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Last Updated: Jul 2nd, 2008 - 21:15:22 |
(ARA) – When your kids return to the classroom, chances are good they'll be greeted not only by new teachers and classmates but heavy security forces as well. School violence is on the rise.
According to National School Safety and Security Services, a national consulting firm specializing in school security and crisis preparation training, last year alone, there were 37 deaths and 158 additional incidents of violence associated with our nation's schools. As the new school year begins, parents must take action to keep their kids safe in school.
A good place to start is by asking if everyone, not just teachers, but also support staff, has received training regarding the school's safety and crisis management plan. Among the questions to ask:
* Does the school secretary know how to handle a bomb threat call?
* What steps would the school custodian take if he or she finds a suspicious device or person on the property?
* Is the bus driver, the first and last person to see your child every day, trained to notice any abnormal changes in behavior?
* What would the cafeteria manager do if a fight breaks out during the lunch period?
* Who is on the team from the community?
In communities where violence has erupted, metal detectors have been brought in and security patrols stepped up, but Ronald D. Stephens, executive director of the National School Safety Center says that's not going to solve the problem. "You can't address crime in the school unless within that process you also address crime within the community," he says. "Schools and communities need to work together because oftentimes a school is surrounded by a 360-degree perimeter of community crime."
As people start to come together, a good resource they can turn to for information that will help them formulate a plan is the new Web site: www.safetyissues.com, a multimedia news and information service for people concerned about safety. In addition to posting regularly updated articles about safety issues of all kinds, the site also offers tips on how parents can start a dialogue with their kids about violence in school; Google Earth and School COP (Crime Operations Package) mapping technology that allows users to track crime trends down to a neighborhood; and a sophisticated search engine that offers access to safety-related news from across the country.
"Technology can help you get to know the students, the needs, the team players; can help you develop useful strategies; and help you invest more time to work together, because creating a safer school environment and a safer community will be a time-consuming process," adds Stephens.
One area where he says parents can have a huge impact is bullying -- one of the most underestimated and yet enduring problems in our schools today. It's important to take care of the bully prevention issues early on rather than allowing them to just escalate.
"The schools could start a program on bully prevention or gang prevention by just focusing on courtesy on campus," he says. "We'll do our best work in crime prevention if we deal with the little things, like minimizing the cursing, the name-calling, the intimidation, the hard looks. A lot of times we think we have to solve the big crimes like the shootings, the thefts, and rapes. You have to do all that, yes, but for the most part the crimes begin at a much lower level on the violence continuum scale."
According to The National Youth Violence Prevention Resource Center, which is sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Federal partners working on youth violence, here are some warning signs of bullying:
* Recurrent unexplained physical symptoms such as stomach pains and fatigue
* Child avoids certain situations, people, or places, such as pretending to be sick so that he or she does not have to go to school
* Changes in behavior, such as being withdrawn and passive, being overly active and aggressive, or being self-destructive
* Frequent crying or feeling sad
* Signs of low self-esteem
* Being unwilling to speak or showing signs of fear when asked about certain situations, people, or places
* Signs of injuries
* Suddenly receiving lower grades or showing signs of learning problems
If you learn that your child is bullying others, sit down and talk with your child immediately. It is important to take the problem seriously, because children and youth who bully others are at a greater risk for serious problems later in life. Give your child an opportunity to explain his/her behavior, but do not accept any excuses or justifications. Make it clear that bullying will not be tolerated and outline the consequences for further unacceptable behavior. If the problem is occurring at school, tell your child you support the school's right to punish him/her if the behavior persists.
Encourage your child to try to understand how the bullying feels to his/her victim. Bullies often have trouble empathizing with their victims so it is important to discuss with your child how bullying feels. How would your child feel if it happened to him/her? If you or someone close to you has been bullied in the past, you might want to share the story with your child, discussing the emotional impact.
School safety information is just a small portion of what's available on the Safety Issues Web site. There are also articles about safety in the home, workplace and cyberspace; information about product recalls; and access to updated information about terror alerts. For more information, log on to www.safetyissues.com. Courtesy of ARA Content
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