The School-Based Partnership Program in San Diego County 
Results of Local-Level Evaluation



By 
The San Diego County Sheriffs Department and 
The La Mesa - Spring Valley Middle School


Edited by
Craig D. Uchida
21st Century Solutions, Inc.



This report and project were supported by Grant No. 1999-CK-WX-K005 awarded by the Office 
of Community Oriented Policing Services, U.S. Department of Justice to 21st Century Solutions, 
Inc.  Points of view in this document are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the 
official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice or the law enforcement agency 
involved in the study.

Copyright  by Craig D. Uchida and 21st Century Solutions, Inc.  The U.S. Department of 
Justice reserves a royalty-free, nonexclusive, and irrevocable license to reproduce, publish or 
otherwise use, and to authorize others to use, this document for Federal Government purposes. 
No part of this document may be reproduced in any forms, by any means (including electronic, 
photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the U.S. 
Department of Justice and the authors.

Published by:
21st Century Solutions, Inc.
P.O. Box 12279
Silver Spring, MD 20908
(301) 438-3132
www.e-21stCenturySolutions.com
CDUchida@aol.com


Background

Police Department 
The San Diego Sheriffs Department is the chief law enforcement agency in the County of San 
Diego.  The Department is comprised of approximately 4,000 employees, both sworn officers 
and professional support staff.  The Department provides general law enforcement and jail 
functions for the population of the San Diego in a service area of approximately 4,200 square 
miles.  In addition, the Department provides specialized regional services to the entire County, in 
both the incorporated cities as well as the unincorporated areas not serviced by a city law 
enforcement agency.  

In January 1995 the Sheriffs Department introduced a new strategy to address the issue that 
many calls to the Department were repeated calls for help.  Rather than treat each call as a 
fifteen-minute event and then proceed to the next incident, Sheriff William Kolender established 
the Sheriff Departments first Community Oriented Policing and Problem Solving (COPPS) 
teams.  Community oriented policing is both a philosophy and an organizational strategy that 
encourages and supports the deputy and the community to work closely together in new ways to 
solve the problems of crime, fear of crime, physical and social disorder and neighborhood decay.  

The Spring Valley COPPS office had its grand opening on March 17, 1996.  In September, 1999 
Corporal Jane Bailey-Sease was assigned to the COPPS office to serve as the school-based 
partnership liaison with La Mesa-Spring Valley School District.  She is also assigned to work 
closely with the community residents in Spring Valley and the unincorporated areas of La Mesa 
and El Cajon.  

Additionally, a Probation Officer from the San Diego County Department of Probation, Lynda 
Hoban, was also assigned to this project.  She was assigned half time to this project and half time 
to the School District.  In July 2000 Ms. Hoban left this assignment for another probation 
position and Sherry Marcue, Probation Officer, assumed Ms. Hobans duties in the project and 
the District.  When Ms. Marcue left for maternity leave in March she was replaced by Kevin 
Kellback, another Deputy Probation Officer.  

The Spring Valley Middle School 
The Spring Valley Middle School (SVMS) is located in Spring Valley, in the northern section of 
the community.  The attendance area of SVMS is unique because the surrounding homes range 
from multi- million dollar homes to large apartment complexes for low-income families.  The 
school facility, which is 45 years old, is positioned near a busy thoroughfare, with mini-malls 
and fast food restaurants.  There are no large parks or recreation centers near the campus.  

SVMSs student population of 1,307 includes students who speak 20 different languages and 
represent several different ethnic groups (55% Caucasian, 22% Hispanic, 15% African-American 
and 8% Other).  The school is composed of 384 sixth graders, 432 seventh graders, 386 eighth 
graders, and 55 special education students.  505 students at SVMS qualify for Free and Reduced 
Lunch (40%).  There are 60 certificated staff members and 38 classified staff members.  

Prior to the implementation of the school-based partnership program SVMSs relationship with 
the police was a sporadic and somewhat impersonal.  Administrators called the Sheriffs 
Department when they needed assistance with crime related incidents, but reports were not 
always filed for documentation.  The deputy that answered the call for assistance was whoever 
was on patrol on that time.  There were previously no relationship with a specific deputy and 
contact was mainly limited to crime incidents.  

