Securing the Schoolyard

Dr. Nicholas D. Young has worked in diverse educational roles for more than 30 years, serving as a principal, special education director, graduate professor, graduate program director, graduate dean, and longtime superintendent of schools. He was named the Massachusetts Superintendent of the Year; and he completed a distinguished Fulbright program focused on the Japanese educational system through the collegiate level.Dr. Christine N. Michael is a more than 40-year educational veteran with a variety of professional experiences. She holds degrees from Brown University, Rhode Island College, Union Institute and University, and the University of Connecticut, where she earned a PhD in education, human development, and family relations. Her previous work has included middle and high school teaching, higher education administration, college teaching, and educational consulting. She has also been involved with Head Start, Upward Bound, national non-profits Foundation for Excellent Schools and College for Every Student, and the federal Trio programs and has published widely on topics in education and psychology.Jennifer A. Smolinski received a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology and a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from the University of Connecticut. She then earned a Masters of Arts in Psychology and Counseling as well as a Masters of Higher Education Student Affairs from Salem State University before completing a Juris Doctor of Law from Massachusetts School of Law. Attorney Smolinski is currently an EdD in Educational Leadership and Supervision candidate at American International College, where she is focusing her research on special education and laws to protect students with disabilities in the classroom.

It is essential that all school administrators, teachers, staff, stakeholders, students, families and communities read Securing the Schoolyard:Programs and Practices that Promote Safety and Prosocial Student Behavior. Strikingly revealed is that school violence does not just occur in the United States, but across the entire world and can be far more emotionally harmful than anyone realizes. In their work, the authors provide strategies and suggestions that will ensure safety is paramount for all students but take particular care to provide strategies for lesser recognized groups of students, such as students with disabilities and other marginalized populations.

• AcknowledgementPrefaceChapter 1: From Grade School to Guns: The History of Violence in American SchoolsChapter 2: Actions Around the World: Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Student SafetyChapter 3: Bad Behavior in School and Cyberspace: Bullying and its Role in School ViolenceChapter 4: What We See is What We Get: The Role of Society and the Media in School ViolenceChapter 5: Protocols that Protect: Successful Systems to Ensure School SafetyChapter 6: All are Invited: Addressing the Needs of Marginalized Student PopulationsChapter 7: Strong Partners in Prevention: School-Community-Police RelationsReferencesAbout the Authors