Does Your Child Attend a Safe School?
Many parents worry about their children when they send them off to school in the morning and they wonder if they are sending their children to a safe school. While it is natural for parents to be concerned, many schools are making great strides in protecting children. Each year schools are implementing more preventive programs and refining their discipline procedures to make sure that schools are as safe as possible.
Safety is, of course, important to protect children from physical harm. However, children also need to feel that they are safe so that they are able to concentrate on their school work and not on protecting themselves.
Prevention
Conflict Resolution: conflict resolution teaches children how to problem solve using their verbal communication skills and not violence. Often lessons in conflict resolution include information about self discipline, gaining self composure, critical thinking and effective communication. There are many different curricula available to help classroom teachers and counselors teach conflict resolution to students at different grade levels. Four of the common strategies that are used are peer mediation, Process Curriculum, Peaceable Classrooms and Peaceable Schools. The skills gained by the students help them not only to make their school environment safer but also teach them valuable conflict resolution skills for the rest of their lives.
Drug Abuse and Violence Prevention: There are many different formal programs available to help schools prevent drug abuse among their students. These programs are age appropriate and can start in first grade. Effective strategies in the elementary school include promoting students bond to the school and peers and involving parents in the process or preventing drug abuse and violence. These strategies continue into the middle and high schools were students are also taught about the effects of drugs and alcohol on their bodies and about the legal and school consequences for using illegal substances.
Bullying: many studies have shown that bullying is a significant problem in most schools and across all grade levels. A student who is being bullied can suffer from low self esteem, fear and poor academic grades as his or her school time is usually dominated by the fear of bullying rather than academic work. Therefore, it is important that bullying be stopped. Many schools find that role playing is an effective way to prevent bullying. It helps those who do the bullying understand how their actions make other people feel. It helps those who are being bullied understand how to communicate with a bully and when to seek the help of a teacher or administrator.
Safe and Drug Free Schools and Community Act
The federal government supports state and local governments in their effort to keep schools safe. Since 1994, the federal government has had a Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Community Act that provides grant monies to local school districts and community groups that seek to keep children safe from violence and drugs with preventive programs and services. The money is available for students in preschool through grade 12.
Discipline Makes for a Safe School
Discipline is seen as a last resort to keep schools safe. However, school officials are hopeful that there is a deterrent aspect to discipline. In other words, they hope that students will be so afraid of suspension, expulsion or other disciplinary measures that they will act appropriately in school.
In order for a discipline policy to have the desired preventive effect, it must meet several criteria. First, it must be clearly written so that students and parents understand the consequences for specific action. There is no need for formal wording or legalese in the discipline code. Second, school administrators and teachers must make sure that students understand the discipline code. This is often accomplished with a beginning of the year assembly where the principal explains the school rules, followed by each classroom or homeroom teacher reviewing the rules with his or her class. Most schools now require parents to sign a paper that they have reviewed the discipline code and student handbook themselves and with their children.
Further, the discipline code must have appropriate consequences for violations of the code and it must be uniformly and fairly enforced. That way students will understand that in order to benefit from a safe school, the discipline code must be followed.
