ED465254 - Symposium--The Safe Schools Healthy Students Initiative: The Evaluation Context in District Wide Initiatives - ERIC-ED465254 | Content Details

ED465254 - Symposium--The Safe Schools Healthy Students Initiative: The Evaluation Context in District Wide Initiatives

Author: Massey, Oliver T.; Armstrong, Kathleen; Lattimore, Pamela; Boroughs, Michael; Tucker, Joan; Santoro, Gina

Source Institution: University of South Florida, Tampa. Research and Training Center for Children's Mental Health

Sponsoring Agency: National Inst. on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (ED/OSERS), Washington, DC

Publication Type: Reports - Evaluative - - Reports - Research - - Speeches/Meeting Papers

Subject: Behavior Disorders, Discipline, Discipline Policy, Elementary Secondary Education, Emotional Disturbances, Incidence, Prevention, Program Effectiveness, Program Evaluation, Referral, School Counselors, School Districts, School Safety, Urban Schools, Violence

Abstract: This report discusses the outcomes of two studies that investigated the effectiveness of the Safe Schools Healthy Students Initiative (SS/HSI), a federal grant program designed to promote healthy childhood development and prevent violence and substance abuse. The first study, titled "Results of a Longitudinal Study of Disciplinary Referrals in an Urban School District," evaluated the success of programs funded by the grant in Pinellas County (Florida) schools. It investigated referral patterns over a 3-year period from 1998-2000. While results show that violence does occur in these schools, the frequency of violence appears to be much lower than perceived by the general population. Of the 109,628 students enrolled during the 1999-2000 school year, 42,615 students had at least one disciplinary referral with at total of 180,912 referrals reported in the district. A small percentage of these referrals were either violent or policy type referrals. The majority of referrals (80 percent) were in the classroom behavior and campus/school rules categories. The number of referrals did not change over the 3-year period; however, fighting did decrease. In the second study titled ''A Factor Analysis of Perceptions of Violence in Pinellas County Schools," 101 school counselors were surveyed on school safety and familiarity with SS/HSI program strategies. The majority of counselors (60%) perceived their school to be safe. Teasing and bullying were their major concerns.