Using data from the School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS), this report presents findings both on crime and violence in U.S. public schools and on the practices and programs schools have used to promote school safety. SSOCS collects data from public school principals about violent and nonviolent crimes in their schools. The survey also collects…

Many students enter large comprehensive high schools without having the necessary social and academic skills or understanding of what will be expected of them as they move through the high school curriculum. To help a higher number of students experience success, schools must help them develop academic, social, and self-management skills.…

This story captures the tensions that existed when a small charter high school attempted to provide powerful leadership opportunities for students who had few. It details the process and outcome of offering students leadership roles in designing and implementing a student-led discipline committee. In the process, much changed at the school. The…

Using data for school improvement is a key goal of Race to the Top, and now is the time to make data-driven school improvement a priority. However, many educators are drowning in data. Boost your professional learning community's ability to translate data into action with this new book from Pam Robbins and Robert T. Hess. "The Data Toolkit"…

At a Florida high school, students who break school rules face predetermined consequences that are ascending in severity. The success of the system is contingent on staff training, communication, recordkeeping, administrative support, and evaluation. (MLF)

Believing that many antisocial behaviors are symptoms of underlying social/emotional conflicts, a group of Georgia educators chose a therapeutic approach to handling unruly teens. They designed the Gateway Program to focus on academic study, daily group counseling, journal writing, and a system for earning privileges. Placements are decided by an…

Funding cutbacks affecting San Jose (California) High School have severely reduced the school personnel adequately prepared for educating in the inner city. Concentration on legally required basics has forced elimination of classes and programs appealing to student interests and needs, leading to disciplinary and attendance problems. (PGD)

High levels of disruptive behavior, discipline referrals, and suspensions are among the symptoms of schools which have lost the bonds of respect. Educators face major challenges in transforming these school cultures. This article describes how restorative practices were implemented in certain southeastern Pennsylvania schools. The process of…

This high school's successful suspension alternative assigns disruptive students to an alternative classroom for several days, where they are isolated from the remainder of the student body all day, and excluded from participation in or attending all regular programs and cocurricular activities. (DCS)

Describes problems of maintaining discipline and security at Jamaica High School in Queens, New York. Argues that court decisions and school regulations have allowed minority of aggressive and disruptive students to destabilize the learning environment. (PKP)

This book presents essays written by school reformers that discuss the reform movement and examine the partnership that inspired the creation of small, intimate school communities known as charters. They also reflect on the comprehensive changes that inform each charter and the personal and collective struggles to institutionalize these new…

Outcomes of a high school inschool suspension program are presented in this practicum report. Because students associated the former discipline program with unfair treatment and inconsistent sanctions, a new program was developed. Goals were to improve student behavior, attendance, morale, self-esteem, and academic achievement in grades 9 through…

Describes the operation of the Vice Principal's Advisory Council (VPAC) at Montgomery High School, Skillman, New Jersey, which is used to provide a team approach to intervention in student problems. (JW)

Traditional high schools don't work for some teenagers with serious behavior problems. This article summarizes programs at three alternative high schools in Texas, Kansas, and Iowa. The Texas program has a basic curriculum and some strict rules but functions like a college. The Kansas program offers entrepreneurial training, and Waterloo, Iowa's,…

A means was developed to reduce the necessity for discipline among the 25 students who were the most chronic discipline problems at Thomas Jefferson High School, a 1,500-student school in suburban Pittsburgh. The students were identified by assigning point values to various disciplinary measures administered to students. The 25 students met with a…