A safe environment is a prerequisite for productive learning. Using a unique panel data set of survey responses from New York City middle school students, the article provides insight into the relationship between feelings of safety in the classroom and academic achievement. The survey data include the reported feelings of safety for more than…

Educators, mental-health officials, and law-enforcement officers often do not share information about troubled students because they are confused by what they can disclose under complex and overlapping privacy laws, according to a report on the Virginia Tech shootings. Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales and two other Bush cabinet secretaries…

Describes how to assess and manage student threats. Includes a set of questions administrators should ask to help them assess threats. (PKP)

Offers superintendents several suggestions for helping building-level administrators to cope with the physical and psychological stress they often experience following a violent incident in their schools. (PKP)

International data suggests that the most successful violence prevention programs are adapted to fit a specific school site and involve all of the constituents in a school setting. In contrast to many of the popular skills-based programs that are commonly implemented in schools across the United States, the authors explore the utility of combining…

Reviews some essential aspects of school safety planning. Discusses general evaluation objectives and assessment procedures, as well as a safe school planning process. Offers specific guidelines for handling violent incidents at school. Presents 25 preventive security measures that will help to lessen chances of violence occurring on campus.…

Presents issues and current information available on the topic of bullying in the United States to inform professionals on the phenomenon of bullying and how it is related to individual student and school climate issues. Critical research issues are outlined as are recommendations for potential professional response to the problem. (NB)

Discusses reasons for school violence, examining critical aspects of the culture of school violence (a dominator value system that supports violence, overemphasis on negativity, and pervasiveness of bullying). The paper describes differences between bullying and normal peer conflict and notes short- and long-term effects of bullying.…

Provides framework for school to guide crisis intervention efforts. Provides practical examples to assist schools in examining their resources as they develop crisis intervention teams. Outlines school safety techniques being used nationally. Contends that school crises and youth violence represent opportunity for school psychologists to provide…

Notes that incidence of violence reflects disproportionate representation of ethnic and racial minorities, especially African Americans and Latinos, as both victims and victimizers. Presents model for understanding cultures in context of American society to help school psychologists develop effective violence prevention strategies. (Author/NB)