| ts, teachers, and students expect schools to be a | | | | but also violence in general, is actually more common |
| safe place. Acts of violence disrupt the learning | | | | in middle schools than at high schools. Students aged |
| process, not to mention having a profoundly negative | | | | twelve through fourteen are more likely than older |
| emotional impact on those affected by school | | | | students to become victims of crime at school. |
| violence. According to a recent report on school | | | | It is likely that violence, theft, and drugs will continue |
| crime and student safety by the CDC and the | | | | to be significant problems in the school system. A |
| Department of Education, students aged twelve | | | | tenth of all high school students reported being |
| through eighteen are the victims of more than 2.7 | | | | threatened with, or injured with, a weapon in the |
| million crimes at school each year. Over the past | | | | previous year. Students in middle school or high |
| year, fifteen percent of all high school students | | | | school are more likely to be victims of theft while at |
| reported being involved in a physical altercation on | | | | school than while away for school. A quarter |
| school property. Just how common are crimes on | | | | reported that drugs had been offered to them on |
| school campuses? | | | | school property within the past year. |
| 28 percent of students in middle school and high | | | | The point to take away from this is that kids are not |
| school reported being bullied in the last six months.A | | | | immune from violence in schools, no matter their age. |
| significant portion of these students also admitted | | | | This might seem like an urban high school problem, |
| avoiding one or more places at school for their own | | | | but it happens in schools of all sizes, and in all |
| safety. Nearly 20% of students in middle and high | | | | locations. A staggering 86 percent of all public schools |
| school report being threatened with a beating. | | | | reported one or more serious violent incidents in the |
| According to the Gun-Free Schools Act Report, | | | | 2005-2006 school year. The overall crime rate within |
| nearly four thousand students are expelled each year | | | | schools is 46 reported crimes each year per 1,000 |
| for bringing a gun to school. Perhaps surprisingly, | | | | students. If you have a child at school, no matter |
| more than a third of these expulsions involve middle | | | | their age, they must be prepared to deal with the |
| school students, and a tenth involve even younger | | | | possibility of such situations arising. |
| students. School violence might be a stereotypically | | | | Your options to protect your children from violence |
| high school occurrence, but it happens at all levels of | | | | at school are unfortunately limited. The vast majority |
| the school system, even among kids as young as | | | | of schools have a 'no tolerance' policy, meaning that |
| seven or eight years old. | | | | students may not carry such devices as pepper |
| In addition to incidents involving firearms, there are | | | | spray or a stun gun. They can, however, bring a |
| also thousands of other crimes, from physical assault | | | | personal alarm to school, and this can be invaluable in |
| to threat to vandalism, happening on school | | | | alerting teachers and other adults to a violent or |
| campuses worldwide. Not only gun-related expulsions, | | | | potentially violent confrontation. |