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violence folder

Infobank: Violence Folder: School Violence File

Key questions        Programs        Story Contacts        Experts
Background        References        Related Coverage


Key Questions

What interventions can help young children cope with violence in their everyday lives?

How are school health-care professionals working to prevent violence?

What skills are important to teach elementary school students so as to prevent violent behavior?

How does learning negotiation skills prevent violent confrontation from developing?

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Programs ("CFN contact" indicates people who have already been contacted by CFN and have agreed to speak with the press.)

Aggressors, Victims, and Bystanders: Thinking and Acting to Prevent Violence
Ronald Slaby, R. Wilson-Brewer, and K. Dash
Education Development Center, Inc.
55 Chapel Street
Newton, MA 02160
(617) 969-7100
Violence prevention program for youth

B.R.A.V.E. (Be Ready Against Violence Everywhere)
6538 University Ave.
Des Moines, IA 50311-1729
(515) 277-5546
www.brave.org
Provides violence prevention seminars for children and educators.

CVPC (Crime and Violence Prevention Center)
California Attorney General’s Office
Crime and Violence Prevention Center
PO Box 944255-2550
(916) 324-7863
Provides leadership in crime prevention policy and program and resource development: programs dealing with: safe schools, and family and gang violence prevention.

The Lesson One Foundation/ECSS Skills for Life
(CFN contact) Executive Director: Jon Oliver
245 Newbury Street
Boston, MA 02116
(617)247-2787
Skills for Life is an elementary school-based violence prevention program

Peace Games
(CFN contact) Eric Dawson, Executive Director
240B Elm St., Suite B10B Elm St., Suite B10
Somerville, MA 02144
(617) 628-5555
fax: (617) 776-5577
www.peacegames.org
College students work with elementary and middle-school students to teach conflict resolution.

Program for Young Negotiators
(CFN contact) Karen Richardson, Director of Boston Programming 432 Columbia Street
Cambridge, MA 02141
(617) 225-7877; (888)-TEACH-PYN
fax: (617) 225-0027
www.pyn.org
Curriculum that teaches negotiation skills to middle-school students.

Violence Prevention Curriculum for Adolescents
(CFN contact) Created by Deborah Prothrow-Stith, M.D.
Education Development Center, Inc.
55 Chapel Street
Newton, MA 02160
(617) 969-7100
Curriculum that helps teens deal with anger in productive nonviolent ways.

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Story contacts (The following is a list of people who have already been contacted by CFN and have agreed to speak with the press.)

Mark Abdela
Peace Games Media Coordinator, Director of Development
Peace Games Executive Director
240B Elm Street, Suite B 10.
Somerville, MA 02144
(617) 628-5555

Anne Wilayto Bishop
80 Pagoda Street
Milton, MA 02186
(617)696-2058
Runs violence prevention program in Boston high school.

Eric Dawson
Peace Games Executive Director
Peace Games
240B Elm St., Suite B10B Elm St., Suite B10
Somerville, MA 02144
(617) 628-5555
fax: (617) 776-5577
www.peacegames.org

Kara Griswold
Peace Games volunteer and school coordinator
Kgriswol@emerald.tufts.edu
Or contact through Peace Games:
240B Elm St., Suite B10B Elm St., Suite B10
Somerville, MA 02144
(617) 628-5555
fax: (617) 776-5577
www.peacegames.org
Volunteers in a fifth grade classroom in Dorchester’s Richard Murphy School, and also serves as a liaison between the entire school and the Peace Games program.

Jon Oliver, Executive Director
The Lesson One Foundation
245 Newbury Street
Boston, MA 02116
(617)247-2787

Karen Richardson, Director of Boston Programming
Program for Young Negotiators
432 Columbia Street
Cambridge, MA 02141
(617) 225-7877; (888) TEACH PYN
www.pyn.org


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Experts (The following is a list of people who have already been contacted by CFN and have agreed to speak with the press.)

