School safety, security, and violence prevention resource

This post is especially for Oregon residents. I read a report published by the Associate Press yesterday which talked about a watch list that has been released by the Oregon Education Department. The watch list contains schools which have high rates of expulsion. The rationale behind this major element is that the expulsions that were counted were due to violent or criminal acts or carrying a weapon during the 2007-2008 academic year.

Here is a snippet of that article from AP:

Of the 11 schools identified this year, two were on the list last year — Alliance High School of Portland and McKay High School in Salem.

McKay, which has roughly 2,000-students, has been on the list for four consecutive years. The state has identified it as “persistently dangerous,” a term coined under the federal No Child Left Behind Act.
In Oregon, schools that have met “watch list” criteria for at least three consecutive years are identified as “persistently dangerous.”

So what do the people involved have to say about the labels? Naturally, they would not really welcome being labeled “persistently dangerous.” Who would anyway? Jay Remy, a spokesman of for Salem-Keizer School District (which McKay High School falls under) says that they see it as an “unwelcome distraction.” I am actually surprised that the reaction is this mild. After all, being labeled as persistently dangerous, I would have expected the school authorities to be more than a bit put off, wouldn’t you?

According to Remy, though, they actually see the label as the manifestation of their tough stance on school violence. He even went as far as to say that the expulsions involved mainly kids who were caught with alcohol, drugs, or knives but that there was really no violence involved. As such, they know they are doing a good job but they see the label as not being useful. He is not alone in thinking this way. In fact, he has the support of a school safety specialist for the Oregon Department of Education by name of Scott Hall. He says “some of the schools on the watch list may be among the state’s safest schools because staff and students are more likely to report and address problems” and that he does not like the term persistently dangerous as it does not really indicate what is happening.

They do have a point, don’t they? However, I am wondering how you can put a lid on school violence without the use of labels. As you would know, things are easily placed in black and white categories when talking theory. However, when it comes to the real world, things tend to fall under various shades of gray. And that’s where the problems start. On the one hand, we do need those labels. On the other hand, the labels may cause confusion – as it seems to be the case with the “persistently dangerous” label that the Oregon education department is using.

I have no solution to this dilemma, do you?

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Posted on October 31st, 2008 by Deborah J Thomas
Filed under: Administrators, High School, K-6, News, Parents, People Involved, School Grade Level, School Safety Issues, Students