Working Together to Improve School Safety: An Evaluation of the Park West Problem Solving Collaborative Initiative

• NCJ Number: 195288
• Author(s): Milton Mino
• Date Published: April 2002
• Length: 31 pages
• Grant Number(s): 1999SBWX0019
• Sponsoring Agency: California Agriculture Experiment Station
• Corporate Author: Vera Institute of Justice
• Sale Source: Vera Institute of Justice
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Downloaded June 8, 2002

Annotation

This article reviews the efforts and results of the Park West Problem Solving Collaborative Initiative in improving school safety at a Manhattan high school.

Abstract

Beginning in the fall of 1999, Park West High School in New York City utilized a multi-disciplinary task force, the Park West Problem Solving Collaborative Initiative (the Initiative) to address the school's safety issues. This paper presents the program from the perspective of a researcher who studied the Initiative for 2 years. The author discusses the underlying makeup of the school, conditions at the school that led to the creation of the Initiative, trends in school safety existing at the time of Initiative implementation, the project implementation process, project features, efforts made to involve students in the Initiative, and an overview of the features of six collaborative projects undertaken as part of the Initiative. A discussion of school safety incidents at the school and a during and after the Initiative is presented. At the end of the 2 year study period, school safety had improved at Park West High. 24 figures, 2 tables, 18 notes