More than half of all school fires are started intentionally, and students (particularly older students) are responsible for a large percentage of those fires. Having a troubled background is a strong predictor for a student setting a fire. This article highlights one Texas community's experiences and reaction when its high school was burned by…

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…

Teachers are rarely prepared for violence, and their idealism may undermine credibility and lead to disillusionment. Reality, therefore, must inform theory to equip educators with action-based solutions. Teachers need adequate preparation on handling students who bring weapons to school. The paper presents principles to ponder regarding school…

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.…

Many adolescent health problems are linked with educational performance, family relationships, poverty, and the general lifestyles that adolescents experience in their communities. Although serious, chronic medical and psychiatric disorders affect about 6 percent of the adolescent population, many more adolescents are at risk for death and for…

Weapons violence is a major public health problem that especially impacts minority youth. Interventions designed to reduce weapon use by youth are categorized as educational/behavioral change, legal, and technological/environmental. Few educational programs currently exist, but those that do largely concern firearm safety courses, public…