Violence in the Classroom
April 20, 1999, marks the date of the worst school shooting in U.S. history. Two students at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, shot and killed thirteen fellow students and teachers before turning their guns on themselves. Parents worried about how safe their schools really were, and schools have implemented a number of safety measures to deal with violence and crime at school. According to Indicators of School Crime and Safety, in the 1999–2000 school year 2% of public schools required students to pass through a metal detector each day, while 8% used random metal detector tests and 21% conducted drug sweeps. Nearly one-quarter (23%) reported the daily on-campus presence of police officers or security personnel, and 15% used video surveillance. More than half (59%) reported having a school violence prevention program. Critics of increased surveillance in schools contend that bullying, stalking, and harassment present the real
FIGURE 6.7
risk to students and believe that stronger counseling and early-intervention programs are urgently needed.
A 2002 joint report by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) (Indicators of School Crime and Safety) reported mixed results of efforts to decrease violence in schools. The report found that between 1992 and 2000 violent crime in schools had actually decreased from earlier years, but, despite the decline, seven hundred thousand violent crimes still occurred in schools in 2000. The percentage of high school students who had been threatened or injured with a weapon while at school remained relatively constant between 1993 and 2001.
The Condition of School Facilities
Education experts and members of Congress recognize that the quality of the learning environment affects the education children receive. In 1996 the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) reported in School Facilities—America's Schools Report Differing Conditions that the presence of "decent facilities" in schools—including buildings that are structurally safe and have fire safety measures, adequate exits, safe drinking water, proper sewage disposal systems, and good lighting—was crucial to provide a high-quality learning environment. This finding was confirmed in a November 2002 report (Do School Facilities Affect Academic Outcomes?) by Mark Schneider and the National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities.
Serious problems with school facilities continue to surface. According to the NCES report Condition of America's Public School Facilities: 1999 (2000), many schools were in need of major repairs. Three-quarters of schools reported a need to spend some money on repairs, renovations, and modernizations to put buildings into good overall condition. Fifty percent of schools reported that at least one building feature was in less than adequate condition. Approximately eleven million students were enrolled in schools reporting at least one type of on-site building feature in less than adequate condition. Of these students, about 3.5 million attended schools where at least one type of building feature was in poor condition or needed to be replaced. Approximately one-fifth of schools indicated less than adequate conditions for life safety features (20%), roofs (22%), and electric power (22%), and about a quarter of schools reported less than adequate conditions for plumbing (25%) and exterior walls, finishes, windows, and doors (24%). Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems were reported to be in less than adequate condition at 29% of schools. Schools with the highest concentration of poverty were more likely to report at least one unsatisfactory environmental condition than those with the lowest concentration of poverty (55% compared with 38%).
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