Jacqueline Cral, MPH
718 Huntington Avenue
Boston, MA 02115
Phone: (617)432-2400
Relevant area: research specialist for Violence Prevention programs, and Harvard University School of Public Health

Robin Einzig
Department of Child Development
Tufts University
Medford, MA 02155
(781)395-8532
Relevant area: children and violence

Richard Lerner
Director of the Center for Child, Family, and Community Partnerships
Boston College
Office of Public Affairs
122 College Road
Chestnut Hill, MA 02167
(617)552-0764
News Email: patricia.delaney@bc.edu; rosanne.pellegrini@bc.edu
Relevant area: outreach scholarship promoting positive development of children

Deborah Prothrow-Stith, M.D.
Professor at Harvard School of Public Health.
Education Development Center, Inc.
55 Chapel Street
Newton, MA 02160
(617) 969-7100
Relevant area: societal causes of youth violence

Jared Curhan
Founder of Program for Young Negotiators
Psychology Department, Stanford University
618 Everett Avenue
Palo Alto, CA 94310
(650)321-3232; (650) 723-1711 (office)
Email: curhan@Psych.stanford.edu
Relevant area: negotiation and decision-making strategies

Meredith W. Watts
Visiting professor at Northeastern University’s Criminal Justice College
400 Churchill Hall
Boston, MA 02115
(617) 373-2727
mwatts@lynx.dac.neu.edu
Relevant area: political scientist specializing in youth and politics.

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Background (The following is a compilation of research, statistics, and clinical data.)

     Websites with information about School Violence

Help Center of the American Psychological Association (www.helping.apa.org) Information about warning signs of violent behavior, violence prevention strategies, coping with exposure to violence.

The Whyfiles at the Graduate School of the University of Wisconsin (http://whyfiles.news.wisc.edu/065school_violence/2.html) "When Kids Kill" gives a range of information about the incidence of school violence, causes, and prevention.

Early Warning, Timely Response: A Guide to Safe Schools (US Department of Education. www.ed.gov/offices/OSERS/OSEP/earlywrn.html) This is the government report on school violence that was mailed to all US high schools in the fall of 1998.

     Incidences of School Violence

In a survey of 1,234 schools nationwide, 1 in 10 reported experiencing at least one serious violent crime during the 1996-97 school year. (Heaviside, S., Rowand, C., Williams, C., & Farris, E. Violence and discipline problems in U.S. public schools: 1996-97. U.S. Government Printing Office, Superintendent of Documents, Mail Stop: SSOP, Washington, DC 20402-9328.)

Every day in America:
  • 5,388 children are arrested
  • 237 children are arrested for violent crime
  • 17,152 public high school students are suspended
*based on calculations per school day (180 days of seven hours each)

Every Day in America website of the Children's Defense Fund (www.childrensdefense.org/everyday.html)

Twice as many American children under ten years of age died as the result of firearm injuries in 1991 as American soldiers were killed in the Persian Gulf and Somalia combined. (Fact Sheet from the Harvard School of Public Health--Violence in America. Office of Government and Community Programs. 677 Huntington Ave. Boston, MA 02155.)

Children in the U.S. die of gun related deaths at 12 times the rate of other developing countries. (American Association of School Administrators. 1801 North Moore Street. Arlington, VA 22209. (703)528-0700. fax: (703)841-1543. http://www.aasa.org

According to the American Association of School Administrators, only 1% of the gun-related 49% of students in Peace Games in 1996 reported seeing or knowing someone who had been shot, killed, or stabbed and 32% knew someone who had brought a gun or knife into their school (Peace Games web page: http://www.peacegames.org)

According to the Harvard School of Public Health, more than one-half of all violent crimes against teenagers ages 12 to 19 took place in school buildings, on school property or on the street. 22% of American high school students surveyed in 1993 said they feared for their safety while in school. (Fact Sheet from the Harvard School of Public Health--Violence in America. Office of Government and Community Programs. 677 Huntington Ave. Boston, MA 02155.)fatalities affecting 3000 American children a year occur in school, and 99% happen elsewhere. (American Association of School Administrators: www.aasa.org)

