School
Violence: Making Our School a Safer Place
B.Walton
|
|
|
|
|
|
The NYC Department of Education (DOE) and the Police
Commissioner report that during the 2004-2005 school-year incidents of violent
crimes in NYC schools dropped by 49% compared to the previous school year. The
decrease in violent crimes in schools has been attributed to Mayor Bloomberg’s
“Make Our Schools a Safer Place” campaign.
“Students cannot learn in a violent atmosphere,”
said Mayor Bloomberg. The 1.3 million dollar campaign resulted in frequent
police patrols of school grounds, the hiring of additional school safety
officers and school-based counseling support staff charged with facilitating a
citywide conflict resolution curriculum.
The Make Our School a
How to diminish school violence has been a
frequent topic of School Leadership Meetings. The School Leadership Team has
concluded that punitive actions are not enough to stop the violence. They have
decided to hire an Independent Investigation Agency to study the problem and
make recommendations.
As
an employee of the Independent Investigation Agency, you have been asked to
select a team and begin an inquiry into the
A)
Your group will
§
Use the PPA Steps to
conduct your investigation
§
Research current local and
state policies for reducing school violence
§
Document any significant
information you encounter during your research
§
Share and discuss your
research with other team members
§
Brainstorm 3
recommendations for violence prevention at the Amsterdam School
§
Devise an action plan for
decreasing school violence
§
Create a PowerPoint
presentation
Goals
and Objectives:
1.
While conducting this WebQuest you will become
an expert researcher on the issue school violence.
2.
You
will use the TIPS PPA protocol to look at existing polices on school violence
3.
You
will create a PowerPoint presentation on the issue of school violence and
possible solutions.
4.
Prepare
and deliver a 5 minute oral presentation that proposes your group’s new school
policy to the Violence Prevention Committee.
Process (How do you actually accomplish what is in your
task?)
PPA Steps:
1. Identify the Problem (Download Worksheet)
2. Gather the Evidence (Download Worksheet)
3. Determine the
Causes (Download
Worksheet)
4. Evaluate the Policy (Download Worksheet)
5. Develop Solutions (Download Worksheet)
6. Select the Best
Solution (Download MS Word
Worksheet)
CRITICAL WEBSITES
The Center for the Prevention
of School Violence
– “Focuses on ensuring that schools are safe and secure so that every student
is able to attend a school that is free of fear and conducive to learning
[http://www.ncdjjdp.org/cpsv/]
School
Violence
– This PBS website “discusses ways that different communities are fighting violence
and keeping kids safe in their schools and neighborhoods.”
[http://www.pbs.org/newshour/on2/july-dec98/violence.html]
PUBLIC DOCUMENTS
NYC Discipline
Code – The standards for behavior in school
[http://www.nycenet.edu/parents/PDFs/DisciplineCode.pdf]
Press
Release: Update on School Safety Initiative for 2004-2005 school year
[http://www.nycenet.edu/Administration/meddiarelations/PressRelease/2004-2005/6-22-2005-14-16-12-126.htm]
ARTICLES
“Attitudes towards
Guns and Violence:..” – National Association of School Psychologists
[http://www.nasponline.org/publications/cq273guns.html]
“School Violence
Quiz” – MSN [http://www.msnbc.com/modules/quizzes/school_violence.asp]
Are U.S. SchoolsSafe?” –
CNN – [http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/1998/schools/]
How New
York got Safer Schools – CNN –
[http://www.cnn.com/US/9805/22/school.reduced.violence/index.html]
Search Engines
Not all the
website you will find using a search engine will be reputable. Please try to
select sources that offer as much of the following information as possible.
§ Author’s Name
§ Author’s Title or Position
§ Author’s Organizational
Affiliations
§ Date of Page Creation or
Version
§ Author’s Contact
Information
For
some additional help with evaluating, selecting and citing web resources use
the links below:
Evaluating,
Selecting and Citing Web Resources
Can you trust what
you find on the Internet?
