Executive Summary
While the overall youth crime rate has dropped over the last ten years, violent crime in American schools is on the rise. According to a recent study released by the American Medical Association, between 1994 and 1999, 220 school-associated violent events resulting in 253 deaths occurred in the United States.  For almost 55% of these events, it was reported that a note, threat, or other action potentially indicating risk for violence occurred prior to the event. And according to the Josephson Institute of Ethics, more than one in three high school students say that they don’t feel safe at schools. In fact, the frequency of violent crime resulting in tragedy has schools across the country scrambling to adopt strategies to keep their students safe.  For this reason, on December 10, 2001, Congresswoman Kay Granger convened the student-led Safe Schools Summit 2001 at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas. 

The purpose of the summit was to bring local middle and school students together to give them a voice in the national dialogue on school safety, and to hear directly from the students on what it means to them to be safe in school. Safe Schools Summit 2001 gave 493 students from 50 local middle schools, high schools and community organizations the opportunity to discuss their opinions on effects, both physical and mental, that lead to violence in their schools.

The summit’s objectives were to:

• Provide students with a voice in the discussion on reducing violent crime in schools;
• Provide context for community leaders through first-hand accounts from students on today’s school environment;
• Highlight new ideas and strategies about effective safety initiatives; 
• To facilitate communication between Texas youth leaders and their peers; and
• Raise awareness about the importance of community involvement to create safer schools.

Students also voiced their opinions on numerous questions utilizing the wireless audience response system, eFORUM that enabled them to register opinions on safety issues instantly and anonymously.  The highlight of the summit was a keynote presentation by former Dallas Cowboy, Daryl “Moose” Johnston, which was followed by a panel presentation from Fort Worth community leaders that are currently working to ensure that kids are safe in schools.

Student Session Key Findings

• Overall, students feel physically safe at school.
• Another element of school safety exists besides “safety tools” (metal detectors, security officers, drug dogs) and that is the “emotional safety” of the students.  Students repeatedly discussed the elements of a positive school atmosphere including:
  • Trusting relationships between teachers and students,
  • Greater respect between students and teachers and among other students,
  • Improved communication/dialogue between administrators, teachers and students in all areas, 
  • Fair discipline polices that are consistently enforced, and
  • Rewards for positive behavior.

Table Talk
The Table Talk sessions were divided into two areas.  The first session dealt with the concept of a “Safe School.”  Table Talk II was devoted to those things that could be done to help students feel safe at school.

Session I - TABLE TALK 
This session addressed the concept of a “Safe School.”  What it means to be “safe” in school, what makes students “feel” safe, what might cause students to become violent, and what kids do when they do not feel safe.

Key Findings – Table Talk I

• The presence of a positive school environment is most important:
  • An atmosphere of respect, caring and trust between
• Student to student,
• Teacher to student
• Student to teacher
  • Environment that encourages individuality (freedom not to be criticized)
• It is not just the presence of “tools of safety” e.g., metal detectors, ID badges  that help students feel safe
• Other factors that contribute to students feeling safe are:
  • Open communication between students, teachers and administrators
  • Relationships built on trust with adults
  • Overall, school atmosphere plays an important role in school safety

When asked what the most important component of a safe school was, 24 % said open communication and genuine relationships and trust.  20% said the key was teachers being involved with students daily.  Students were then asked their opinion on what the most widespread cause of students becoming violent at school was, and 20% said misunderstanding of individuality, while 19% said teasing and verbal abuse causes violence most often.

Lastly, students were asked what makes them feel most safe at school.  Adding to a recurring theme, 28% of students decided that open relationships between teachers, administrators and students made them feel most safe at their school.   An additional 18% said that the presence of security (officers, dogs, cameras, metal detectors) made them feel safe. 

Session II - TABLE TALK
The second round of Table Talk was devoted to discussions about ideas on specific steps that could be taken to help students feel safe at school.

Key Findings – Table Talk II

• Positive relationships between students and teachers have a great impact on a  student’s feeling of safety. 
• Discipline policies must be fair and consistently enforced for all students.

Students were then asked what parents could do to help them feel safe, and students again chose options that had to do with their emotional, not physical, well-being.  31% of students said that parents should be actively involved in the child’s life (nag, ask questions, know friends).  13% said that parents should show persistent concern.

Student delegates were then asked about their opinions on discipline policies.  When asked what the most effective discipline policy was that should be used to improve student behavior, 23% said a zero tolerance policy.  However, many students commented that administrators need to understand the causes of each event individually.  An additional 18% of students agreed that a community service program such as school cleanup or grounds improvement is the most effective discipline policy.

When asked what the most immediate necessary change was to make schools safer, 22% of students answered a change in attitudes, including both more respect between students and between students and teachers.  16% said teachers must take actions to punish individuals, not entire groups.

Conclusion
Experts across the country have tried to explain the increase on a wide variety of factors – including drug and alcohol abuse in addition to the prevalence of violence in rock music, video games and Hollywood. But unfortunately, there is no single incident that causes young people to be violent at school just as there is no single step that can be taken to stop school violence. Safe school strategies run the gauntlet from establishing programs for students and staff to hiring counselors and police officers to enhancing building safety to adopting policies and procedures that are consistent and clear.

Most importantly, when discussing school safety issues, the most essential input is that from students themselves.  While students acknowledge the influence of Hollywood, music and video games, they feel that school administrators, parents, teachers and community leaders need to listen more to the emotional needs of all students.  Too often students feel as though they are singled out, and those feelings of isolation and embarrassment, say Fort Worth area students, can lead to violent behavior in school.

Student participants of Safe Schools Summit 2001 overwhelmingly consider close and open relationships, both with other students and with adults in the schools, to be the key to preventing violence in schools.