School Safety

Lost Boys : Why Our Sons Turn Violent and How We Can Save Them by James Garbarino

After more than a decade of relentless increase in the urban war zones of large cities, violence by young boys and adolescents is on the rise in our suburbs, small towns, and rural communities. Twenty-five years as a psychologist working in the trenches with such children has convinced James Garbarino that boys everywhere really are angrier and more violent than ever before. In light of the recent school-based shootings, it's now clear that no matter where we live or how hard we try as parents, chances are our children are going to school with troubled boys capable of getting guns and pulling triggers. Beyond the deaths and debilitating injuries that result from this phenomenon are the staggering psychological costs -- children who are afraid to go to school, teachers who are afraid of their students, and parents who fear for their children's lives.

Building on his pioneering work, Garbarino shows why young men and boys have become increasingly vulnerable to violent crime and how lack of adult supervision and support poses a real and growing threat to our children's basic safety. For these vulnerable boys, violence can become normal, the "right thing to do." Terry, one of the boys Garbarino interviews, says "I just wasn't gonna take it anymore. I knew I would have to pay the price for what I did, but I didn't care." We've seen how the deadly combination of ignoring excessively bad behavior and allowing easy access to guns has destroyed families in Pennsylvania, Oregon, New York, Washington, Kentucky, and Arkansas. Fortunately, parents can spot troubled boys and take steps to protect their families from violence if they know what signs to look for -- lack of connection, masking emotions, withdrawal, silence, rage, trouble with friends, hypervigilance, cruelty toward other children and even animals -- all warning signs that every parent and peer can recognize and report.

Dr. Garbarino, whom Dr. Stanley Greenspan of the National Institute of Mental Health hails as "one of the true pioneers in our understanding of the inner life of our youth," addresses the wide range of issues that boys of every temperament and from every background may have to confront as they grow and develop. By outlining the steps parents, teachers, and public officials can take to keep all children safer, Dr. Garbarino holds out hope and solutions for turning our kids away from violence, before it is too late. This is one of the most important and original books ever written about boys.

About the Author
James Garbarino, Ph.D., is Co-Director of the Family Life Development Center and Professor of Human Development at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.

American Association of School Administrators -- School Safety

This site hosts a large list of reports, articles and information on how to avoid violence on school campuses.

Center for the Prevention of School Violence

The Center serves as a primary point of contact for dealing with the problem of school violence. The Center focuses on ensuring that schools are safe and secure so that every student is able to attend a school that is safe and secure, one that is free of fear and conducive to learning.

The Center's Safe Schools Pyramid helps maintain a focus on the problem of school violence. By focusing on the problem, the Center is able to draw attention to the seriousness of school violence and act as a resource to turn to for information, program assistance, and research about school violence prevention.

Department of Education -- Keeping Schools and Communities Safe

This directory offers links to publications, statistics and organizations involved with violence prevention. Includes a page describing what the Department is doing (also in coordination with other organizations) about school safety.

Early Warning Timely Response- A Guide to Safe Schools

This guide is from the Department of Education, offering research-based practices designed to assist school communities identify these warning signs early and develop prevention, intervention and crisis response plans.   

Just The Facts

This factsheet (pdf format) was written by a group of education, health, mental health, and religious organizations that all share a concern for the health and education of all students in schools, including lesbian, gay, and bisexual students guided by a belief that all students deserve an opportunity for learning and healthy development in a safe and supportive environment.

Keep Schools Safe

This is a collection of resources to help make schools safe for kids.  Includes information for students and parents, articles about law enforcement, preventive strategies, model approaches, safety resources by state and more.

National Alliance for Safe Schools

NASS offers a variety of services that include training, school security assessments, and technical assistance.

National Education Association -- Safe Schools

NEA is America's oldest and largest organization committed to advancing the cause of public education. Founded in 1857 in Philadelphia and now headquartered in Washington, D.C., NEA proudly claims 2.5 million members who work at every level of education, from pre-school to university graduate programs.  Here you can learn about the issues surrounding school violence and examine the action plan suggested by the NEA to make schools safer for students.

National Evaluation of the Safe Schools/Healthy Students Initiative

The U.S. Departments of Justice, Education, and Health and Human Services (Agencies) are requesting applications for a national evaluation of the Safe Schools/Healthy Students Initiative. The overarching goal of the evaluation is to document the effectiveness of collaborative community efforts to promote safe schools and provide opportunities for healthy childhood development. The evaluation will demonstrate how community collaborative efforts develop, function, and facilitate change within community institutions and within individuals.

National School Safety Center

The NSSC works to serve as a catalyst and advocate for the prevention of school crime and violence by providing information and resources and identifying strategies and promising programs which support safe schools for school children worldwide.

National Resources Center for Safe Schools

The National Resource Center for Safe Schools is operated by the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory and was established with funding from the U.S. Department of Education's Safe and Drug-Free Schools Program and the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.

Preventing Violence in Schools

From Columbia University, this resource presents theories on  the causes and effects of violence in schools. Includes information about strategies, perpetrators and victims.

Safe Schools Anti-Violence Documentation Center

The Safe Schools Coalition is a public-private partnership of thirty-five agencies and a number of individuals.

Its mission is to help make Washington State schools safe places where every family can belong, where every educator can teach, and where every child can learn, regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation.

Safe Schools Coalition

Safe Schools Coalition is a nonprofit organization of volunteers dedicated to helping our colleges and schools to be safe, healthy, and humane places in which to live and work. Through this web site you will be able to gain access to a wealth of programs, research, and the latest in conference information. We seek to make this web site a location where educators, community leaders, the law enforcement community, parents, and students can share ideas to make our schools healthy and safe learning environments.

Safe Schools Links

This directory of resources is from the American School Counselor Association.  Includes Violence Prevention, Pledges, Conference information, tips on talking with children, handouts for parents, lesson plans, safety resources and information on how to reduce the possibility of violence.