The major issues at SVMS have been student disputes primarily verbal in nature. 
 
Implementing Problem Solving
The SARA problem-solving model has been used in the implementation of the school-based 
partnership program.  
Scanning

The scanning phased of the project involved: 1) gathering and reviewing relevant school 
community statistics, such as SANDAG population summary and forecasts, Sheriffs 
Department crime analysis reports, log sheets and juvenile arrest reports, San Diego County 
Community Assessment Team Client Data Summary, Spring Valley Healthy Start Parent 
Surveys, SVMS Student Safety Survey (1998), School Crime Reports, Suspensions, SVMS 
demographics, and SVMS achievement test data; 2) developing and administering 
comprehensive questionnaires regarding school/community problems to SVMS students, staff, 
parents, and community members; and 3) observing students in locations on and off campus to 
determine the amount and type of problems along with the most frequent locations.  The problem 
that the group decided on was student disputes, with an emphasis on bullying.  

Analysis
The analysis process involved the joint cooperation between the partners: the school district 
(LMSV project leader), law enforcement (Sheriffs Deputy) and probation (Deputy Juvenile 
Probation Officer) with assistance form the Social Science Research Laboratory (SSRL) at San 
Diego State University. The data that were came from: 1) Questionnaires administered to the 
total student body of SVMS, the total SVMS staff (certified and classified), the parents of SVMS 
students (25% return rate) and a sample of 44 business community members within a half mile 
radius of the school; and 2) Victim/Offender/Location surveys completed by school, law 
enforcement, and probation staff members related to specific student dispute situations.  The 
analysis phase of the project lasted approximately two months, during January and February 
2000.  There were no major problems or obstacles encountered during this phase.  

Response
The response phase involved all of the major stakeholders: students, staff members, parents, 
community members, and our law enforcement partners.  After a series of meetings and focus 
groups with the stakeholders over a three-month period (April-June 2000), during which the 
results of the analysis were shared, the consensus was that the project would focus on bullying 
awareness and prevention at SVMS.  

The response was implemented by designing a comprehensive bullying awareness and 
prevention program at SVMS.  We hired Stan Davis, a school counselor from Maine who is a 
national expert in bullying prevention, during the third week of school in September 2000 to 
work with SVMS students, staff, and parents.  Mr. Davis conducted presentations on bullying 
prevention for the entire student body in groups of 60 students, using magic and interactive 
theatre.  He also provided a three-hour staff development for staff members focused on creating a 
school climate that discourages bullying.  Additionally, parents were invited to an evening 
program on the bullying topic.  In the months following Mr. Davis work at SVMS, a committee 
of project staff, teachers, administrators, classified staff and students was formed to reinforce the 
anti-bullying message at SVMS.  The committee instituted a system for student reporting of 
bullying incidents (called the alligator box), revised the discipline referral form to include a 
category for bullying, and has planned and implemented a bullying prevention activity for the 
student body each month.  In addition, four large vinyl banners have been hung at the school to 
advertise the anti-bullying messages in the common areas.  

In addition to the COPS grant, the resources used to implement the response phase were:
1) Sheriffs Deputy and Probation Officers time as committee participants and their 
frequent presence on campus to interact with students (2-8 hours per week);
2) Funds from a California School Community Policing Project (SCPP) grant that was 
awarded to the District in 2000 which have been used to pay teachers for their time spent 
implementing bullying prevention activities and to purchase several two-way radios used 
for hallway and lunch area discipline monitoring; 
3) Involvement of the Districts Middle School Drug and Safety Coordinator in our anti-
bullying activities; and  
4) A juvenile diversion worker from the San Diego Youth and Community Services agency 
worked with groups of at-risk students implementing a Positive Choices curriculum.  

The response phase was one school year, from September 2000 through June 2001.  There were 
no major problems or obstacles encountered by the project during this phase.  

Assessment
The assessment was conducted using a variety of different sources of data.  The projects 
evaluator designed a pre/post-bullying census which was administered to SVMS staff members 
and students prior to the start of the program in early September 2000 and then again in June 
2001, at the end of the school year.  Project staff and school staff members were involved in 
administering the questionnaires.  

