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June/July 2004
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KUDOS
Area students honored for essays on violence
Source: El Paso Times, El Paso, TX
Written by: Gary Scharrer
Published: June 16, 2004
Two El Paso-area students, Cindy Vasquez and Brandon Allen, were honored in the state Capitol on Tuesday for writing about the violence surrounding the lives of many youngsters. Vasquez will be a freshman at Fabens High School and Allen will be an eighth-grader at Clint Junior High School this fall.
Seventh grader a finalist to Do the Write Thing
Source: Biloxi Sun Herald, Biloxi, MS
Written by: Eba Hamid
Published: June 14, 2004
North Woolmarket Middle School seventh-grader Amy Edwards is a state finalist in the Do the Write Thing Challenge, an essay contest sponsored by the Kuwait-America Foundation and the National Campaign to Stop Violence. This marks the second straight year a student from Kim Reeder's language arts class has been a state finalist. ... To prepare for the contest, Reeder held regular class discussions with her students on violence prevention.
Sheriff's Department gives children free bicycles
Source: The Grand Rapids Press, Grand Rapids, MI
Written by: Gary W. Morrison
Published: June 17, 2004
More than 30 children received a free bike from the Kent County Sheriff’s Department. The bikes, which were previously abandoned and unclaimed, were all rebuilt and cleaned up by inmates at Sheriff's Department's Honors Camp. The children who received bikes attend programs at Positive Options, an after-school violence-prevention program that serves at-risk children in Grand Rapids.
SCHOOL VIOLENCE NEWS
16 Students Suspended in Brawl
Source: New Brunswick Home News Tribune, New Brunswick, NJ
Written by: Suzanne Russell
Published: June 8, 2004
Police said 16 Perth Amboy High School students, all males, were arrested for fighting on June 4. Eleven juveniles, ages 14 to 17, were charged with rioting and transported to the Middlesex County Juvenile Detention Center in North Brunswick. About 2,200 students attend the high school. All 16 students have been suspended for 10 days in accordance with the district's code-of-conduct policy on fighting, according to Superintendent of Schools John M. Rodecker.
Shooting death at school traumatizes community
Source: Virgin Islands Daily News
Written by: Eunice Bedminster and Aesha Duval
Published: June 2, 2004
A 19-year-old male student was shot and killed at a St. Croix (Virgin Islands) high school after classes ended for the day. The student was killed by a gunshot wound to the upper back left shoulder, Deputy Police Chief Herminio Velazquez. A 17-year-old boy has been arrested and charged with first-degree murder. Three other boys also were taken into police custody.
Did officials overreact to school 'gun plot'?
Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Written by: Anna Varela
Published: June 12, 2004
Some Atlanta area residents are beginning to question whether the trial of two 14-year-olds was perhaps overzealous. Winder (GA) police said they had uncovered a "Columbine-style" plot in which, on the last day of school, two 14-year-olds planned to kill a teacher and anybody who tried to stop them. In court last week, evidence presented by prosecutors seemed ambiguous at best.
Judge sets court date for teen accused of school shooting plot
Source: Denton Record Chronicle (subscription), Denton, TX
Written by: Associated Press
Published: June 15, 2004
A judge denied reduced bail Tuesday for a 17-year-old boy accused of plotting a school shooting and set the defendant's court date for July 19. The teenager is charged with conspiracy to commit capital murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and conspiracy to commit aggravated assault.
Study raises questions about teen violence
Source: Reuters, London, England (United Kingdom)
Written by: Michael Conlon
Published: June 7, 2004
A report issued by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development determined that adolescents in the United States are no more violent than their counterparts surveyed in Ireland, Israel, Portugal, and Sweden, but are more likely to die a violent death. The difference may involve the availability of lethal weapons in the United States or perhaps varying attitudes about life and death, the report said. (This story no longer available online. For more information, contact Allison Seale at aseale@hamfish.org.)
Examination of school shootings provides important lessons
Source: Boston Globe, Boston, MA
Written by: James Alan Fox
Published: June 21, 2004
Unlike other books about school shootings that have come out in recent years, Katherine Newman’s "Rampage: The Social Roots of School Shootings” is a well researched body of work that takes a thorough look at several case studies to analyze patterns among school shooters. Writer James Alan Fox highly recommends “Rampage” for educators, school administrators, and parents who are interested in the subject and are seeking ways to strengthen their school communities.
