Preventing school violence: 7 ways to prevent school violence (2023)

Teenagers and young children spend a large part of their daily lives at school or in school-related activities. Unfortunately, school violence is a feature of modern public education. Outside of school campuses, the number of school-aged youth committing crimes and/or being victims of crime or assault is also epidemic.

Reports from the CDC show that no state in the US has escaped the rise in bullying and youth violence unscathed.

In fact, the National Youth Violence Prevention Initiative reports that "the cost of arresting, prosecuting, detaining and treating juvenile offenders is one of the largest budget items in government budgets."

Youth violence prevention programs and initiatives are essential to ensure that students have access to a non-violent education and to reduce the economic costs of youth violence to society. Below are the top 7 ways to prevent school and youth violence.

1. 1. Development of comprehensive programs to prevent youth violence:Youth violence is often the result of other underlying risk behaviors. Adults interested in preventing youth violence should consider and address associated risk behaviors in youth that increase the likelihood that a person will commit violent acts or become a victim of violence.

      For example, the CDC reported that schools with sophisticated health education, mental health services, and high levels of parental and community involvement can directly influence youth risk behaviors and help prevent school violence. In addition, peer mediation and emotional intelligence programs during elementary school can develop conflict resolution and self-management skills that will be useful in high school and beyond.

      (Video) STOP School Violence Program Performance Measures Training 2023

      Why?

      Teaching better problem-solving skills, helping those with emotional issues and lack of structure at home, and encouraging parental involvement at home and at school seems to be paying off.

   2. avoid absenteeism: One of the most important ways to prevent youth violence is to reduce truancy. Students who miss school are much more likely to commit violent acts or become victims of violence. It is important to note that students who skip school are also more likely to be victims of adult violence. Students who are absent without excuse are considered to be absent, but it is students who are habitually and chronically absent who are most likely to be involved in school violence.

      According to the National Center for Engagement, students who participate in care and behavior management programs are statistically less likely to engage in criminal behavior. In the study, students who participated in a two-year intervention program significantly improved their grades. Students were 66% less likely to have a juvenile detention order or be subject to additional school disciplinary proceedings. Keeping children in school makes them responsible and limits the types of violence they will experience and the types of crimes they will commit.

1. 1. Using technology to reduce school violence: Schools across the country are using advances in technology to keep students safe in school. Texas school districts have adopted electronic ID cards to monitor students on campus and minimize truancy, which creates opportunities for violence. Other schools used electronic notifications and text messages to keep parents and students informed about threats and disruptions to school hours caused by violence.

      Still other schools experimented with technology-assisted group solutions (TAGS). TAGS is a virtual mediation software that connects young people with online mediators to discuss school violence issues and propose solutions in a group setting. Technology can be used to monitor students to ensure they are in the appropriate places; Educating students and parents about violence at school; and provide a virtual troubleshooting portal accessible to all students via the Internet.

1. 1. Holding parents accountable for youth violence:The National Initiative to Prevent Youth Violence reports that supportive parents and other key caregivers can reduce the likelihood of violent behavior in youth. Holding parents accountable for youth violence can help re-engage parents and community members in efforts to reduce the incidence of youth violence.
      Holding parents accountable can mean solving problems at home through social services, parent training, and parent and school committees that go beyond bake sales and fundraising. Support groups for parents with troubled youth have been successful in many school districts, and initiatives that promote positive relationships and leadership among parents are central to parent and family supervision programs. Parental accountability at the school level is a two-pronged process that must include parental support along with increasing parental accountability for the behavior of school-aged children.

1. 1. Initiate intervention programs for at-risk youth:School educators and community members can work together to identify at-risk youth and intervene in their lives. Early intervention has been shown to significantly reduce the likelihood that students will become delinquent. At-risk youth include youth who have already been subject to disciplinary proceedings within the school or juvenile court proceedings through the court system.

      The CDC divides risk factors for young people into three categories. Risk factors can be individual, family related, peer group related, the community in which students live. Individual factors include a history of prior victimization, high emotional stress, or substance abuse. Familial factors, such as low parental education, lack of supervision, and parental substance abuse, also put students at risk for involvement in school violence.

      (Video) School Violence Training Video

      Students who are separated from their classmates, who are bullied, or who associate with youth who already have peer group problems are also at additional risk. Community risk factors can include high concentrations of poverty, poorly organized neighborhoods and low levels of community participation.

      Programs such as the Violence Free Zone initiative, which connects at-risk students with youth counselors, have been shown to be effective in reducing the incidence of school violence among students. The program helped schools create an environment where students are monitored individually and receive emotional support, tutoring services, attendance monitoring and regular drug testing. This combination of tactics has proven effective in reducing incidents of school violence among at-risk youth.

1. 1. Reduce school and youth bullying:Bullying activities inflict violence on victims and can lead victims to harm themselves. It is one of the most common forms of school violence. School violence in the form of bullying has increased significantly in school districts across the United States over the past 5 years. What was once a disturbing coming of age event has become a violent, stressful, and worrisome phenomenon that has caused severe mental, emotional, and physical distress for young people across the United States.

      Bullying is school violence. It is much more common in schools than guns or knives. 1 in 5 American children will be bullied in any given year. Bullying activities can range from name-calling, cyberbullying to physical attacks. High risk students are GLBT students.

      Overall, 20% of all high school students are bullied, and educators must respond vigorously to incidents of bullying. School policies such as peer mediation, student support groups, and strict policies can be effective in reducing bullying for all students. By intervening and reducing bullying activity that occurs at the verbal level, educators can prevent violence from escalating into more serious forms of school violence, such as physical assault.

1. Create anonymous school hotlines:Many acts of violence would be prevented if students felt safe enough to anonymously report their fears, attacks or bullying. Teenagers are often afraid of building a reputation as a "whistleblower" or of retaliation for providing information about crime or violence. By ensuring student anonymity, school officials can create an environment that allows for the free flow of information from students to school administration. Access to information about who belongs to which gang, who has a gun on school property or who wants to fight who can be important information in the fight against youth violence.
   Make an impact in your school and community. Voice your concerns about safety at your school and community leadership. Start by discussing these 7 solutions with your school and community leaders. Cite these statistics from the CDC and how some programs have reduced youth and school violence in other parts of the United States.

Encourage your school and community to use at least one of these tactics to stop the rise of school and youth violence. If you see an improvement, consider trying another of the top 7 solutions to reduce school and youth violence.
You, as a single person, can make a big impact in your community and school. If you don't step up and try, who will?

Questions and preparation materials.

References:

1. CDC, Statistics and School Violence http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/youthviolence/schoolviolence/data_stats.html
2. Leslie Joan Harris, An Empirical Study of Parental Responsibility Laws: Sending Messages, But What Kinds and To Whom?, 2006 UTAH L. REV. 5-34.5 (2006)
3. CDC, Fact Sheet on Understanding Violence in Schools, 2012
   http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/schoolviolence_factsheet-a.pdf
4. Gary Sweeten, who's graduating? Interruption of Secondary Education due to Detention and Judicial Intervention, JUSTICE Q. 462 (2006).
5. Models of violence prevention programs that reduce school absenteeism and/or improve school attendance. http://www.schoolengagement.org/TruancypreventionRegistry/Admin/Resources/Resources/Blueprints for ViolencePreventionProgramsThatReduceTruancyandorImproveSchoolAttendance.pdf
6. Risk factors for youth violence protection http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/youthviolence/riskprotectivefactors.html
7. National Youth Violence Prevention Initiative http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/stryve_foundational_resource-a.pdf