For More Information:
NEA Communications: 202 822-7200
Jackie Vaughn: (919) 832-3000 x216

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 27, 2000

News Release

Safe School-Community Programs In N.C. Ranked Among the Best In the Nation, By the National Education Association

Washington, D.C. -- Two pioneering school safety programs established in Buncombe County, North Carolina will serve as a model for the nation when they are featured Thursday at 2 p.m. in a national satellite broadcast by the National Education Association.

Forging Community Alliances, the fourth in a nine-part video series produced by the NEA Safe Schools Now Network, highlights the critical importance of community involvement in creating a safe, nurturing climate for kids in and around their schools.

The partnership between Buncombe County Schools and the Buncombe County Sheriff's Department serves as an excellent example.

Through an innovative collaboration, teachers work side by side with law enforcement officers in all six Buncombe County high schools, its six middle schools and two special education schools. School Resource Officers (SROs), as the officers are known, enhance the schools' safety program by monitoring classrooms and hallways, teaching classes on law-related subjects, serving as confidential counselors to students, and acting as faculty advisors for the local chapters of Students Against Violence Everywhere (SAVE).

"This alliance is an important part of our overall program for keeping ourstudents, teachers, schools, and communities safe," says Ann Franklin, president of the Buncombe County Association of Educators. "Teachers can use all the community support we can get to protect our students."

The School Resource Officer program works, school administrators and students explain, because the officers have gained the trust of parents, students, faculty and neighbors living adjacent to the schools. They have become active in every part of the schools. They attend student games, avoid overbearing responses to trouble warnings, and really get to know the students. They also work with teachers to create a crisis response plan, conduct practice drills, and support schools' efforts to promote a safe, respectful environment.

"They're not just officers of the law," said Nancy Anderson, student advocate and counselor at the Owen Middle School, featured in the broadcast. "They become friends and they know the community at large."

Lt. Don Fraser, Deputy Sheriff for the County and Supervisor of the Buncombe County SROs, acknowledges that the successful result took time and began with a key insight. "It's taken us a while to prove that we're worthy of that trust," Lt. Fraser says on the show. "That's been the biggest challenge we've had to overcome."

"Becoming involved in the schools meant realizing that the kids were the solution to the problem of violence, rather than just the cause of violence," he adds.

The equally successful Student-Teen Court program is also showcased in the NEA video. An alternative to student suspension and to referral to juvenile court, the idea behind SC is to hold disruptive students accountable to their peers. Students serve as attorneys and jury, a local attorney serves as judge, and the parent(s) of the student defendants is brought in as a witness.

"Student-Teen Court is the epitome of positive peer pressure," says Doug Robinson, Program Manager, Center for the Prevention of School Violence in Raleigh. Student Court addresses school level problems with the discipline code. Teen Court resolves state level problems with the juvenile court system.

The defendants are typically boys and the success rate for completing sentences handed down by classmates is high. Of the 40 cases handled in the Owen Middle School, for example, more than 80 percent of the defendants were 7th grade boys, and only 2 of the 40 failed to complete their sentences.

"When a student walks into this student court, they assume guilt," said Owen's Principal Jack Evans. "It is not a situation where they're proven innocent or guilty. It is clearly for the payback of what the student owes (to his/her schoolmates)."

Student-Teen Court had a profound affect on a boy who began to get into trouble in middle school, the program shows. "It was a very eye-opening event for him to have to walk into a room of his peers and announce everything he had done wrong...and then take the consequences of his action," the boy's mother says on tape.

The NEA Safe Schools Now Network was created in response to the fatal shootings at Columbine High School. The series aims to offer schools and communities the best research-based information on how to maintain or achieve school safety.

The series was announced by President Bill Clinton in June 1999 and premiered in January 2000 with an introduction by U.S. Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley.

"This series makes an important contribution to school safety by presenting examples of innovative violence-prevention programs, experts on school safety, and the voices of the young people we're trying to protect," said Secretary Riley.

