VI. Appendices Appendix

Appendix I: Environmental/Structural Modifications to SchoolsI1

Modification Example

Structural Changes

· Improve lighting to increase the ability to supervise and limit opportunistic mischief.

· Use landscaping to create light, open spaces and to eliminate places to hide drugs or weapons.

· Close off isolated stairwells and other places difficult to supervise.

· After consultation with students and parents, remove doors from lockers or remove lockers themselves to eliminate places where drugs or weapons can be stored.

· In schools with high violence, install surveillance cameras.

Maintenance

· Keep halls, classrooms and bathrooms clean to encourage appropriate behavior.

· Remove graffiti immediately and paint hallways in cheerful and attractive colors.

· Repair or replace worn out or damaged property.

Create a Respectful and Positive School Environment

· Give recognition to students with displays of their art work, posters, student projects and merit awards.

· Recognize two students each week for positive behavior.

Hallways

· Remove barriers, such as wastebaskets, to the free flow of traffic.

· Remove barriers to supervision such as dead-end stairways.

· Place cues and reminders of appropriate hall behavior, such as a yellow line down the center of the hall.

· Stagger passing periods to reduce the number of students in the halls at the same time.

· Have classroom teachers, staff and student volunteers help direct traffic and monitor halls and stairways during the passing periods.

Restrict Entry and Exit

· Install mesh coverings on windows.

· Provide single points of entry and exit.

· Install metal detectors. Some districts (as well as security teams) rotate them on a random, unannounced schedule.

· Lock the entrance and exit of parking lot.

Appendix I. Footnotes:

I1. Drug Strategies, Safe Schools, Safe Students: A Guide to Violence Prevention Strategies, at 13 (1998).