School Violence

A recently released state report paints the Philadelphia School District as having a far lower rate of violence in its schools than Pittsburgh has in its. But don't be too quick to draw any conclusions. Philadelphia - which, like other districts, supplies the state with the data - doesn't count student fights as incidents of violence. Pittsburgh does. So do a lot of other schools. As a result, some of the report's statistics are distorted and it's difficult, if not impossible, to compare one district to another or one county to another.

Hundreds of teachers, administrators and law-enforcement officers from throughout Pennsylvania attending a two-day conference on school violence yesterday were jolted by the deadly shooting that had taken place in California the day before. Hypothetical scenarios gave way to grave reality as speakers addressing the annual meeting of the state's Safe Schools Initiative Grantees rewrote their presentations to address the latest tragedy. What happened at Santana High School outside San Diego was a grim reminder that violence can happen anywhere, state school officials said.

Imagine a typical summer as a high school student. You probably conjure up visions of time spent lying by the pool, working to save money, or just lounging at home watching television. Do you think of a summer spent tracking how diseases affect different socioeconomic groups? Can you see putting off hanging out with friends to draw plans for a hotel in your neighborhood? Or, how about giving up sleeping late in order to research school-violence prevention plans? This summer, more than 100 North Philadelphia high school students have embarked on a yearlong project researching community issues as part of the Temple University Young Scholars Program.

The Inquirer's investigation of the climate of pervasive violence in Philadelphia's public schools on Monday won the Pulitzer Prize for public service, the profession's most prestigious honor. The award is the 19th Pulitzer Prize for the 183-year-old newspaper and its first since 1997. The seven-part series, "Assault on Learning," revealed that violence in city schools was widespread and underreported, with 30,000 serious incidents over the last five school years. Those findings were later corroborated by a Philadelphia School District panel on safety, spurred an overhaul of incident reporting in the district, and prompted hiring of a state-funded safe-schools advocate.

Fourteen of the Philadelphia School District's most dangerous schools are among the 44 set to close or be relocated, according to an Inquirer analysis. That includes four neighborhood high schools - Strawberry Mansion, Germantown, Douglas and Lamberton - all of which recorded at least five violent incidents per 100 students in 2011-12. Of the 14, Strawberry Mansion topped the list, with more than 10 violent incidents per 100 students in each of the past five years. Last school year, it was the second most violent school in the district.

By Masai Skief Parents often tell me school safety is a key factor in their search for a new school for their children. Violence in Philadelphia schools has created a culture of fear for many students, forcing families to explore alternatives such as charter and private schools. A recent blue-ribbon commission report in response to this trend offered recommendations to reduce violence, including building better relationships between adults and students and creating a reporting system to hold schools accountable for safety.

RE THE complaints about school police being too violent and about the students who walked out of classes to protest this: These kids have to be kidding. I'm not only a parent of a child in high school, but I also work at the school. My child is no angel, and I was there so many times they offered me a job. When I heard about the teacher at Germantown High who got his neck broken because he confiscated a student's contraband iPod, I asked myself, where are the parents of these students?

RE: YOUR editorial on the urgency needed to address violence in our schools, we would like to applaud the efforts of Philadelphia School District CEO Paul Vallas, along with recognizing the hard work and efforts of Safe Schools Advocate Harvey Rice. Through the state House of Representatives' Urban Affairs Committee, we conducted a three-year investigation into violence in Philadelphia public schools. Our bipartisan investigation uncovered a troubling level of unbridled violence and disruptive behavior, combined with a concerted attempt by the previous administration to under-report the number of violent incidents - hoping the problem would just go away.

Philadelphia Superintendent Arlene Ackerman should act quickly on recommendations to curb racial and ethnic violence and create a safer environment where students can learn. A report recently released by the city's Commission on Human Relations highlighted a series of problems that demand close attention. The report stems from a series of yearlong public hearings into racially motivated attacks on Asian students at South Philadelphia High in 2009, but it underscores a larger violence issue.

School violence continues to be a tempestuous issue in Chester County communities. These days, when a student threatens harm to people or property, school administrators are likely to dial police departments to ask for assistance. The Community Violence Prevention Network would like to identify potential problems before those problems occur. The nonprofit program plans to hold its second School Summit today at the Intermediate Unit in Exton. "We are hoping it will raise awareness that at-risk youths are vulnerable to hate groups in terms of recruitment and as far as being targets," said Christine Grantham, the network's program director.

