IU study urges increased school safety measures

Over a span of three years, the Safe and Responsive Schools Project is implementing a program to provide a positive change within school safety and discipline. Indiana is considering this program's effectiveness for school children statewide. \nThe goal is to stretch the perspective on school violence by utilizing prevention programs. According to the SRSP Project Web site, www.indiana.edu/~safeschl, youth violence has increased rapidly over the last 15 years. Although most dramatized visions of school violence concluded from school shootings, problems also lay outside of the schoolyard. \nProfessor Russell Skiba, director of SRS Project at the Center for Evaluation and Education Policy at IU, said the need to promote school safety and prevent school disruption remains as great as ever and he believes the measures taken thus far, including zero tolerance and security measures, have had little impact on school safety. \n"Without the data on effectiveness of such measures, it's important for local schools and districts to assess the effectiveness of any measures they take to maintain school safety," Skiba said. \nThe program hopes to successfully address the issue of school violence on three different levels. The first level is to create a safe and responsive school climate by providing students with knowledge of healthy problem solving or possible substitutes to violence. The second level is early identification of disruption and intervention, which aims at pointing out early warning signs of potentially violent behavior. The third level, effective responses to disruption and crisis, plans to prepare schools for possible outbreak of violence and offer alternative consequences aside from the common suspension and expulsion. \nThe U.S. Departments of Education and Justice's research has found the prevention of bullying to be among the most effective programs in reducing school violence. These efforts have lessened incidents by up to 50 percent according to the research. Skiba believes the consequences of bullying can pose a serious threat to school safety. \nKen Rigby, a psychologist who has studied bullying for many years, said, in early adolescence, victims of bullying commonly experience poor health and as many as 8 percent of students will stay home at least once a month as a result from bullying.\nJanice Bizzari, principal of University Elementary School in Bloomington, said she has several programs at the school to approach behavior in a positive manner. Students at University Elementary are taught at a young age how to respect peers and authority figures.\n"We call it our life skills program," Bizzari said. "We don't talk in terms of punishment but of consequences. Most of our program is proactive not reactive." \nHowever, Skiba believes aggression and violence peak in middle school years (around 12 to 15).\n"One could also make the case that the elementary years are most important," Skiba said. "Those are the years when children learn social interaction habits, which will affect them throughout their school career."\nThe SRS Project believes it is important to take matters of violence day to day and, in one way or another, day to day violence is somewhat related to the more serious and life-threatening violence. The Web site suggests even unpredictable violence is preventable and prevention can make a difference. By instructing violence prevention and anti-bullying programs to students, there is a lower chance of a serious situation in the future. SRS Project suggests the importance of remembering that there is no single solution to this dilemma and schools are required to implement these programs long term. \n"The last thing we want to do is assume we are now safe and let down our guard," Skiba said.\n-- Contact staff writer Jeanine Murray at jlmurray@indiana.edu.