Middle school shooting spree averted
Source: Washington Times, Washington, DC
Written by: UPI
Published: June 24, 2004
Police stop a 12-year-old boy armed with over 100 rounds of ammunition at his school in Manassas, VA just moments before a planned attack. Shockingly it turns out his mother, a school employee, discovered the boy’s arsenal that morning and failed to report it to authorities.
Police: Downtown School Explosion Possibly Planned
Source: Pittsburgh Channel.com, Pittsburgh, PA
Written by: Kathleen Weaver
Published: June 24, 2004
A ninth-grader was arrested for allegedly planning to blow up City Charter High School in downtown Pittsburgh. Police were called to the school because students told an administrator that a 15-year-old boy was talking about causing an explosion. Floor plans and locations of surveillance cameras were allegedly found in one of the boy's notebooks.
Keeping school violence at bay
Source: USA Today
Written by: Greg Toppo
Published: June 28, 2004
Five years after the shootings at Columbine High School in Colorado, safety advocates say the nation's public schools are as safe as ever. But some observers say the war on terrorism is siphoning funding and attention from school safety just as rising gang violence threatens progress made in the 1990s. While several indicators show that overall violence is dropping, 48 people died in school-related violence in the 2003-2004 school year, according to one tally — more than in any year in the past decade.
Schools record doubling of violent deaths
Source: The Quad-City Times, Davenport, IA
Written by: Gannett News Service
Published: June 27, 2004
The school year just ending was one of the deadliest in years, according to preliminary data showing 48 school-related violent deaths from August through June. That’s more than in the past two school years combined and more than in any year in the past decade. … President Bush’s 2005 budget proposes a 40 percent drop in spending for juvenile crime prevention, following a 44 percent cut.
School deaths are up
Source: Family News In Focus, Colorado Springs, CO
Written by: Terry Phillips
Published: July 7, 2004
Deaths at American K-12 schools more than doubled last year. Some can be attributed to an accompanying increase in teen gangs.
Lessons of Columbine not all learned yet
Source: Vail Daily News, Vail, CO
Written by: Scott Miller
Published: July 13, 2004
Many lessons from the worst school shooting in U.S. history still haven't fully trickled down to schools and law enforcement.
BULLYING
Stakes rise as bullying grows more serious
Source: Omaha World Herald, Omaha, NE
Written by: Stephen Buttry
Published: June 13 2004
Bullies have always been part of growing up. No one formally studied bullying until the 1970s, but studies since then indicate it is growing more serious. "What used to be fists 25 years ago is now a knife and a gun," said Peter Kanaris, a New York school psychologist who helped develop an anti-violence program for the American Psychological Association. A common feature in cases where bullying turns deadly is guns.
State stands up to school bullies
Source: Raleigh News, Raleigh, NC
Written by: Todd Silberman
Published: June 24, 2004
The North Carolina State Board of Education is going to vote next week on a new anti-harassment policy aimed at curbing bullying in schools across the state. If passed, all schools would be required to have at least one staff member trained at a state anti-harassment session. School would also be required to record all instances of bullying as well.
Stop bullying Web site
Source: KVAL, Eugene, OR
Written by: Jodi Unruh
Published: July 20, 2004
If your child is bullying or being bullied by other kids, there's a new Web site that can offer you support to help crack down on this serious problem. ... Ribbon of Promise has teamed up with the parents of Casey Woodruff, a Eugene boy who received national attention for being bullied on the school bus, to monitor a new chat room-forum called "Parents Against Bullying" The "Parents Against Bullying" Web site can be found at: http://www.freewebs.com/parentsagainstbullies.
INTERNATIONAL SCENE
Schoolgirl killer frequented violent internet sites
Source: Mainichi Daily News (Japan)
Written by: staff
Published: June 9, 2004
An 11-year-old girl in Sasebo, Nagasaki (Japan) charged with cutting the throat of a 12-year-old girl may have been driven to kill by the horrific scenes she frequently accessed through cyberspace. According to reports, the accused girl displayed an obsession for "Battle Royale," a story about school children forced to hunt and kill each other until only one remains alive. All the members of the girl's family reportedly had access to the computer the girl used to access, but none of her relatives were aware that the killer had book marked the sites dedicated to violence. (This story no longer available online. For more information, contact Allison Seale at aseale@hamfish.org.)
Sydney school shooting leaves girl in hospital
Source: ABC Regional Online (Australia)
Written by: staff
Published: June 18, 2004
Police are investigating a shooting incident at a school in west Sydney that left a 17-year-old girl in hospital with head injuries. Officers recovered a starter pistol from the playground at Merrylands High School that may have been used in the shooting. Police are now trying to determine whether the student suffered self-inflicted injuries.