Student focus groups were convened in October 2000 and again in June 2001 to discuss their 
perceptions of the bullying problem at SVMS.  Teachers form the bullying preventions 
committee facilitated there grade level focus groups and recorder their responses.  

Finally, archived date that documented the number of suspensions and logged discipline 
incidents was used to assess the projects impact.  The vice principal was involved in tracking 
this information.  


Partnership Information
Throughout the implementation of the school-based partnership project the relationship between 
the partners has been strong and cooperative.  The major decisions have been dealt with by 
consensus of the partners, after equal participation in research and discussion.  Each partner has 
contributed to the project based on individual skills and strengths.  The three partners respect and 
support each other in all matters.  Although few formal meetings were held between the 
partners, there was, at minimum, a weekly informal exchange of information and ideas related to 
the project.  Attending training sessions and conferences together helped to strengthen the 
partnership bond, as well as the process of working together to achieve common goals.  When 
Lynda Hoban, the first probation officer assigned to the project, left the project in July 2000 her 
replacement, Sherry Marcue, was trained by Lynda and quickly became a part of the partnership 
team.  Likewise, Kevin Kellbach (Ms. Marcues replacement) was trained and became an 
effective part of the partnership team.  

Impact of the Project

Effects on police, school and participants
A major effect of the school-based partnership program on the police, school and participants is 
the close and supportive relationship that has developed between the law enforcement partners 
and SVMS.  Before the program started the presence of a police car on campus signified that 
there was some sort of trouble occurring.  Now there is a patrol car parked in front of SVMS 
several times a week and although it still could mean that there is a crime-related problem on 
campusit could also mean that the Deputy is spending the lunch hour interacting with students 
informallyor attending an after school meeting with teachers and administrators to deal with 
bullying preventionor speaking with a specific student referred by the vice principle who 
simply needs to hear from law enforcement about potential consequences of behavioror even 
teaching a class to students on drugs or a related topic.  In other words, the Sheriff Deputy has 
developed a personal relationship with the school and its students, based on trust, support, and 
cooperation.  

The increased rapport with the law enforcement as a result of the project has had an impact on 
the number of calls for service to the Sheriffs Department from the school.  During the 1999-
2000 school year there were 56 calls for service from SVMS to the Sheriffs Department.  The 
next year, during the COPS program implementation, that number increased to 83 calls for 
service, a 33.5% increase.  This increase should be viewed positively as an indication of the trust 
and rapport between school and law enforcement.  In years, past, prior to the school-based 
partnership program, the school dealt with most incidents itself and law enforcement was 
contacted only in extreme or severe incidents.  

A similar type of relationship has been built with the deputy probation officer.  Prior to the 
school-based partnership program the probation officer visited the school solely to follow up on 
individual students referred fro truancy issues.  Now the probation officer not only performs 
those duties, but also sits on the bullying prevention committee, assists the administrators with 
discipline matters, relates informally with the students and is present on campus at least eight 
hour per week, often more.  

In regard to bullying, the major issue addressed by this project, the effect on the students at 
SVMS has been very positive.  The sense of heightened awareness of what bullying is and how it 
can be stopped is apparent throughout the school from the four large banners that are 
permanently displayed in common areas to the talk between students that can be overheard 
frequently on campus.  Students have begun to report bullying to adults through the use of the 
Alligator Box, located in the library.  There is a simple form to fill out with the students 
concern.  A staff member checks the box every two hours during the day and referrals are made 
to an appropriate source to deal with the problem, usually a counselor, administrator, peer 
mediator, or teacher.  In the time period between January and June 2001, there were 39 bullying 
related reports made by students and followed up by staff members.  A comparison of the results 
of the pre and post student and staff bullying census indicate the following:

a. There is an increased level of awareness of bullying behavior on the part of both students 
and staff.  (See questions #1, 2, 3, 5 on student census and question #2 on staff survey)

b. There are an increased number of reported bullying incidents, which most likely is due to 
the heightened level of awareness.  (See questions #1, 2 on student census, question #3 on 
staff survey)

