Security is the issue that initially brought folks together —Matt Roth for Education Week Minority pupils more likely to face metal detectors Minority students in a high-poverty neighborhood are more likely to pass through a metal detector on the way to class than their better-off and white peers are, even if the schools are equally safe, according to new research. Researchers at the University
of Delaware and the University of California,
Irvine, based
their findings on a study Security measures adopted from the criminal-justice arena—from metal detectors and surveillance cameras to full-time guards and drug-sniffing dogs—have proliferated in the past decade or so, particularly in secondary schools. Yet, even after accounting for the levels of crime on schools’ campuses and in the surrounding neighborhoods, the researchers found that high-poverty schools were disproportionately likely to use such security mechanisms, and that the racial makeup of the student enrollment was a powerful predictor of whether the school... S.H.A.P.P.E. Testimony before the City Council on School Safety and Truancy February 26, 2011 Cathy Reilly Thank you for this opportunity to testify. These are vital issues and the issue of safety for our young people is the one that brought SHAPPE together originally 13 years ago this month. It is with great sadness that I note in one neighborhood the loss of two young lady students one gunned down on her front porch on a Saturday night – and another found in a dumpster – we are clearly not keeping up our end of the bargain in keeping our neighborhoods safe for our children. Your effort on a city level to hold this hearing and to focus our planning and policy n a comprehensive way is to be commended. This is not just a school problem and it cannot be addressed solely by the schools. At the high school level looking at truancy we know the numbers of students not attending, coming late etc are overwhelming. Most schools are working hard to comply with the current policy – Luke Moore has performed over 200 home visits, schools are making the calls, seeking to bring parents in for the required meeting, developing intervention plans, putting in the paper work after 25 or more unexcused absences have accrued for the Court Referral. Schools report that the numbers being referred to the Courts are so large that with that back up no action is taken on most cases. For students older than 17 years 8 months it is not even pursued at all because they will be over 18 before the paper work is processed. But this is not resulting in stronger school engagement. The high schools do not have the staff or resources to adequately reach out soon enough or with the help that might support the family and student in getting re-engaged. The threat of severely reduced school budgets without increased accountability are concerning. We have not provided the high schools with adequate or equitable funding and these attendance issues are part of the price. What we have not been able to do yet is step back and really look at who is not coming and why – are there more 9th graders suggesting more support for the transition, are they the students who are overage? Are there far more boys than girls or is it the reverse? Are our ELL or students with special needs not on the buses at increased risk or less risk of dropping out? Why are they not coming – it is many reasons; lack of preparedness, fear, depression, failure to get up, taking care of ill family members, choosing to do something different with peers, work schedule, fatigue, disengagement with school and their classes. In terms of school safety- we have invested heavily in increasing the number of police officers and security staff on school sites. Students enter through metal detectors and start their day by taking off their belts and being searched – the assumption being they are a risk. Many of the parents feel the same way about coming into the schools – their memory of being as student is painful or negative, they fear submitting themselves to the ID and metal detector check. This suggests that solving one problem often creates another. We are now dealing with an environment that is often alienating to the whole family. Learning requires being vulnerable and willing to surrender to what we don’t know, it is humbling. We cannot force someone to learn, we have to work with the students and their families to create a safe and inviting enough environment for them to engage. This means looking at prevention and a policy that does no harm.
I attach a study done by the Center for Mental Health in Schools that I think will be useful to you in looking at a city wide positive approach. http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/pdfdocs/briefs/threetier.pdf |