Anti-bullying policies failing to cut school harassment
Source: ABC Online (Australia)
Written by: Tanya Nolan
Broadcast: June 18, 2004
A new study of sexual harassment in public schools in Adelaide has raised questions about the effectiveness of anti-bullying policies. In a study conducted by academics at the University of South Australia, more than half of the 200 Year Eight and Nine students interviewed said they had witnessed some form of sexual harassment in the schoolyard, on a regular basis. The study also showed that while around 70 per cent objected to that behavior, most would not report it.
GANGS
Gang related murders soaring
Source: Long Beach Press-Telegram, Long Beach, CA
Written by: Beth Barrett
Published: June 1, 2004
While funding of juvenile programs was being cut, gang activity has been spreading rapidly from Los Angeles to the rest of the country, and homicides linked to juveniles in gangs have soared from 692 nationally in 1999 to more than 1,100 in 2002, according to a recent study, Caught in the Crossfire: Arresting Gang Violence by Investing in Kids.
Three steps may help reduce gang violence
Source: Los Angeles Daily News, Los Angeles, CA
Written by: Beth Barrett
Published: June 1, 2004
According to a recent report (Caught in the Crossfire: Arresting Gang Violence by Investing in Kids), several cities have used a three-step program to sharply cut gang-related homicides and youth violence. First is the identification of the few gang members, or other young people, who are most likely to kill someone in their neighborhood or to be killed, and to intervene with appropriate programs. The second step is keeping children out of gangs or getting them to quit. The third step is to develop alternatives to gangs, such as after-school programs. The report estimated that taxpayers save up to $31,000 on every young person placed in effective therapy programs. (This story no longer available online. For more information, contact Allison Seale at aseale@hamfish.org.)
For more information on the Caught in the Crossfire: Arresting Gang Violence by Investing in Kids report and to read the news release that prompted this story, visit http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=155-06012004
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ACTIVISM
There was something new in the news the past month and a half. There were several stories about students who were taking stands for safer learning conditions. Some refused to go to their assigned schools out of fear of violence, others out of protest for overcrowded and unsafe learning environments. The following are samples of each of these.
District, mother at an impasse
Source: Youngstown Vindicator, Youngstown, OH
Written by: JoAnne Viviano
Published: June 3, 2004
Curtis Daye likes to learn, but it's been nearly a month since he went to school. The Jackson Elementary School third-grader said he wants to go back to school, but not to his assigned school. His mother contends the school district has not taken steps to keep her son safe and she won't send Curtis or his two younger sisters to school.
New Jack Activists
Source: LA Weekly, Los Angeles, CA
Written by: Erin Aubry Kaplan
Published: July 9-15, 2004
Some Los Angeles high school students are “taking it to the streets” to protest “the sorry state of affairs in their schools and about the bureaucrats’ endless inability to do anything about them.”
Student sues over alleged harassment
Source: Los Angles Times
Written by: Amanda Covarrubias
Published: June 24, 2004
One student is fighting back by suing his school district for allegedly doing little to provide him with a safe and secure school environment, as his former school football coach and fellow students hurled ethnic slurs at him. After the school district finally suspended the offending coach, the teenager and his family became the target of angry students and parents who blamed them for the coach’s removal. The family and student were allegedly threatened at school games, and the hate speech ensued. (This story no longer available online. For more information, contact Allison Seale at aseale@hamfish.org.)
Paralyzed by a Gun, Boy Now Seeks to Buy Maker
Source: New York Times
Written by: Fox Butterfield
Published: June 30, 2004
The California attorney general's office has intervened in a federal bankruptcy to help a teenager buy out and shut down the manufacturer of a semiautomatic handgun with a design flaw that has left the boy paralyzed from the neck down since the age of 7. Brandon Maxfield, now 17, was accidentally shot through the chin and spine in 1994 when his baby sitter tried to unload a .38-caliber Bryco handgun owned by Brandon's parents.
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GIRL VIOLENCE/BULLYING
In Violent Incidents, Preteen Girls More Likely than Boys to Be Involved in Retaliation for Previous Fight
Source: PR Newswire
Written by: staff
Published: June 7, 2004
Girls in middle and elementary schools involved in violent incidents may be more likely than boys of the same age to be retaliating for a previous event, to experience the violence at home, and to have a family member intervene. Researchers at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia surveyed 190 children aged 8 to 14 brought to the hospital's emergency department for injuries caused by interpersonal violence. The study appeared in the June issue of the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine.
