Dangerous minds
Far be it from me to disagree with the News & Record's editorial board - it's my job to report news, not provide opinions. But since they brought up persistently dangerous schools in this Monday editorial, I thought I would add what I know.
The persistently dangerous label is more than a scarlet letter. It is a federal classification created by 2002's No Child Left Behind Act. Any student in a persistently dangerous school may transfer to a different, safer school. It's similar to the provision that allows kids in academically failing schools to move.
In other words, the intent of the law isn't just to admonish unsafe schools - it provides students an escape route from unruly, unsafe environments.
Here's the problem: the Feds are letting each state define how schools are to be evaluated. The North Carolina Board of Education has never labeled a school as persistently dangerous and, given the current guidelines, it's doubtful they ever will.
If a school reports five or more violent crimes per year in a two-year period, a state team will visit the school to investigate. The state Board of Education then will vote whether to classify the school as persistently dangerous, meaning it has to offer transfers.
However, the board's new definition of violent crimes doesn't include the vast majority of crimes committed on school campuses.
The list of violent crimes includes assaults that cause serious injury, robbery and sexual assaults. It does not include possession of alcohol or drugs or possession of a weapon - by far the most common crimes on school campuses - or even less serious assaults on school personnel and fighting.
When the state board adopted this definition in 2002, John Hood, president of the Raleigh-based John Locke Foundation, called them "a pretty obvious attempt to evade the intent of the legislation."
And at the risk of slipping over into the realm of opinion, if a school suffers from chronic violence and turmoil, what's wrong with giving parents and students a warning? Which is more important - protecting a school's reputation from a "scarlet letter" or protecting students' safety from on-campus crime?
Comments (5)
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Bruce,
Great point.. its politics at its worse, sorta like the principals of our high schools that didn't want to be labeled failing of AYP's-- that is why they aren't title ones any longer. Does it make it harder to hire teachers, of course, but then maybe the true problems would be addressed and fixed instead of hiding them and tiptoe-ing around what is very obvious to the genreal public. It's better to ignore/hide/disguise the true problems instead of facing the hard facts of what to do.
If the federal government wants to have these designations they should make them uniform across the states, just like AYP's and who is a title one. At that point we might truely compare schools within and out of state to see where we stand.
Posted on July 12, 2005 11:50 AM
SAFETY FIRST! Hiding problems and pretending they do not exist does not solve anything. Violence and disrespect only escalate as the kids know that they are in control - not the teachers. Ask the students.
The law was intended for parents/students to have an opt out. Now many are finding ways to circumvent the intent of the law so they won't lose control of their schools to the feds.
From what we have heard resource officers and police officers across the country state, violent incidences are being underreported because of NCLB and schools not wanted "the scarlet letter".
The papers have stated that the police reports have many more crimes than have been reported to the State Dept. of Education. What does this tell you?
Thank you Bruce for bringing up these valid points.
Posted on July 12, 2005 7:45 PM
Isn't the High Point police department putting up a website (with GSO to follow) that lets anyone see what calls were received/followed up by address (e.g. a school's address)?
If so, anyone can see just what calls the PD responded to. You can also request a report from the department and they will pull it from their internal database and privide you with a list of all calls that resulted in an officer being dispatched.
Here's a chance for Bruce to brush off his statistics and follow up with an analysis of dispatches by school vs. school reported incidents:-}!
Posted on July 12, 2005 8:05 PM
JWG, you and I think a lot alike.
I've actually requested that information from the three local law enforcement agencies. They are pulling those records together and when I get them, I'll let everyone know what I've found.
Are you sure you aren't a newspaper editor?
Posted on July 13, 2005 10:39 AM
Bruce, did you ever receive the info you requested? Thanks.
Posted on October 7, 2005 10:10 AM