Our nation's schools should be safe havens for teaching and learning, free of crime and violence. Any instance of crime or violence at school not only affects the individuals involved, but also may disrupt the educational process and affect bystanders, the school itself, and the surrounding community (Brookmeyer, Fanti, and Henrich 2006;…

In this article, the author discusses the important roles that students, school staff and teachers play in keeping the school safe particularly from weapons. The author believes that one way that they do this is by working together to reduce the problem of weapons in school. The role of school staff and teachers extends beyond prevention and…

We examine the effects of the Cleveland Metropolitan School District's (CMSD) districtwide efforts to improve school safety, order, and conditions for learning. These approaches include implementing (1) a social and emotional learning program for elementary students (PATHS); (2) a planning model for students exhibiting academic or nonacademic…

This study sought to understand school-level influences on aggressive behavior and related social cognitive variables. Participants were 5106 middle school students participating in a violence prevention project. Predictors were school-level norms opposing aggression and favoring nonviolence, interpersonal climate (positive student-teacher…

A decade after Eric D. Harris and Dylan B. Klebold fatally gunned down 13 people and wounded 23 others at Columbine High School, researchers are still sifting for answers to questions raised by the elaborate and notorious attack. Books and studies being published to coincide with the 10th anniversary of the April 20, 1999, massacre at the…

Several studies have shown that the need to create safe and orderly schools has increasingly been addressed in a manner that disconnects these priorities from broader concerns related to student success, school culture, and child development. In this paper, we explore the consequences of expanding security procedures in response to an incident…

Research has demonstrated that a positive school climate is an essential part of violence prevention. Many factors influence the association between school climate and behavioral outcomes. Positive school climate alone cannot prevent all variables that may contribute to the expression of aggression. Nevertheless, positive school climates influence…

School safety and order are essential conditions for learning but represent a relatively new field of study, stimulated in large part by repeated episodes of school violence that have generated considerable public concern and triggered substantial changes in school discipline and security practices over the past two decades. This article sets the…

School resource officers (SROs) are police officers responsible for the daily task of keeping schools safe. The extent to which this goal is achieved depends in part on how SROs identify, assess, and respond to student threats of violence. This task is complicated by the lack of knowledge regarding the most effective ways of handling a threat so…

In the United States of America, all students and staff have a constitutional right to attend schools that are safe, secure, and successful. Despite this right, at many public schools, education leaders have failed to ensure the safety and high academic achievement of all students. The purpose of this research study is to expand knowledge about…

New legislation or modifications to existing federal and state education legislation often mandate more training for district staff and more documentation to prove compliance. These regulations come with heavy penalties for noncompliance; yet these initiatives are usually unfunded, thus making it difficult to ensure that staff members receive the…

Bullying, a prevalent form of school violence, threatens development and learning. This article reports the findings of a qualitative study conducted in an elementary school, designed to gain an ecological understanding of bullying perceptions of this school community. The three research questions were: (a) How do individuals and groups within…

This document presents a summary of the larger report "Discipline Policies, Successful Schools, and Racial Justice." Each year, more than 3.25 million K-12 students are suspended at least once. African American students are suspended three times as often as White students--15 percent versus 5 percent. Hispanic students (7 percent) and…

The national Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) monitors priority health risk behaviors that contribute to the leading causes of death, disability, and social problems among youth and adults in the United States. The national YRBS is conducted every two years during the spring semester and provides data representative of 9th through 12th grade…

The isolation experienced by LGBTQ youth, who are closeted in all or parts of their lives, leads to a higher rate of alcohol and drug use, smoking, mental health issues, and suicide. National studies in the United States and Canada show that LGBTQ youth are three to six times more likely to commit suicide than their straight counterparts and that…