When Miguelina Rodriguez walks into an alternative school program at an East Camden church for the start of the semester Thursday, she will pick up books and return home. No teachers will be there to help with a math equation, or classmates to study with. The Community Education Resource Network (CERN) has shut its in-house alternative program at Bethel United Methodist Church for lack of funding. It will support home schooling, but even that is on the verge of extinction. Townsend Press in Berlin has donated take-home material, but CERN founder Angel Cordero said the core of the program depends on students receiving face-to-face instruction.

The school massacre in Newtown, Conn., has left the country searching for answers on how to make schools safer. A proposal by the National Rifle Association to put armed security guards in every school is not the solution. Neither are calls to arm classroom teachers. Adding firearms to any volatile situation is a recipe for a potential tragedy. Our schools should not look like armed camps or prisons. After a week of near-silence following the school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School that left 20 children and six adults dead, the response last week from the NRA was predictable, but disappointing.

THERE ARE some tips for parents and guardians on addressing questions from their children and resources for more advice on talking about the Connecticut school massacre. 1. Be available: Let children know you are available to answer their questions, according to Children's National Medical Center. But it's OK to not have all the answers, or to tell your children you need to find out the answer to a question. 2. Be creative: If they're having trouble talking about school violence, consider having them use art or music to express their feelings, the medical center says.

Fourteen of the Philadelphia School District's most dangerous schools are among the 44 set to close or be relocated, according to an Inquirer analysis. That includes four neighborhood high schools - Strawberry Mansion, Germantown, Douglas, and Lamberton - that recorded at least five violent incidents per 100 students in 2011-12. But what impact closing the schools will have on overall safety in the 146,000-student district is uncertain, and some officials say there's the potential for things to get worse.

Fourteen of the Philadelphia School District's most dangerous schools are among the 44 set to close or be relocated, according to an Inquirer analysis. That includes four neighborhood high schools - Strawberry Mansion, Germantown, Douglas and Lamberton - all of which recorded at least five violent incidents per 100 students in 2011-12. Of the 14, Strawberry Mansion topped the list, with more than 10 violent incidents per 100 students in each of the past five years. Last school year, it was the second most violent school in the district.

Student bullying in New Jersey is concentrated in the middle-school grades, overwhelmingly verbal in nature, and not nearly as widespread on the Internet as some might think. That's the portrait that emerges from the state Department of Education's first in-depth examination of what is classified as "Harassment, Intimidation and Bullying," or HIB, in schools. But some education professionals question whether the statistics - contained in the department's annual report on school violence and vandalism, and reflecting a change in definition under the 2010 Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights Act - present a complete picture.

THE INGREDIENTS for academic excellence are like a family recipe that has been passed down for generations: quality teachers; engaged parents who make sure their kids come ready and wanting to learn; and a safe, positive school environment. In an effort to focus on the last one, many educrats across the country, in their zeal to show off their so-called "no-nonsense attitude" have adopted zero-tolerance policies on a variety of student issues, such as safety, weapons, drugs and interpersonal behavior.

COURTS Kensington Strangler trial Antonio Rodriguez, who told police he raped and strangled three women in 2010, will face justice for those crimes when he goes on trial Monday. Rodriguez, 23, who came to be known as the alleged Kensington Strangler, chose a nonjury trial, an expedited format that could wrap up in a few days. The three murders in November and December 2010 stoked women with fear in and around Kensington until police were able to link Rodriguez to the attacks through DNA evidence.

The student group Youth United for Change launched an initiative Wednesday aimed at making city schools safer. The group's "Safe to Count on Me" campaign promotes preventive discipline programs over zero-tolerance policies in dealing with school violence. At a rally in Norris Square Park, the group shouted chants expressing protest and urging budget reform. They called on City Council to support implementation of a method known as restorative practice, a program tried in other cities that works with students, teachers, and parents to basically get students to learn from their mistakes.

Now that hands have been shaken, hugs shared, congratulations extended, and champagne imbibed, Philadelphians not in the newspaper business may want to take a moment to ask what it means to them that The Inquirer has won journalism's top award — the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service. It is a tribute to any city to have an award-winner, but virtually every town with a Pulitzer recipient also has a problem that the newspaper or online publication revealed. In the case of The Inquirer's 19th Pulitzer, a team of reporters, editors, photographers, and videographers pointed out the prevalence of violence in Philadelphia's schools.