Public School Safety: A Handbook, with a Resource Guide

Violence among youth in public schools is one of America's most pressing concerns. Once thought to be something only inner-city schools faced, it has spread to suburban and rural schools.

There are no easy solutions to the problem, but this book explores what administrators and other school officials can do to structure school safety programs to curb student violence. An introduction provides information and statistics about the causes of school violence.

Chapter One considers government legislation and resulting initiatives to reduce youth violence and improve classroom discipline. Chapter Two covers strategies for building a school safety program, and offers recommended and tested approaches for creating safety initiatives. Chapter Three provides additional information about school-wide strategies and presents model programs that can be implemented at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. Chapter Four examines character-building educational programs and discusses training for teachers and parents. Chapter Five is a directory of organizations, alliances, centers, professional development groups, publications, and websites dealing with school safety.

Now retired, Joseph P. Hester taught at the university level for 10 years, at the public school level for 10 years, and served as a public school administrator for 17 years. He has written extensively on ethics, philosophy and education. He lives in Claremont, North Carolina.