Evaluating
Websites for Accuracy
Rubric
|
Criteria |
4 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
Score |
|
Public
Policy Analysis |
§
Completed all Six PPA
Worksheets §
All Responses are
answered, clear and accurate |
§
Completed Five of the Six PPA Worksheets §
Most responses are answered, clear and accurate |
§
Completed Four of the Six PPA Worksheets §
Some of the responses are answered, clear and accurate |
§
Completed Three or None of the Six PPA Worksheets §
Few or None of the responses are answered, clear and
accurate |
|
|
Research
|
All
research content is accurate and relevant. All
sources are reputable and varied. |
Most
research content is accurate and relevant. Most
sources are reputable. Some sources are questionable. Some variety. |
Irrelevant
research content. Few
reputable sources. Many questionable sources. Very little variety. |
Irrelevant
research content. Unreliable
and uncorroborated sources. Little or no variety. |
|
|
Presentation |
Convincingly
solves the problem, answers the question or accomplishes the purpose of the
study. Well-organized, logical sequence, clear evidence of planning,
use of two or more high quality visual aids |
Answers
the question or solves the problem but leaves certain minor areas not
assessed. Well-organized, logical sequence, clear evidence of planning,
use of two or more high quality visual aids |
Some
answers provided or part of the problem solved but leaves certain major areas
not assessed. Fairly well-organized, sequence not always logical, some
evidence of planning, use of one high quality visual aid |
Unsupported and
unconvincing arguments. Does not answer the question or solve the problem of
the study. Minimal or
irrelevant data; none gathered directly by students |
|
|
Collaboration |
All members actively involved in research, planning,
organization, and presentation. Group was self-directed. Group documents how members
brainstormed discussed assumed roles and solve problems. The project is clearly a group effort. |
All Group members are
involved in most group activities The group documents how members divided task, shared the
workload and managed problems in away that advanced the group goal. |
All
Group members are involved in some group activities. The group
occasionally helped one another but required teacher assistance to resolve
differences. One
person documents that he/she did most of the work and/or problems were not
managed in a way that advanced the group goal. |
All Groups members exhibits inconsistent involved in group
activities. The group
required teacher assistance with dividing tasks and resolving differences. Few
people contributed their fair share of work. |
|
Once you have
completed this WebQuest, you will have learned how to effectively identify,
research, and analyze a problem. This process will assist you in the formulation
of a solution. The above skills are important because they can be applied to
many real world situations.
Great Work!
English Language Arts
E1c The student reads and comprehends informational
materials to develop understanding and expertise and produces written or oral
work that:
§
Restates
or summarizes information;
§
Relates
new information to prior knowledge and experience;
§
Extends
ideas;
§
Makes
connections to related topics or information
E1d The student demonstrates familiarity with a
variety of public document (i.e., documents that focus on civic issues or
matters of public policy at the community level and beyond) and produces
written or oral work that does one or more of the following:
§
Identifies
the social context of the document;
§
Identifies
the author’s purpose and stance’
§
Analyze
the arguments and positions advanced and the evidence offered in support of
them, or formulates an argument and offers evidence to support it;
§
Examines
or makes use of the appeal of a document to audiences both friendly and hostile
to the position presented;
§
Identifies
or uses commonly used persuasive techniques
E1e The student demonstrates familiarity with a
variety of functional documents (i.e., documents that exist in order to get
things done) and produces written or oral work that does one or more of the
following:
§
Identifies
the institutional context of the document;
§
Identifies
the sequence of activities needed to carry out a procedure;
§
Analyzes
or uses the formatting techniques used to make a document user-friendly;
§
Identifies
any information that is either extraneous or missing in terms of audience and
purpose or makes effective use of relevant information
Applied Learning
A1a Design a product, Service, or System:
Identify needs that could be met by new products, services, or systems and
create solutions for meeting them.
A2a Make an oral presentation of project plans
or finding to an audience beyond the school.
A2b
Conduct formal written correspondence
with an organization beyond the school.
A5a Take responsibility for a component of a
team project