elementary and middle schools. Everyone seems to have a different perspective on why there is such a problem with school safety. Some say it is the parents’ fault, some say it is the media, and others blame the schools. Yet, the question still remains. What can be done to make schools safer for the children and staff? One thing we need to do is learn to listen to our children and observe their behavior. According ...

    Read More

  • School Safety

    2065 Words  | 5 Pages

    The issue of school safety has become a controversial topic in the United States, due to tragic acts of violence occurring on a daily basis. American citizens should never have to cope with the negative impact of school violence, no matter how often they hear about the tragedies (Jones, "Parents" 1). In the past, schools were viewed as a safe place for children to get an education. Recently, the concern over violence in schools has taken a toll on many parents, school administrators, and legislatures (Eckland 1). Studies have shown that there are over 3 million acts of violence in American public schools each year. Not all occurrences are serious and deadly, but they occur on a daily basis throughout our country (Jones, “School” 6). This has caused many parents to worry about the well-being of their children while they are in class. This has also led to an increase in questions and concerns by parents and guardians. Many people have asked, “What are you doing about safety and security on my child’s campus” (Schimke 2). School violence is the cause of elevated worry and fear for their children, and school districts should enforce better security.

    Read More

  • School Shootings: The Consequences Of School Shootings

    611 Words  | 2 Pages

    60% of school shootings in the US happen in small towns. Research on earlier shootings showed the attack is on a school because that is the center stage in a small town, where the shooter can affect the entire community. School shootings are far more frequent in America than in other countries. Although school shootings seem to be on the rise, school is still considered one of the safest places. In 2012 out of all youth homicides, less than 2% occur at school, and this percentage has been stable for the past decade. In 2010, there were about 828,000 nonfatal injuries at school among students 12 to 18 years old. Deaths resulting from schoo...

    Read More

  • Reasons Why Parents are Choosing Homeschooling

    945 Words  | 2 Pages

    School shootings are becoming common place in the news as school violence is on the rise. Statistics state that 31.2 percent of parents said the leading cause for choosing homeschool over public school is “concern about the environment of other schools” (Burke, 2014). According to the CDC fact sheet Understanding School Violence, 12 percent of youth in grades 9-12 report being in a physical fight on school property while 5.9 percent reported that they felt unsafe at school and did not attend. Seven percent of teachers also report that they have been threatened or injured by a student (School Violence, 2013). While only 1 percent of all youth homicides occur at schools, violence does not need to result in a fatality in order to be a concern.

    Read More

  • How Can We Make Our Schools Safer?

    2567 Words  | 6 Pages

    These days, school safety is one of the most important parts of running a good school. So how can we make our school, safer and a better school overall?

    Read More

More about Safety Policies and Procedures in Schools

Open Document