The recent violence that occurred in California and Pennsylvania has once again focused the nation's attention on the issue of youth violence and school safety. Principals at middle level and senior high schools, more than any other position in our educational system, have been under great pressure to address the issue of school safety, and as schools leaders they cannot shy away from the fact that violence has unfortunately become a major focus of the schoolhouse.
Principals bear a major responsibility to protect students and staff from acts of violence.
The recent spate of violence in our nation's schools has dramatically exacerbated this awesome responsibility. Unfortunate still, the recent shootings have once again raised the misconceptions that violence is prevalent in our schools. To be sure, the overwhelming majority of schools are safe and the school is actually the safest place for students. School-based homicides account for an extremely small fraction of child fatalities, and the federal government has noted that school violence has declined steadily since the early 1990s. Ultimately, though, perception is reality.