Since children spend most of their day in and around school, teachers and school officials are in an optimal position to make meaningful connections with students and to help identify those students who are most at risk. In conversations about school violence, it is necessary to first put the problem in its proper perspective. Despite recent, highly publicized school shootings, schools are one of the safest places for children. Children are far more likely to be killed after school, in their own homes, or in their friends' homes than in school. According to the departments of Education and Justice, just 10 percent of all public schools reported any incidents of serious violent crime to the police, and victimization reports by students have steadily declined over the last decade.
Students have a less than one in a million chance of suffering a school-associated violent death.
Although schools are witnessing a decline in violent crime, physical fights, and weapon possession, fear of violence has increased. Between 1989 and 1995, the percentage of students who felt unsafe while they were in school or traveling to and from school increased. In addition, the number of public school students who report the presence of gangs in their schools nearly doubled from 1989 to 1995. To address the growing climate of fear in our schools, we must take steps to reinforce the reality that schools have been and continue to be safe havens for children. While several school districts across the country have responded to concerns about school violence with metal detectors and surveillance cameras, these solutions do not get to the heart of the problem.