The numbers of reported incidents per 1,000 students were similar for middle school and high schools for both serious violent and non-violent crimes. National Center for Education Statistics of the US Department of Education (http://nces.ed.gov)

Aggressive habits tend to be learned early. By the time a child reaches second grade, the pattern for violence is often present. Early patterns of aggression can turn into a lifelong pattern of dysfunction. Parent Time (www.pathfinder.com/ParentTime)

More than one in six teen-aged students (17%) have been robbed at gun or knife point, and 8% say they have had their lives threatened. (Fact Sheet from the Harvard School of Public Health--Violence in America. Office of Government and Community Programs. 677 Huntington Ave. Boston, MA 02155.)

Juveniles now account for a very high and growing share of homicide offenders and victims. The number of juvenile arrests for murder and non-negligent manslaughter rose 93% between 1982 and 1991. During a similar period, the arrests of adults for the same offense rose just 11%. (Harvard School of Public Health--Violence and Teens. Office of Government and Community Programs. 677 Huntington Ave. Boston, MA 02155.)

Overall, 22% of all teen-aged students have been in a fight in the past year. 34%of those fighting were boys while only 11% were girls. (Fact Sheet from the Harvard School of Public Health--Violence in America. Office of Government and Community Programs. 677 Huntington Ave. Boston, MA 02155.)

In a survey of 720 school districts nationwide, 82% reported an increase in violence in their schools over the last five years. (Fact Sheet from the Harvard School of Public Health--Violence in America. Office of Government and Community Programs. 677 Huntington Ave. Boston, MA 02155.)

According to the American Association of School Administrators, though there was a decrease of 30% in the number of violent deaths in schools in 1997, there was a 700% increase in media reporting of violent deaths in school. (American Association of School Administrators. 1801 North Moore Street. Arlington, VA 22209. (703)528-0700. fax: (703)841-1543. http://www.aasa.org

11% of teachers say they’ve been victims of violence in school, and 23% of students report being victims of violence in or around school. But only 14% of teachers and 26% of students think that school efforts to control violence have been less than adequate. (Harris and Associates, Inc., New York, NY. (1996). The American teacher, 1993. Violence in America's public schools. Metropolitan Life Survey.)

15% of students report that gangs are present at their school. Of these students, 35% reported fearing attack at school while 24% feared attack going to or from school. Where gangs are present, 13% of students avoided certain areas inside schools out of fear of attack. (Fact Sheet from the Harvard School of Public Health--Violence in America. Office of Government and Community Programs. 677 Huntington Ave. Boston, MA 02155.)

In the well-publicized school shootings that took place in 1997 in Mississippi, Kentucky, Oregon, and Arkansas, a total of 11 children were killed. 11 children die every day in the US from family violence, abuse, and neglect. (American Association of School Administrators. 1801 North Moore Street. Arlington, VA 22209. (703)528-0700. fax: (703)841-1543. www.aasa.org

Early warning signs that child has potential for violent behavior are:
  • Social Withdrawal
  • Excessive feelings of isolation and being alone
  • Excessive feelings of rejection
  • Being a victim of violence
  • Feelings of being picked on or persecuted
  • Low interest in school and poor academic performance
  • Expressions of violence in writings and drawings
  • Uncontrolled anger
  • Patterns of impulsive and chronic hitting, intimidation or bullying
  • History of discipline problems, violent behavior
  • Drug and alcohol use
  • Gang affiliation
(US Department of Education: Early Warning, Timely Response: A Guide to Safe Schools. www.ed.gov/offices?OSERS/OSEP/earlywrn.html)

In a study of 15 school districts in 12 states, researchers found that school administrators unanimously agreed that causes of school violence are: lack of family involvement or supervision, lack of a family structure, and parental use of violence. (Petersen, G. J. (1997). Looking at the big picture: School administrators and violence reduction. Journal of School Leadership, v.7(5). 456-479.)

