October 7, 2008
Karla Denny, Director of Communications, 785-296-4876
SAFE SCHOOLS WEEK OCTOBER 19-25, 2008
Topeka/ The Kansas State Department of Education is proud to sponsor Kansas Safe Schools Week October 19-25, 2008. Kansas Safe Schools Week is designed to increase awareness of school violence prevention, promote classroom and campus safety, and spread the word about programs designed to help all members of school communities throughout the state operate in productive, safe environments.
Kansas Safe Schools Week is a focused program that supports its national counterpart, National Safe Schools Week. National Safe Schools Week is seven days each fall dedicated to helping students, teachers, parents and administrators raise awareness of the urgent need to keep our schools free from violence. Over 1,000,000 students across America take a weapon to school each month, and over 1.3 million students are injured or threatened with a weapon at school each year (Source: US CDC). In virtually all the incidents of school and campus violence that have occurred in America thus far, the perpetrator(s) have been "avengers", bullied students who were responding to a real or perceived injustice and seeking vengeance. Most of the perpetrators have been students or school personnel known by the school and have told someone they know about their intentions. In some rare instances, the perpetrator has been an outsider or unknown to the school community.
In Kansas during the 2006-07 school year, 3,359 felonies/misdemeanors were reported at schools, down from 3,614 the previous year. There were 651 expulsions, down from 931 in the 2005-06 year. Violent acts against students dropped from 7,508 in 2005-06 to 7,318 in 2006-07, and violent acts against staff decreased from 893 in 2005-06 to 820 in 2006-07.
(Source: KSDE k-12 School Reports http://www.ksde.org/Default.aspx?tabid=223)
By working together to research and implement new safety programs, such as those designed to prevent violent behavior by creating an atmosphere at home and at school where our children do not have to use violence to express their emotions, all Kansans can make a positive difference.
Throughout the week, schools and communities across America will focus their attention on the importance of empowering youth to prevent violence in the places where they learn and hang out. With the support of several national organizations, including national leaders in the fields of education, violence prevention and school safety, Kansas Safe Schools Week events bring together key members of our schools and communities concerned about protecting youth in the state. For more information about Kansas Safe Schools Week activities, contact Kent Reed. His contact information is as follows: kreed@ksde.org Phone: 785-296-8109. The following links also have information regarding safe schools.
Kansas Safe Schools Resource Page:
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