| Releases
& Statements
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 2, 2007
Contact: John Collins, Press Secretary
(212) 669-4193; (917) 496-4587
Release #: 022-2007
Public
Advocate Gotbaum: DOE's Failed School Safety Policies Undermine
Efforts to Improve Student Achievement
- New Report finds that conflict resolution
providers doubt DOE school safety policies -
MANHATTAN
– The Department of Education’s (DOE) school safety
policies are undermining its own efforts to improve student achievement,
according to a new report today by Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum.
The report, Conflict Unresolved, found that conflict resolution
providers in City schools believe the DOE’s safety policies
fail to address the root causes of conflict in schools.
Public
Advocate Gotbaum called on the DOE to reform its school safety
policies by creating a central Conflict Resolution Office, establishing
a conflict advisor position in select schools and establishing
a school safety planning committee. Over the last three years,
the DOE has increased its safety budget by more than $20 million.
Yet recent DOE data shows that, when comparing the first four
months of the 2005 school year to the first four months of the
2006 school year, school crime has actually increased 21 percent.
Public
Advocate Gotbaum said, “By teaching students how to resolve
conflict, you teach them the skills they need to succeed in school
and in life. But the DOE is failing to give students these tools.
Reforming our system will help teach students to create safe environments
and do well in school.”
The
new report is based on a survey of conflict resolution providers
that was created and disseminated by the Office of the Public
Advocate and the National Center for Schools and Communities (NCSC).
The survey yielded responses from 35 conflict resolution organizations,
which work with approximately 55,000 students a year. The questions
asked about the providers’ overall experiences working in
City public schools. The survey found that:
-80 percent of respondents do not agree that DOE
school safety policies adequately address the social/emotional
needs of the high school students;
-85 percent of providers to middle schools do not
agree that DOE school safety policies effectively address the
root causes of violence and disruptive behavior; and
-86 percent of providers to high schools do not agree
that the DOE school discipline policies are sustainable in promoting
long-term results in dealing with disruptive students.
The
report also found that dissatisfaction with DOE policy is greatest
at the high school level where school safety polices are most
rigid and punitive and the most students are suspended.
Last
week, Public Advocate Gotbaum visited P.S. 191 in Manhattan, where
administrators integrate concepts of conflict resolution into
the curriculum and day-to-day life of the school. The students
explained that there have been fewer fights and they've learned
skills to help them deal with conflict and violent situations
in their own neighborhoods and homes.
Public Advocate Gotbaum outlined a series of steps to help the
DOE provide conflict resolution programs effectively in City schools
- and help improve student safety and achievement:
1. Establish a Conflict Advisor/Counselor Position in Select Schools:
DOE should launch a pilot program in select schools to hire a
full-time conflict counselor to work with students and lead family
engagement initiatives. The advisor could also be a teacher trained
and certified in conflict resolution and social/emotional support,
who could receive a bonus or stipend;
2. Create a Central Conflict Resolution and Social/Emotional Programs
Office: This office would be in charge of evaluating existing
conflict resolution and social/emotional programs and building
institutional support for these programs;
3.
Establish a School Safety Planning Committee: The City currently
lacks a School Safety Planning Committee to advise the Chancellor
on matters pertaining to the social/emotional health of the schools
and on school safety in general. The DOE should design such a
group, similar to one created in Los Angeles, that would include
representatives of the DOE, teachers and principals unions, parents,
and students, among others. This body would review policies, provide
a forum for discussion of school safety issues, and create standards
to implement programs that are preventive rather than punishment-based.
John
M. Beam, Executive Director of the National Center for Schools
and Communities at Fordham University, said, “The Public
Advocate’s report indicates that City Hall and the Department
of Education, as they did in the case of their third grade retention
initiative, have ignored a solid body of academic research, in
this case work demonstrating the positive impact of conflict resolution.
Moreover, they have also once again chosen to delete institutional
history, namely, the 17-year experience of the Board of Education’s
Office for Resolving Conflict Creatively Program. Groups like
ESR, EARS, and Peace Games provide the humane alternatives to
extra cops, metal detectors, and criminalizing our students.”
The
report follows up on a February 2007 report released by Public
Advocate Gotbaum that said that the DOE is not doing enough to
support conflict resolution training and services in City schools.
To view the
report, click here.
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