c. Regarding the efforts made through the COPS program to reduce/eliminate bullying 
behavior, 54% of students felt that the efforts were successful and 42% felt they were not 
successful.  The large number of students who felt the efforts were unsuccessful may be 
attributed to the short time factor of the programs implementation (9 months).  This time 
period was sufficient to raise the level of awareness, but perhaps not sufficient to reduce 
the actual bullying behaviors.  68% of the staff, on the other hand, felt the bullying 
prevention activities were effective and 28% felt that they were ineffective.  In fact, 86% 
of the staff members felt that bullying behavior was reduced at SVMS due to activities 
such as bullying prevention assemblies, banners, alligator box reporting system, monthly 
awareness activities, and zero tolerance of bullying behavior.

In conjunction with results of the student surveys, the effect of the program on students can be 
measured via discussion held in student focus groups. Student focus groups, divided by grad 
level and comprised of randomly assigned students, were convened at the beginning of the 
school year in October and then again in May to discuss the bullying problem at SVMS.  
Discussion lead to the following observations and conclusions by students:

a. The majority of students felt that bullying had decreased over the school year (with the 
exception of the sixth graders who felt bullying had increased since school began, 
possibly because they were more integrated in the school in May than they had been in 
September, only three weeks into a new school)

b. 6th and 7th grade students felt that increasing the level of adult supervision in certain 
remote areas could decrease bullying.  All students felt that bullying occurred when 
adults were not present.

c. Students felt that project bullying prevention activities were good and should be repeated 
more frequently (i.e., more assemblies, skits, etc.)  8the graders felt bullying prevention 
activities should be integrated into other areas of the curriculum (i.e., writing prompts).

d. 7th grade students felt that more lunchtime activities would curb bullying behaviors by 
giving students something positive on which to focus their attention.

e. 6th graders felt that the alligator box was an excellent idea, but inconveniently located 
for 6th graders.  Also, they felt that they would like to be introduced to 7th and 8th grade 
teachers so they would feel more comfortable approaching them with problems.

The number of suspensions and referrals is another measure of the effect of the school-based 
partnership project.  At SVMS there was a marked decrease in suspension incidents, from 474 
during 1999/2000 to 211 during 2000/2001, a 55% decrease.  During the same period the logged 
discipline incidents increased from 1,410 during 1999/2000 to 1,809 during 2000/2001 (a 28% 
increase).  One interpretation of these seemingly contradictory statistics is that although the 
amount of logged discipline incidents increased, this was due to an increased awareness by 
administration and staff of the importance of documenting student behavior.   Therefore, it is 
possible that the increase in logged discipline incidents may be a function of reporting methods 
by the new administrator and other staff members.  

Overall Recommendations and Conclusions
The COPS School-Based Partnership program has had a positive impact at SVMS and in the 
community. The recommendations based on the evaluation, are:

1) Work to continue the close and supportive relationship with the Sheriffs Deputy from 
the Spring Valley Community Oriented Policing and Problem Solving Office. Continue 
to request assistance for crime and violence related matters and, at the same time, 
encourage the Deputys involvement on campus for prevention and community relations 
activities.

2) Work to continue the close and supportive relationship with the Deputy Probation Officer 
from the San Diego County Department of Probation.  Continue to utilize his expertise in 
truancy matters and encourage his extended involvement on campus for prevention and 
support.

3) Continue to implement the bullying prevention program, by training the incoming 6th 
graders each fall and continuing to work on school-wide awareness, reporting, and 
discipline related to bullying behavior.  Work on developing a student training program 
for bullying prevention that will be used to train incoming groups of 6th graders yearly.  
Include expectations related to bullying in the student handbook and review them at the 
scheduled periodic all-school discipline assemblies.

4) Adopt a zero tolerance approach to bullying behavior on campus by giving offenders 
clear, swift and appropriate consequences.

In conclusion, the school-based bullying problem at SVMS is one that has been affected by the 
responses implemented during this project.  The awareness level has increased over the first year 
of implementation as a result of student training, school-wide activities, and interventions by 
adults.  To decrease the actual incidence of bullying behavior, recommendations #2 and #3 will 
be necessary to implement.
 
These statistics must also be viewed in the context of the arrival of a new vice principal during the 2000/2001 
school year.