Every day in America, it is estimated that 16 children are shot and killed by a handgun, 315 children are arrested for committing violent crimes, and 100,000 handguns go into our public schools. (Hammond, Rodney. (April 28, 1998). Prepared statement given before the House Education and the Work Force Committee in Early Childhood Youth and Families Subcommittee, by the National Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, DHHS. Federal News Service.)

     Prevention and Intervention

Out of 1, 234 public schools nationwide, most reported having zero tolerance policies toward serious student offenses, and use low levels of security measures to prevent violence. (Heaviside, S., Rowand, C., Williams, C., & Farris, E. Violence and discipline problems in U.S. public schools: 1996-97. U.S. Government Printing Office, Superintendent of Documents, Mail Stop: SSOP, Wachinton, DC 20402-9328.)

Nine critical ingredients of promising approaches to violence prevention have been identified. Included in this list are the following:
  • The program should begin in the primary grades and be reinforced across grade levels
  • Program should be developmentally tailored
  • Program should include content on social perspective taking, effective communication, and peer negotiation and conflict management
    (Dusenbury, L. et al (Dec 1997) "Nine Critical Elements of Violence Prevention Programs" Journal of School Health, v67, n 10, 409-414)
Recent publication by the Institute for Urban and Minority Education states that, over several past decades, court cases suggest that students Fourth Amendment rights are being compromised by school authorities attempts to deal with perceived incidences of violence. This seems to reflect society’s fear of and disrespect for children and a lack of alternatives to the "police-type actions" currently used in schools across the nation. (Beyer, D. School safety and the legal rights of students. ERIC/Cue Digest, Number 121. Available through: ERIC Clearinghouse on Urban Education, Institute for Urban and minority Education, Teachers College, Box 40, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027.)

In a study performed in Canada, students in grades 7, 8, and 9, expressed general consensus that punitive school practices in regards to school violence were "partially responsible for fostering a culture of meanness." Calls for school policy based on ethic of caring. (MacDonald, I. (June, 1997) School violence: Redirecting the storm chasers. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Canadian Association for the Study of Educational Administration (St. Johns, Newfoundland, Canada, June 1997).

An important factor in forming positive, friendly relationships was the ability to resolve conflicts effectively, a study by John Gottman found. Children who became friends rather than adversaries were able to give good reasons for their disagreements and were able to bring their conflicts to a quick resolution. (Gottman, J.M. How children become friends. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, v48 (3, Serial No. 201)

Evaluation of the 2000 NYC middle school students and teachers who participated in two different violence prevention programs (Schools Teaching Options for Peace and the Safe Harbor program) found that students who participated in the Safe Harbor program became less likely to advocate retaliation in response to conflict. Both programs altered the belief that respect was achieved through violence, and both programs had positive and strong effects on student attitudes. (Evaluation of violence prevention programs in middle schools. (1997). National Institute of Justice Update. Department of Justice, Washington, DC. National Institute of Justice.)

In one study on the effectiveness of a violence prevention program, results showed boys more positively effected by the program than girls. This may be due to the fact that the program teachers were men, whom some boys may have viewed as role models, (Farrell, A.D. & Mever, A.L. (1997). The effectiveness of a school-based curriculum for reducing violence among urban sixth-grade students. American Journal of Public Health, 87. 979-984)

Most public schools report having formal school violence prevention programs. (Heaviside, S., Rowand, C., Williams, C., & Farris, E. Violence and discipline problems in U.S. public schools: 1996-97. U.S. Government Printing Office, Superintendent of Documents, Mail Stop: SSOP, Wachinton, DC 20402-9328.)

