I. Introduction – Why This Project?

At a time when the rate of violence by and against youths is going down dramatically,1 our country has also recently witnessed chilling episodes of school violence. Schools are the one place where all of our children are assembled, and we have traditionally thought of them as safe havens. When violence occurs in schools the potential for widespread harm is all the greater. As Vermonters, we have no reason to believe we are immune to the various forms of school violence. School violence – from prejudice-based bullying to student shootings – is intolerable.

Community-wide efforts are needed to help assure our children are safe at school. School violence is a part of a larger societal problem. To have a lasting impact, efforts to prevent violence must reflect the interrelationship among the school, families, and the larger community.

Community-wide efforts to address school violence can lift roadblocks to academic achievement for students,2 help community members gain a better understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of their community, and help children to resist and overcome violence in and out of school.

This document has been developed to help individual communities understand the conditions under which school violence occurs and to offer a menu of approaches for them to consider. To help readers evaluate the various approaches and understand the merits of a multifaceted approach to school violence, some of the many causes of youth violence are described, either in the main text or in the appendices. Chapter II, "The Context for Considering School Violence," provides statistics and the characteristics of youth violence in and out of school. Chapter III, "Causes of Youth Violence," examines those characteristics of individual children, families, communities, and schools, as well as national culture and policies, that contribute to the potential for youth violence. Chapter IV, "Identifying Solutions," presents a variety of family-based, community-based, and school-based programs that can help reduce the incidence of school violence.

Peer groups and gangs are not discussed directly in this document. Information about gang-related violence is often conflicting, and gang prevention programs have been less successful than general violence prevention programs. Some peer groups may adversely affect individual children. But each peer group is made up of individual children. As a result, if a community examines and addresses the root causes of youth violence, its children are more likely to form positive peer groups. An approach focused on individual children, therefore, seems more fruitful than one attempting to affect groups.

As a final introductory comment, this document provides a starting point for Vermont communities that want to do something to minimize the potential for violence within their schools. Whether using the resource list at the end of this report, or searching the internet, community members are encouraged to find more information about school violence. Most important, the basic purpose underlying this project is to encourage people in every Vermont community to join together with insight and ideas and energy to do what they can to help keep their schools a safe learning environment for every student.