NCJ Number
181897
Date Published
December 1996
Length
3 pages
Annotation
This article describes various programs in use that can help make schools safer for students and staff.
Abstract
At the Perkioman Valley High School in Collegeville, Pa., maintaining a safe school is a primary goal of faculty, staff, and students. Posters and banners in the building reflect this goal. Assistant principals start each day by standing at school entrances to greet students. Such visibility combined with the familiar presence of staff lowers student anxiety and sets the mood for the day. Teachers stand outside their rooms and in the halls each morning. After the last "wave" of students enters the building, the assistant principals begin their "visibility walks." During their walks, they count the number of teachers seen standing in the halls in order to inform staff daily of the number of adults seen by students. In the "Give 'Em Five" program, teachers voluntarily donate five of their preparation periods to doing a building security walk during that donated period. The "Adopt a Kid" program uses a pool of volunteer staff members to form big brother/big sister relationships with students in the eighth grade. A S.A.F.E. team composed of community and school members meets approximately six times a year to assess the school's safety needs and plan activities around those needs. In another school district in Marion County, Indiana, school hostage scenarios were determined to be the most dramatic way to test a school district's plan and guidelines for school security. More than 80 educators and 40 law enforcement personnel were involved in a collaborative training experience that involved simulated hostage situations.