June 17, 1998 Contact: Dewey Cornell (804) 924-0793, dgc2f@virginia.edu OFFICIALS MUST MAKE VIRGINIA SCHOOLS SAFE NOW -- BEFORE VIOLENCE HITS, NOTED EXPERT AND AUTHOR ASSERTS Virginia schools need to implement safety procedures before violent acts occur, stresses the author of a newly published book. Planning and implementing school safety initiatives should be a proactive component of educational design -- not a reactive response to violence, notes the author of "Designing Safer Schools for Virginia: A Guide to Keeping Students Safe from Violence." The 47-page guidebook is part of the "Building Blocks to Better Learning Series" published by the Thomas Jefferson Center for Educational Design at the University of Virginia. Virginia's new requirement for school safety audits should help ensure that schools make planning for safety a priority, notes the author, Dewey G. Cornell, director of the Virginia Youth Violence Project. "Schools in the past have often been shielded from legal responsibility for violent acts because such acts were not recognized as foreseeable and because there were no prevailing standards for safety to which schools could be held accountable. The new Virginia requirement for school safety audits makes liability an issue that cannot be overlooked," says Cornell, an associate professor in U.Va.'s Curry School of Education who is a nationally recognized expert on juvenile violence. The new Virginia Standards of Accreditation create a School Performance Report Card that will include such data as incidents of physical violence, student firearm or weapon possession and student possession of mind-altering drugs, Cornell observes. The first report card, which will be distributed to parents and community leaders, will contain data from the 1997-98 school year. The collection and publication of such data should push Virginia schools to study, evaluate and implement violence-prevention programs, Cornell says. "Schools are increasingly held accountable for student achievement and are required to defend their curriculum and teaching methods. Similarly, schools should make sure their violence- prevention initiatives are meaningful and effective. The newly required safety audits represent an MORE 2 important opportunity for schools to evaluate their safety needs and take appropriate action," said Cornell, who also directs the Youth Gang Project in Virginia. Numerous programs in the violence-prevention field have been carefully evaluated, and several stand out as being particularly effective in promoting school safety, Cornell said. Among those cited in the book are: ¥ conflict-resolution and peer-mediation programs that teach students to listen to other viewpoints and work toward mutually satisfactory solutions. ¥ violence-prevention training that helps aggressive youth cope with their frustration and hostility and resolve conflicts without fighting. ¥ bullying-reduction campaigns. School-wide programs that clearly condemn bullying have been found to reduce the likelihood of aggression and delinquency. ¥ early-intervention programs that teach social competency, the ability to solve interpersonal problems. ¥ community-based programs, such as well-supervised recreational programs and mentoring, in which adult volunteers spend time weekly with youth in recreational and educational activities. ¥ drug-education programs that teach about the negative effects of alcohol and drug use. The most popular drug education program, DARE, is used in 70 percent of the nation's school districts, the book notes. "One important success of DARE is that it has brought law enforcement and education officials together in a common effort. However, independent studies of DARE show that it creates no long-term change in students' use of alcohol and drugs. Other drug-education programs have been shown to be effective, and new DARE models have adopted their strategies," Cornell said. When choosing which violence-prevention programs to implement, educators should insist on objective evidence of effectiveness, the author stresses. "Educators should not make policy decisions based on intuition or convenience. There is now a credible body of knowledge indicating which programs are effective," Cornell said. The school safety guidebook is available from the Thomas Jefferson Center for Educational Design for $10 a copy. To order a copy, contact the center at (804) 982-2873 or write to: Thomas Jefferson Center for Educational Design, U.Va. Curry School of Education, Charlottesville, VA 22903-2495. The center has mailed copies of the book to all school superintendents in the state. ### For a review copy of the book, contact the Thomas Jefferson Center for Educational Design, (804) 982-2873. Television reporters should contact our TV New Office at (804) 924-7550.