The first education project of its kind in the nation, the shows feature:

• original television programming produced by NEA

• the donation of 1,000 free satellite television dishes and air time to school districts nationwide by EchoStar Communications Corporation, a private company based in Littleton, Colorado, near Columbine High School, and

• support with research, promotion, and distribution of the broadcasts to more than 6,000 schools through the U.S. Departments of Education, Justice, and Health and Human Services -- as well as Learning First Alliance, a coalition of the nation's leading 12 education organizations.

Through public television stations, all schools in Georgia, Kentucky, and South Carolina can receive the broadcasts, and thousands more in Austin, Kalamazoo, Los Angeles, and in Vermont.

The April 27th episode also reviews a school/community after-school program that has radically changed what was considered by many to be among the most crime-ridden neighborhoods in Arizona.

"Through the NEA Safe Schools Now Network, we hope to promote a culture in which our children never again hear gunshots ringing in their schools," said Bob Chase, president of the 2.5 million-member National Education Association.

The broadcasts are provided free by satellite. Details of past and future programs, as well as a discussion guide and a list of additional resources, and school district applications for a free satellite dish, are available on the web at www.safeschoolsnow.org. VHS copies of the shows are available for $15.00 each from the NEA Professional Library, 800-229-4200.

Attached are a 10 Point Checklist for School Safety, provided on the program by Stephen Oxner, School Resource Officer at T.C. Roberson High School, and a graphic of the Safe Schools Pyramid explained on the show by Mr. Robinson.

# # #
The National Education Association is the nation’s largest professional employee organization, representing more than 2.5 million elementary and secondary teachers, higher education faculty, education support personnel, school administrators, retired educators, and students preparing to become teachers.

1. Have a crisis/emergency plan in place and practice drills regularly

   Establish a plan, which responds to crisis. Teach the faculty and staff to respond appropriately to emergencies and conduct regular drills to keep everyone sharp on the procedures.

2. Be pro-active...Not just reactive

   Practice effective crime prevention methods daily. Remember that a school is a reflection of its community and that everyone wants to prevent crime. A system whereby students can report criminal activity anonymously benefits everyone.

3. Evaluate the environment through the eyes of a criminal

   Look for places where the criminal is most likely to enter the campus. Look for open or unlocked doors as well as poor lighting. Can access to the campus be limited to one area of the school during business hours? Walk the perimeter on a regular basis and search for damaged fencing or gates that are not secure.

4. Know the property owners adjacent to the school and develop a relationship with them

   Establishing a relationship with the neighbors will enhance the security of the environment both during and after school hours. This is an extension of the Neighborhood Watch concept.

5. Control access to the campus

   Limit access to the campus to one location during school hours if possible. Require vendors serving the campus to utilize this entrance and register all visitors with the main office. Instruct faculty on procedures to follow if they find a stranger on the campus. Have a system in place for reporting strangers to the SRO.

6. Establish a liaison with other emergency providers

   A relationship with the other emergency providers who will be responding to a call for help is a win-win. It will help them better know the facility and know what procedures your school will be following in a crisis.

7. Possess and distribute maps on the campus

   Have on hand detailed maps of the facility and distribute copies to other emergency service providers. If the campus is served by more than one road, be sure to include this on all maps.

8. Get to know your students

   Be friendly...approachable. Be involved in student activities such as sports, ROTC, service clubs, etc. Be friendly and know who your students are.

9. Be visible

   Patrol the hallways, cafeteria, gymnasium, and other locations when students are present. High visibility by the SRO provides all students with a sense of safety and security.

10. Review and evaluate discipline notices

    Knowing who is most likely to commit crimes within the school will assist the officer in determining where and when crimes are most likely to occur.

By Stephen Oxner, School Resource Officer, T.C. Roberson High School, Buncombe County, North Carolina, as featured in Building Community Alliances, the April 27 episode of the NEA Safe Schools Now Network