School climate is an important component of students' experiences, and has implications for multiple future outcomes. However, research examining the relationships among dimensions of school climate is scant. Drawing on theories from neighborhood research, we examine how the presence of school security measures relates to other dimensions of…

The racial achievement gap has persisted in the decades since "Brown v. Board," despite large-scale investment in school reform. Accordingly, some administrators and politicians are reconsidering integration policies as a means of addressing the gap. This study examines one Chicago community's discussion of such integration policy.…

Twenty-three State legislatures in 2011 considered bills to permit the carrying of firearms at their public institutions of higher education, and some public colleges in at least six states now allow weapons on college grounds or in college buildings. The lawful possession of guns on campus is a recent and limited phenomenon, but decisions by the…

Since school psychologists enact an important role on a crisis team, they need to increase their awareness and knowledge of both terrorism and crisis management. This paper and accompanying workshop address three objectives: (1) School psychologists will increase their awareness and knowledge of the threat, nature, elements, types, targets, and…

National polls of public attitudes toward public education consistently rank school safety and drug abuse at the top of the problem list. This paper describes some federal and state legislative responses to the problems and offers a preventative approach. Federal legislation has taken the form of two major statutes--the Comprehensive Drug Abuse…

National Education Goal Six calls for all schools to have safe environments conducive to teaching and learning by year 2000. In 1989, the Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction initiated the School Security Enhancement Program, which provides competitive grants to school districts to develop or improve school-based…

More than one third of Americans think that reducing school violence is the top challenge facing public schools. The challenge posed by National Education Goal 7 is that, by the year 2000, schools will be free of violence. Despite increased concern about school violence and pursuit of this lofty national goal, this paper presents the argument that…

Although school violence has been a concern in the United States for over two decades, the topic has only recently generated serious study in Canada. Central to the development of effective violence-mitigation policies is an understanding of how and why student victims, perpetrators, and observers respond to the school-based violence they…

This paper reports on the National Study of Delinquency Prevention in Schools, the first national study of problem behavior containing information from multiple sources -- principals, teachers, and students. Nationwide, 7% of schools or an estimated 6,451 schools reported to law enforcement personnel at least one incident of physical attack or…

In November 1990, the Students' Right to Know and Campus Security Act became law, requiring all postsecondary institutions that receive federal student aid to collect campus crime statistics and make timely reports to the campus community on crimes that are considered a threat to other students and other employees. The law also requires that…

After presenting an imaginative depiction of the fiscal and administrative changes that may overwhelm community colleges during the 1980's, this paper looks at several factors that should be considered in planning and managing campus security departments. The paper offers suggestions related to: (1) the development of master parking plans which…

Community Accountability Conferencing (CAC) was first introduced in Queensland, Australia schools in early 1994 after a serious assault in the school community. Some family members, students, and staff were dissatisfied with the solution of suspending the offenders. Seeking an alternative, comprehensive intervention strategy, the school community…