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References
American Association of School Administrators. 1801 North Moore St, Arlington, VA. 22209. (703)528-0700. http://www.aasa.org

Annual report on School Safety 1998. U.S. Dept. of Education. 400 Maryland Ave. SW. Washington, DC 20202. (800) USA-LEARN. http://www.ed.gov/pubs/AnnSchool/Rep+98/intro.html.

Beyer, D. School safety and the legal rights of students. ERIC/Cue Digest, Number 121. Available through: ERIC Clearinghouse on Urban Education, Institute for Urban and minority Education, Teachers College, Box 40, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027.

Dusenbury, L., Falco, M., Lake, A, Brannigan, R., & Bosworth, K. (1997). Nine critical elements of promising violence prevention programs. American Journal of School Health, v. 67. 409.

Evaluation of violence prevention programs in middle schools. (1997). National Institute of Justice Update. Department of Justice, Washington, DC. National Institute of Justice.)

Farrell, A.D. & Mever, A.L. (1997). The effectiveness of a school-based curriculum for reducing violence among urban sixth-grade students. American Journal of Public Health, 87. 979-984

Hammond, Rodney. (April 28, 1998). Prepared statement given before the House Education and the Work Force Committee in Early Childhood Youth and Families Subcommittee, by the National Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, DHHS. Federal News Service.

Harris and Associates, Inc., New York, NY. (1996). The American teacher, 1993. Violence in America’s public schools. Metropolitan Life Survey.)

Harvard School of Public Health--Violence in America. Office of Government and Community Programs. 677 Huntington Ave. Boston, MA 02155.

Heaviside, S., Rowand, C., Williams, C., & Farris, E. Violence and discipline problems in U.S. public schools: 1996-97. U.S. Government Printing Office, Superintendent of Documents, Mail Stop: SSOP, Washinton, DC 20402-9328.

MacDonald, I. (June, 1997) School violence: Redirecting the storm chasers. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Canadian Association for the Study of Educational Administration (St. Johns, Newfoundland, Canada, June 1997

Murray, Nancy. (1998). Development of an intervention map for a parent education to prevent violence among Hispanic middle school students. American Journal of School Health, v. 68 46.

Peace Games. PRIVATE 240B Elm St., Suite B10B. Elm St., Suite B10. tc \l 1240 "B Elm St., Suite B10" Somerville, MA 02144. (617) 628-5555 fax: (617) 776-5577. http://www.peacegames.org

Petersen, G. J. (1997). Looking at the big picture: School administrators and violence reduction. Journal of School Leadership, v.7(5). 456-479.)

Spellmann, N.H., Alvarez, C., Lausell, B.L., & Landsberg, G.(1996). The cycle of violence and victimization: A study of the school-based intervention of a multidisciplinary youth violence prevention program. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, Suppl. S.(12). 109-119.

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Related coverage
McNamera, Bob. (June 10, 1998). Leaders of town hit by school shootings meet to discuss violence prevention. CBS Morning News.

When violence comes to school. (April 14, 1998). Current Health 2, v.24 p.6.

Riddell, Mary. (March 27, 1998). How can anyone rationalize the demon that drives two little boys to kill? What alchemy can prevent society from producing monsters? New Statesman, v.127 p.9.

Schmike, Anne, (July 16, 1998). Creating success to combat violence: Project’s focus is teaching new skills. The Washington Post.

Springer, J. (August 28, 1998). Report urges violence prevention programs for schools. The Hartford Courant. p. A7.

Van Matre, Lynn. (July 24, 1998). Center hopes to prevent violence in children: Grant will bring program to Addison. Chicago Tribune. p. 5.

Violence-prevention plan is proposed for children. (April 17, 1998). The New York Times. Section B; p. 4, Metropolitan Desk.

Weldon, Michele. (June 21, 1998). Website has tips on violence prevention. Chicago Tribune. p.3

Facts about violence among youth and violence in schools: Fact sheet. (May 12, 1998) CDC, Media Relations. 1600 Clifton Road. MS D-25. Atlanta, GA. 30333. (404) 639-3286.

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