> An earlier post on this topic urged forum members to "spend some time in the > middle and high schools on days when multiple large fights break out" before > discounting the new St. Paul Police department's policy of arming with tasers > officers assigned to schools. The post further noted that "staff members > leave sometimes in ambulances because of these fights" and "are having to > manage mini wars," concluding that in these instances "tasers may be in > order." > > The frequency of these incidents was not outlined in the post. Nevertheless > it raised the question about safety in our public middle and high schools. I > personally interviewed several middle school and high school principals on > February 4 and February 7 on the topic of school safety and offer the > following summary. > > Each of the administrators I interviewed acknowledged that serious incidents > do occur, but each administrator stressed that serious incidents were "rare" > or "extremely rare" in the building. > > A junior high school principal said that fights were "rare" at the school and > incidents involving weapons (always a knife) were "less that two or three a > year." In these cases, the incident involved the possession rather than the > use of the weapon. > > One middle school principal had tracked "fights" since the 1999-2000 school > year, and for the current year, fights were down 58 percent from the five > year average. According to this principal, a fight "usually means something > as simple as mutual pushing followed by grappling and a possible punch. These > fights are stopped immediately, students are suspended, and mediation is part > of the reinstatement." > > Another junior high school principal noted that during the 2003-04 school > year there were 110 recorded incidents involving 800 students. In this case > "incident" covers any kind of dispute observed between two students resulting > in an adult intervention. Most of these incidents were judged not serious. > The administrator said that in the just completed term (September > 2004-January 2005), there was a single incident involving more than two > students. Incidents involving any kind of weapon occurs "at about the same > rate" and reflect possession rather than use of the weapon. According to > this administrator, incidents are most likely to happen in the cafeteria, and > the school adds staff to the cafeteria during lunch ours. School sporting > events are also carefully watched. > > One high school principal also noted that serious incidents are the "rare > exception to the rule." The administrator described a recent incident thusly: > two students engaged in a scuffle (over an issue brought into the school > from the neighborhood). The students were separated. The police were called > in. The police escorted the handcuffed perpetrator out of the building, who > was later released from jail without charge. The message sent by the school > according to the administrator is "We don't tolerate that [behavior] here." > > Finally, another high school principal also classified serious incidents as > "rare" in the school. In the past five years, according to the principal, > fewer than five instances occurred in which a weapon was involved, in each > case a knife. "Any injury involving a knife is serious," the administator > said, "but none of these incidents was life threatening." The administrator > noted that the school's transition to small learning communities has helped > staff get to know students better and often to learn about potential > conflicts and disarm them before they errupt. > > For the year 2003-04 the St. Paul School district reported to the state that > there were 36 expulsions for assault and 94 incidents involving a weapon. > The vast majority of these incidents involved the possession, but NOT actual > use, of a knife. With a student population of 40,000 in the 2003-04 school > year, these numbers compute to a rate of expulsions of 0.09 percent of the > total number of students, and for incidents involving a weapon of any kind, > 0.2 percent. These numbers do not reflect less serious incidents.> > > Based on these interviews, it seems accurate to say that while series > incidents may occur in our secondary schools, they are rare. Overall, > students in secondary schools appear to be safe and administrators appear to > be actively working to keep them safe. > > Roger Barr > Support Our Schools > >
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