This case focuses on one novice school principal's experience with an elopement incident. School elopement sets the background for this case, and in this situation, the principal sees the need to take action to increase school safety and special needs students' teacher support. The authors enumerate leadership practices and organizational…

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted every aspect of people's lives. As New Jersey looks to the future and plan for students to return to schools in-person this fall, they must recognize and prepare for the ways the virus and necessary public health response has changed and will change the way students learn. This Restart and Recovery Plan provides…

This is the executive summary for "The Road Back: Restart and Recovery Plan for Education." The COVID-19 pandemic impacted every aspect of people's lives. As New Jersey looks to the future and plans for students to return to schools in-person this fall, they must recognize and prepare for the ways the virus and necessary public health…

Developing positive school climates and improving school discipline policies and practices are critical steps to raising academic achievement and supporting student success. However, there is no single formula for doing so. Rather, the growing body of research and best practices in the field should inform locally developed approaches to improving…

For administrators at the secondary level, not many school days go according to plan or script, but few things are more disruptive than a student threat of violence. When threats are made--or if there is a rumor of a serious student threat--it can take both time and resources to investigate, interview, and analyze multiple pieces of information in…

This book provides short, pertinent content relevant to everyday events within a school. Based on theory and experience, the practical application is directly aligned to administrative duties, and chapters can be read as needed. The format allows the administrator to read the content, apply the information through completion of a follow-up…

Although most schools are safe, they all can be safer. Improving school safety requires the strategic investment of time and dollars--scarce resources for which there are competing demands. Fortunately, schools that strategically coordinate schoolwide efforts are more likely to improve academic performance as well as reduce behavior problems. This…

Although most schools are safe, they all can be safer. Improving school safety requires the strategic investment of time and dollars--scarce resources for which there are competing demands. Fortunately, schools that strategically coordinate schoolwide efforts are more likely to improve academic performance as well as reduce behavior problems. This…

This article presents a case study of a single incident involving a high school student who brought a "tennis ball" bomb to school. Although the district had recently created a safety plan, with a specific protocol for the discovery of a bomb in the building, the principal and the crises team ignored it. The principal did not refer to…

Planning is essential to creating safe schools and it is required by the Federal No Child Left Behind legislation (U.S. Department of Education, 2004) and implemented via district local education action plans. The implementation of these plans involves continuous monitoring and reevaluation of information pertinent to each campus. As such, this…