Educationa Vital Signs: Safe From Harm

Education Under Arrest: The Case Against Police in Schools
http://www.justicepolicy.org/uploads/justicepolicy/documents/educationunderarrest_fullreport.pdf
School resource officers (SR0s) and other police presence in schools does more harm than good, according to a report by the Justice Policy Institute, Education Under Arrest: The Case Against Police in Schools. Students who attend schools with police stationed in the buildings are more likely to be arrested for disciplinary problems that otherwise would have been handled by administrators. As a result, more children are placed in the juvenile justice system, which leads to a higher dropout rate. The study recommends getting rid of SROs and creating schools with high levels of support and structure by caring adults.
November 2011


Social Networks and Aggression at the Wheatley School
http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2011/images/10/10/findings.from.the.wheatley.school.pdf
School bullies and victims are not defined roles; rather, some students can be both, according to a study commissioned by CNN. In the study, bullying is seen as students jockeying for power, a form of “social combat.” The farther students go on the social ladder, the more they bully. Also, the higher up they go, the more they are targets for bullying. The study was conducted at a top high school on Long Island, N.Y.
October 2011


Reproducing Social Inequality through School Security: Effects of Race and Class on School Security Measures
http://www.edweek.org/media/kupchikward-02security.pdf
The authors of Reproducing Social Inequality through School Security: Effects of Race and Class on School Security Measures find only a weak association between student behavior and crime and the level and kinds of security measures in force at their schools. Results say metal detectors are much more likely to be used in schools with large minority populations. In elementary and middle schools, a high rate of poverty was the most reliable indicator that metal detectors, surveillance cameras, fulltime law enforcement officers, monitored and locked gates, and drug-sniffing dogs would all be used.
October 2011