Chicago Schools, Police Increase Measures To Curb Youth Violence

In the second year of a high school anti-violence initiative, Chicago Public School officials are left wondering one thing: Are these efforts working to save kids' lives?

In Chicago, nearly 700 children were hit by gunfire last year and 66 of them died, NPR reports. That number is up from the previous year, even though the total number of homicides in Chicago fell to a 45-year low last year.

CBS reported that last week, with spikes in temperature, 19 people were shot in 48 hours. As melting snow gives way to more street activity, the city and schools are looking to take new proactive measures to stop violence before it starts.

As part of the evolving anti-violence initiative in schools, principals and police now communicate about brewing trouble.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel also has made student safety one of his top priorities.

Terry Mazany, acting CEO of Chicago Public Schools, tells NPR that although none of the homicides involving young people in Chicago in recent years actually happened on school grounds, they can't ignore it.

"We live in a city, and in communities, where we have students who are exposed to extraordinary risks in their lives," Mazany says. "We play a particular role in where we see that we can help to assure the safety and well-being of a young person. That's important."

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Comments

[rusterile]

04:43 PM on 03/21/2011

Question: Who isn't opposed to school violence?

Answer: Those that commit school violence.

Question: How do we get those that commit school violence to oppose school violence?

Answer: I don't know.

[Jay Rand]

12:28 PM on 03/22/2011

You can't. All you can do is remove them from school which schools WON'T - in fact, they are falling all over themselves trying to get the most troubled students to stay.

Don't look for a solution to this in public schools. Yes it happens in private schools too.

The MORE options have parents have, the more pressure and incentive school officials will have to make schools safer with healthier social environments and actually get rid of students who are hurting, threatening, and bullying other students. The only pressure in public schools is that teachers and administrators might be disciplined for not reporting bullying. I don't see much of that happening. I don't see enough natural incentive there for that to ever work.

[rusterile]

05:21 PM on 03/22/2011

I like the idea of removing them but from the school but then what do you do with them? These are usually troubled kids from troubled homes and environments and if you just let them go it could cause even more problems. Maybe the solution would be some sort of place with a controlled environment that gave opportunities for those who wanted to improve their behavior and grades so they could return to a regular classroom. The rest stay safely until they are say 18 and then they are on their own. Might cost a bit but it might be worth it?

[Godheard SentU]

12:19 AM on 03/24/2011

"How do we get those that commit school violence to oppose school violence?"

Great Question!
(First, we should say, Thank You, to the Police, Firefighters, Doctors and Nurses that attempted to save these children. Anyone that thinks they should lose any of their Collective Bargaining Rights should have their head examined.
My opinion, they do it so you, I and everyone else are free to focus on solving major problems and building a great country.)

Makes me think of the quote:
“So long as there are people suffering, there will be violence”

End suffering, End violence?
Is it possible President Thomas Jefferson was addressing it when he wrote about Independence, “life, liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Was he looking out over a wide open, never-ending country and thinking, “There is no logical reason a person shouldn't have access to the basics; food clothing and shelter. With access to these three things a person would truly be free to pursue Happiness.”

I have great faith in this country. I look at a map of the Unite States of America and there is NO shortage of land to grow food or provide shelter. I see plenty space between the dots (towns). Ask a truck driver or airplane pilot, “How much vacant land is there between the East Coast and West Coast?
Can you think of ONE good reason why we have poverty, homeless and starving children?”

See you on the Impact Page or Patch.com.