In response to the frightening wave of school shootings by students in Pennsylvania, Oregon, Arkansas, Mississippi and Kentucky, educators are struggling to find ways to head off violent incidents - without going overboard.

"The tough issue is: How do you react without overreacting?" said Ron Stephens, executive director of the National School Safety Center in California. "You don't want to ignore a ticking time bomb, but you don't want to be too draconian in what you do."

"Schools need to have an intervention system in place - and adequate staff to follow up on referrals," said social worker Joann Klein, a member of the Spackenkill Teachers Association who attended an October White House Conference on School Safety.

Schools around the state have vastly different levels of support staffing, Klein said. There are no state mandates, so some districts have a social worker in each school, while others have district-wide caseloads.

At her Dutchess County school district, at-risk students may be referred to an intensive 30-day treatment program at BOCES. "That's where we refer those gray-area kids who need a good clinical evaluation," she said. "It also serves to remove the student who might have threatened a staff member."

Klein, whose attendance at the conference was sponsored by New York State United Teachers, was part of a strong union presence, including United Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten and American Federation of Teachers President Sandra Feldman.

Potential trouble signs

The U.S. Education and Justice departments have developed an "early warning guide" to help parents and educators identify children who might be headed for trouble. "These are warning signs that might trigger a referral for professional evaluation," Klein said. "But there's no simple checklist."

In fact, the federal guide acknowledges that administrators, teachers and other school support staff are not professionally trained to analyze children's feelings and motives. But they are on the front line when it comes to observing troublesome behavior and making referrals to appropriate school district professionals, such as school psychologists, social workers, counselors and nurses.

Warning signs

In a recent State Education Department teleconference on safety, warning signs were discussed by James McIntyre, chief of psychiatry in the state Office of Mental Health Bureau of Children and Families.

"Think about these as red flags," he said. "If you have an uncomfortable feeling," have that child evaluated" by a mental health professional at the local school district level. Experts say signs to watch for include:

• social withdrawal;

• excessive feelings of isolation and poor peer relations;

• expressions of violence in writings and drawings;

• being a victim of violence, including sexual abuse;

• feelings of being persecuted or picked on;

• low school interest and poor academic performance;

• blaming others for problems;

• uncontrolled anger, patterns of impulsive and chronic hitting, name-calling, intimidating/bullying behaviors;

• history of family conflict and discipline problems, tantrums, mood swings;

• expressions of intense prejudice based on race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, ability or physical appearance;

• drug or alcohol use;

• affiliation with gangs;

• cruelty to animals, fire-setting;

• access to, or possession of firearms;

• severe destruction of property;

• severe rage for seemingly minor reasons; and

• making a specific, detailed threat to use violence.

Schools least prone to violence, the guide notes, are those with high standards of achievement and discipline, and before- and after-school activities. They involve families and communities and work to promote positive relationships among students and staff.

Experts also suggest that school officials can enhance physical safety by reducing class size and school size; adjusting schedules to minimize time in the hallways or in potentially dangerous locations; and taking a zero tolerance stand on issues such as truancy.

"Typically," the guide said, "there tend to be more incidents of fighting and violence in school buildings that are dirty, too cold or too hot, filled with graffiti, in need or repair, or unsanitary."

- Saunders

Safety is a priority for union

The latest effort by your national and state unions to make schools safety was to join the discussion at the White House School Safety summit.

A high priority item on New York State United Teachers' legislative agenda is enactment of a comprehensive "Safe Schools Act." The 14-point plan would give teachers more authority to remove violent and disruptive students from classrooms; require school districts to report violent incidents; require statewide discipline codes and training in violence prevention; and make assaults on teachers and other school employees a felony.

The union has made it clear that removal of disruptive students can work only if alternative settings are available for those who chronically misbehave. Alternative settings serve both to isolate violent and disruptive students and to provide them with intensive counseling and support. As a result, other students with an environment that is more conducive to learning.

A number of NYSUT reports have documented the growing problem with student behavior and on-the-job violence.

The union is in the process of developing school-violence prevention training that will be offered to interested locals and on a regional basis. (See story, below.)

At the national level NYSUT's affiliate, the American Federation of Teachers, initiated the Lessons for Life campaign, which calls for standards of conduct and achievement in our schools.

AFT has identified six essential elements to promote a safe and orderly learning environment: effective classroom management; districtwide discipline codes; enforcement of discipline codes; programs to modify low-level student misbehavior; creation of alternative placements for chronically disruptive and violent students; and support for the work of families, religious institutions and communities in developing sound character in children.

NYSUT to launch safety training

Responding to requests from local leaders, New York State United Teachers is developing a school violence prevention program that will be offered later this year.

The training will be available through NYSUT regional offices at the request of local presidents. The program will include information on handling threats, protecting legal rights of staff and responding to observations of danger signals.

Locals also will receive sample incident reports, model discipline codes, contract language and information on surveys and victim assistance programs.

Jan Conti, NYSUT's director of training, said the program will eventually expand to include regional workshops for members and leaders, with outside experts.

"Down the road, we also hope to build partnerships with community leaders on a variety of prevention programs," Conti said. "This must be a community-wide effort."

NYSUT's program is being developed by a working group of staff, community leaders and an expert from the United Federation of Teachers in New York City.