While the rate of violent crime in our schools has declined in recent years, it is still unacceptably high. There were approximately 11,000 incidents of physical attacks or fights in schools in which weapons were used during the 1996-1997 school year. Increasing school resource officers and school counselors so that schools have counselors not only after a tragic event occurs, but before to help avoid the trauma in the first place.
Public schools have hundreds of students for every school counselor.
The likelihood of school violence will be reduced if the number of counselors and resource officers are increased so that fewer troubled children slip though the cracks. Providing resources to create violence prevention programs to train educators and other community members to recognize the danger signs of school violence before it happens. This initiative supports partnerships between schools, families, law enforcement and mental health facilities to establish anti-truancy, mentoring, conflict resolution, mental health and early child development programs. Some pages may not translate properly.