For some students, violence is a part of life. A reluctance to acknowledge violence as a problem is all too common. The fact that they were committed by minors on minors does not make them less than crimes. In addition, attackers naturally prefer to act where adult witnesses can't see and hear. In recent years, gangs and drug trafficking have spread from the big cities where they originated to smaller communities and suburbs.
Some school districts do courageously face the reality of violence.
Following a 1987 high school shooting death, Portland, Oregon, school officials acted swiftly to counter gang activity. Superintendent Matthew Prophet held a press conference in February 1988 to announce the school board's new antigang policies. Today, though gang violence remains a citywide problem, it has been controlled in the schools. You also have to teach them prosocial skills. Curricula that teach nonviolent ways of resolving conflict are a promising preventive strategy.