Preventing School Terrorism and Creating Safer Schools
School violence does not only come from children who are bullies, alienated, isolated,
and rejected children are also capable of explosive violence. To create a safer school there
must be a close examination of student discipline, the openness of school to outsiders, the
school climate, and physical arrangements of the campus.
School Safety Check List of Prerequisite:
> The School Safety Check Book must have a clear definition between an infraction
and a crime. There has to be a fine line between school yard altercation involving
pushing and shoving and assault and battery. A 1997 report by Poland reported
that Houston schools experienced a dramatic decrease in the number of fights to
make a court appearance and pay $200 fine.
> Setting guideline for visitors. Requiring that visitors identify themselves.
Establishing policies that ask all staff members to approach and identify
unfamiliar campus visitors and ask them to sign in, if they have not already done
so. Identification badges should be issued to visitors. Staff should be trained in,
and comfortable with challenging visitors without badges.
> Employee and Student Identification. Student and school staff should be issued
their own personal photo identification badges or cards.
> A positive school climates are both the result of, and contribute to, secure and
safe schools. Advocated creating a positive school climate by building pride and
ownership in the school, making the campus welcoming and having high
administrator visibility.
> School Environment: Evaluate patterns of student congregation, paying particular
attention to shift in clusters of student, rival groups binding together, students
attending events they normally don't attend, sudden appearance of underground
publication, and parents withdrawing their children from school due to the fear
that something might happen.
^ School security: A combination of "officer friendly and campus police". The
police officer is a provider both a public relations role and an enforcer of the law.
IDENTIFYING AND RESPONDING TO POTENTIALLY VIOLENT STUDENTS

Serious physical fights with peers or family members. Severe destruction of
property, severe rages for seemingly minor reasons, detail threats of lethal
violence, possession and/or use of firearms and other weapons, other self
injurious behaviors or threats of suicide.

The intention of early warning signs screening should be to facilitate the
identification of students who are troubled and in need of supportive
intervention at school and home.

It is critical that referral procedure be in place if any screening for potential
violence is done. Any procedure developed should be sensitive to the level
and intensity of the warning signs being observed.

At-RiskRisk Referral Procedure. The first level of referral procedures should
be designed to facilitate the assessment of the students who display relatively
low intensity and short duration early warning signs. These referrals may
include traditional school resources such as student study team or student
assistant programs. Through these resources, the appropriate school staff
member (e.g., administration, school mental health staff, other support staff or
teachers) can be informed about the status and progress of the at-risk students,
and appropriate interventions recommended.

The second level of referral procedures should be designed to facilitate the
assessment of students who display several imminent warning signs of
violence. The school response to these must be immediate. School procedures
specify that when any of these behaviors are noted, the observer should make
an immediate referral to a school administrator, to school mental health
professionals, or both. An initial assessment procedure should be to determine
the nature of the suspected violence and to determine if the means of such
behaviors are available (e.g. does the student have a weapon). If the refuses to
relinquish the means of the threatened violence, school staff will need to
discretely call for assistance from local law enforcement. Next, once
immediate safety is assured; a mental health professional should conduct a
careful risk assessment.
Intervening With Potentially Violent Students

There is variety of strategies that may help the student at risk for
violence. Among them are individual counseling, family
counseling behavioral programming, and social skills and anger
management.
Counseling. One of the most important interventions for troubled children
is individual and group counseling. This support is typically provided by a
mental health professional. Depending on specific student
needs, a referral might also be made to an outside agency or a private
practitioner. With potentially violent youth, counseling may focus on
teaching skills such as anger management and social skills rather than
traditional psychotherapy. As with all counseling interventions, a plan
should be developed that is unique to the individual. With the students at
risk for violence, however, this plan will necessarily need to include
provision for immediate assistance when needed. For example, there may
need to be provisions for responding to and calming the student who is on
the verge of losing control.
Positive Behavioral Programming. A second individual intervention is
positive behavior plans which identify an undesirable behavior and then
determining its function or purpose. Once the purpose of the behavior has
been identified, the next step is to identify a replacement behavior. Ideally,
this replacement behavior is not only more socially adaptive, but also
provides an alternative way for the student to achieve his or her behavioral
goal.
Conflict Resolution and Management. Training of students and staff in
conflict resolution and management can decrease violence and provide
alternative methods of solving problems. Conflict resolution programs,
when implemented well, help students to develop empathy to control their
own emotions. They also facilitate the development of communication and
problem solving while showing students how to settle disputes among
peers.
Educators and parents want all children to attend safe, supportive schools
that use sounds methods to enhance students' academic, social, emotional,
and ethical growth. Phoenix Therapeutic Foundation can promote
intervention and prevention groups in school settings to facilitate social
and emotional learning to encourage the process of developing the ability
to recognize and manage emotions, develop caring and concerns for
others, make responsible decisions, establish positive relationships, and
handle challenging situations effectively. Phoenix Therapeutic Foundation
can provide intervention and prevention groups to schools with a
framework for preventing problems and promoting students' well-being
and success.
Phoenix Therapeutic Foundation is able to provide services to schoolbased mental health with programs and services that will close the
achievement gap between high and low performing children and between
disadvantage children and their more advantage peers; prevent at-risk
youth from dropping out of school; and providing delinquent youth with
support system to ensure their continued education. Social and emotional
learning programs help to reduce the achievement gap between high and
low-achieving youth by providing all students the necessary skills to be
successful in school and in life.
Phoenix Therapeutic Foundation's Social and Emotional intervention and
prevention programs help develop five core social and emotional competencies
in students:
• Self-awareness: Knowing what we are feeling in the moment; having a
realistic assessment of our own abilities and a well grounded sense of
self-confidence.
• Social Awareness: Understanding what others are feeling; being able to
take their perspective; appreciating and interacting positively with
diverse groups.
• Self-Management: Handling our emotions so they facilitate rather than
interfere with the task at hand; being conscientious and delaying
gratification to pursue goals; persevering in the face of setbacks and
frustrations.
• Relationship skills: Handling emotions in relationships effectively;
establishing and maintaining healthy and rewarding relationships
based on cooperation, resistance to inappropriate social pressure,
negotiating solutions to conflict, and seeking help when needed.
• Responsible Decision Making: Making decisions based on an accurate
consideration of all event factors and the likely consequences of
alternative courses of action, respecting others, and taking
responsibility for one's decisions.
We all want young people to be knowledgeable, caring, responsible, and
healthy. Young people who succeed academically and in their personal lives are
socially and emotionally competent. They are self-aware. They have a positive
attitude towards themselves and others. They know their strengths and are
optimistic about their future. They can handle their emotions. They are able to
set and achieve goals. And they are effective, responsible problem solvers.
Socially and emotionally competent children and youth get along well with
others. They know how to communicate effectively. They are cooperative. They
negotiate with others to solve problems. They have good refusal skills. They
know when and how to seek help. They make a positive contribution to their
families and communities through such activities as peer tutoring, social clubs,
peer counseling, or community service.