Some say schools have gotten more violent
Source: Wisconsin State Journal, Madison, WI
Written by: Brenda Ingersoll
Published: June 11, 2004
Madison, WI school district statistics show an increase in student suspensions and expulsions despite an overall reduction in violent violations of the student conduct code. The data also shows increases in the number of girls responsible for violent incidents.
An increase in girls fighting girls
Source: The News Journal, Wilmington, DE
Written by: Adam Taylor and Mike Billington
Published: June 13, 2004
Girls are fighting more than ever, according to state and federal statistics and juvenile crime experts. It's a nationwide phenomenon that also is happening across Delaware with increasing frequency, police and prosecutors said. Violence among boys was once 10 times more prevalent than violence among girls, the U.S. Justice Department said. Now, a generation later, it's four times more prevalent. In Delaware, adolescent girls committed five times more aggravated assaults in 2002 than in 1985.
Hip hop program energizes youths
Source: The Republican, Springfield, MA
Written by: George Lenker
Published: June 13, 2004
Two Springfield (MA) musicians are working to bring about positive changes in the lives of young offenders by using hip-hop music. The Renaissance Program is a 10-week course developed by the Community Music School of Springfield to provide a type of music therapy to these youths. The program is conducted each weekend at two local centers operated by the Robert F. Kennedy Children's Action Corps. Two local musical artists, rapper James "Scorpio" Andrews and drummer Jason Arnold, run the course.
DISD aims to prevent student misconduct
Source: Dallas Morning News, Dallas, TX
Written by: Kent Fischer
Published: June 20, 2004
Recognizing that increased school security measures are not enough to deter school violence, the Dallas Independent School District (DISD) has begun to focus their efforts on prevention. DISD Superintendent Mike Moses has been making efforts to provide students with more counseling services and extra-curricular activities to prevent them from becoming involved in risky behaviors.
Anti gang program guides children
Source: The Washington Times, Washington, DC
Written by: Jon Ward
Published: July 14, 2004
Fairfax County fourth- and fifth-graders are taking part in a three-week program that will teach them to say "no" to gangs. The "Get Real About Violence" program at Annandale Terrace Elementary School is the first of its kind in Northern Virginia, where gangs have grown into one of law enforcement's top problems in the past few years.
POLICY ISSUES
Judge: School Officials Abused Discretion in Zero Tolerance Case
Source: Agape Press, Tupelo, MS
Written by: Jim Brown
Published: June 10, 2004
A Colorado court has reprimanded school officials in the city of Greeley over their decision to expel a young student for handling a toy -- a laser pointer shaped like a tiny gun. In 2002, a then seventh-grader at North Valley Middle School was expelled for possession of what the school called a "firearm facsimile." The school officials imposed this penalty because of the state's zero tolerance policy, which bars any firearm or "firearm facsimile that could reasonably be mistaken for an actual firearm" on school grounds. The judge ruled that a 2 and 1/2-inch toy gun that can be hidden in the palm of one's hand could not reasonably be mistaken for an actual gun.
Minority suspensions draw collaboration
Source: Durham Herald Sun, Durham, NC
Written by: Michael Petrocelli
Published: July 12, 2004
As the Durham Public Schools contend with a high rate of suspensions for black students that has sparked complaints from parents and the community, they can at least take solace in the fact that they are not alone.
When Class Order And Special Needs Clash
Source: Hartford Courant (subscription), Hartford, CT
Written by: Robert A. Frahm
Published: June 27, 2004
In one of the most difficult special education cases in recent memory in Hartford, a 13-year-old autistic boy frustrated teachers and administrators and tested the limits of the school system's special education and discipline policies. For most of the school year, the case vexed educators and the boy's mother as they sought to give him the education he is guaranteed under federal law, but could not agree on how to do it.
Student absences are costing schools plenty
Source: San Jose Mercury News (subscription), San Jose, CA
Written by: staff
Published: June 18, 2004
About one in five students in San Luis Obispo County had 10 or more excused absences last year that, combined with a smaller number of truancies, cost eight of the 10 area school districts $1.9 million in 2002-2003, county Office of Education figures showed. The Office of Education said it appears the districts lost even more revenue this past year. … The absences not only cost school districts money, they also translate into lost learning opportunities for the students, potentially altering their own educational progress and lowering schools' test results to the point of jeopardizing federal funding, officials said.
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For questions or feedback regarding these news summaries, please contact Allison Seale via email at aseale@hamfish.org.
The Hamilton Fish Institute on School and Community Violence provides information, research, and support to make schools safer for high achievement.
To recommend or register to receive these notices, visit:
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Page Updated: March 07, 2005
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