How to Keep The Peace

By Emily Mitchell/Greensboro

All parents send their children off to start a new school year with great expectations. They look forward to seeing the confidence that comes with mastering a skill, acing a tough exam and making new friends. Most of all, though, and especially this year, they hope their children are safe. After last spring's tragedy at Columbine and the several bomb threats and shootings since, safety is at the top of the nation's education agenda. Says Pamela Riley, director of the Center for the Prevention of School Violence: "Schools can no longer assume safety. They must plan for safety."

That's why, for example, police, a bomb squad and a team of hostage negotiators descended on Grimsley High School in Greensboro, N.C., this August. Hostages had been taken, and the campus was under siege. It was all staged, with people acting the role of hostage takers, but there was nothing fake about the purpose. With the school's cooperation, the grim 6-hr. exercise was an opportunity for police and school officials to sharpen their response in an emergency. "You prepare for the worst and hope for the best," says David Robinette, a Greensboro policeman who is beginning his fifth year as Grimsley's school-resource officer.

Students, teachers and parents need to be aware of what emergency plans are in place in their school, but responding to crises, as well as installing sophisticated security devices, is only part of a good school-safety program. Here are other things you as a parent should look for to assure that your child is as safe and free from fear as possible.

HANDS-ON ADULTS School-safety advocates cite the importance of having adults on hand. According to Ronald Stephens, director of the National School Safety Center, "The single most effective safety strategy is the physical presence of a responsible adult." At every class change, Grimsley principal Jane Teague, assistant principals and teachers are in the hallways, chatting casually with students as they pass by. At lunchtime, Teague and her staff roam the campus, saying hello and asking kids how they're doing. "To the extent that every child is known, then a school is safe," Teague says. "The key is having someone with whom they can and will talk."

POLICE PRESENCE David Robinette parks his patrol car conspicuously on the campus, and throughout the day he roves the grounds and buildings. During the two 40-min. lunch periods, he is in the cafeteria, eating with kids and talking to them. Several times a week, he is in front of a classroom, telling students about their legal rights and advising them on personal safety. Having a policeman in the school involves more than security, according to Curtis Lavarello, director of the 5,000-member National Association of School Resource Officers. "It is a pro-active program that builds a relationship between law-enforcement officers and students."

IMMEDIATE INTERVENTION Five years ago, a Grimsley student shot and wounded an assistant principal and then turned the gun on himself. "Our kids know they don't want to go down that road again," says Phil Weaver, chairman of the school's counseling department. If teachers spot a kid who's having trouble, they immediately talk to a counselor who can set up a family conference, and Teague meets weekly with the school counselors to keep informed of potential problems. A strong parent-teacher-student association makes sure kids and families are aware of all the resources available within the school. Notes Stephanie Cashwell, who has sent five children to Grimsley: "There are a lot of good listeners." While most other schools in the county received telephone bomb threats after the Littleton shooting, Grimsley had no such "copycat" calls. "It's a credit to the kids and the staff," says social studies teacher Joe Franks.

STUDENT INVOLVEMENT Kids are part of the solution. "To change a school environment, you have to mobilize all the resources," says Robert Myrick, an education counselor at the University of Florida, "and the best resources are the kids." A sense of security is reinforced when students feel they are part of the school and accepted by others. Like any other school, Grimsley has cliques and clusters of kids with shared interests, but students say that they exist without tension and that it is possible to bounce back and forth between groups. "It's a friendly environment," comments Tyler Brooks, who graduated last spring. Adds classmate Justin DeSimone: "We watch out for everyone."

FOCUS ON ACADEMICS Research by the Center for the Prevention of School Violence suggests that schools emphasizing academics are safer. At Grimsley, 68% of last spring's 273 graduates entered a four-year college; 21% opted for community college. Principal Teague says: "We take students who have discipline and attendance problems and give them career initiatives and help them to start feeling what it is to be successful." Nobody at Grimsley is saying violence can't happen there. But with teachers, parents and students talking and listening to one other, they are doing their best to create a peaceful place for learning.