Try running a school system.
Administrators with savvy are less likely to be counting sheep these days than they are to be lying there, listening to their hearts pound.
It can't happen here. But of course it does.
Violence, that is, or threats.
When Foxboro High School went into lockdown this week after discovery of a live bullet and a bullet casing at King Philip Middle School in Norfolk, officials were reacting in exactly the manner that's warranted in light of so many horrific statistics. The police came, returned the next day and counselors were brought in. In Foxboro, arrests were made.
The response was a template for the right way to do things.
Move in, shield the kids and ask questions later.
Some of us might like being whisked through the TV screen into the 1950s of seemingly stable families and a sense of security, the experience of siblings in the 1998 film "Pleasantville."
But those fantasy days are gone. Did they ever exist?
Today's challenges call for schools to muster tough tactics without a shred of ambivalence or apology when it comes to behaviors, overt or veiled, that place students in jeopardy. These are not limited to a pocket of ammunition, but extend to bullying, stalking, ridiculing and the spreading of rumors meant to humiliate.
The raw truth of troubles brewing within some young people has surfaced again and again, from Columbine High School in April 1999 when 12 people were killed to a death this year at Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School.
A teen there charged with stabbing and killing a high school classmate "intimidated and harassed other students" with talk of "the perfect murder," and looked for a random victim before following a freshman into the bathroom on the morning of the slaying, a prosecutor said this week, reported The Associated Press.
The following, suggestions from the National Youth Violence Prevention Resource Center, sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control, should be considered for adoption by all schools in the area, all of which already have set in place zero-tolerance policies regarding firearms and ammunition:
E Start a conflict resolution program to teach students to handle conflict peacefully.
E Start a drama troupe to develop productions with non-violence themes, such as peaceful conflict resolution, respect for diversity, and tolerance.
E Launch a school crime watch program.
E Plan a non-violence rally or dance, and encourage other students to make a commitment to avoiding conflicts.
E Start a "peace pledge" campaign, in which students promise to settle disagreements without violence, to reject weapons, and to work toward a safe school for all.
E Set up an anonymous hot line so students can share their concerns if they feel threatened or know of someone who may become violent.
E Set up a forum for students to talk about how school violence is affecting their lives and to brainstorm about possible solutions.
There is precedence across the country for the kind of fast action displayed this week by the picture-perfect New England communities of Foxboro and Norfolk.
We'd like to say that school violence "can't happen here."
This is what every school administrator across the country, every parent and every student would like to believe.
The real nightmare is this: It can happen anywhere, at any time.
http://www.thesunchronicle.com/articles/2007/03/09/opinion/opinion1.txt
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