69ý

School Climate & Safety

U.S. Agencies Release Details From School Violence Research

By Darcia Harris Bowman — May 22, 2002 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print
Email Copy URL

The U.S. Secret Service and the U.S. Department of Education have released details of a new report and training guide that will conclude three years of study on the phenomenon of school shootings.

A follow-up to an interim report that was released almost two years ago, the complete findings unveiled last week offered more detail, but few surprises. (“Gunmen in School Attacks Sought Revenge, Revealed Plans,” Oct. 25, 2000.)

The report examines the behavior and thinking of 41 attackers in 37 incidents that took place over the past three decades. The federal agencies focused on “targeted” school shootings, in which schools were specifically chosen as the location of the attack with an individual, group, or the school itself as the target.

In more than three-fourths of the incidents, other individuals—a friend, schoolmate, sibling, or an adult—knew about the attackers’ plans beforehand. The message to schools: While there is no accurate profile of the “school shooter,” there are common warning signs.

School safety experts say those and other findings in the report repeat what most school administrators have already heard.

“At best, this project reinforces what those on the front lines of school safety have known and said for years,” said Kenneth S. Trump, the president of School Safety and Security Services, a Cleveland-based consulting firm. “But it also begs us to ask how much paralysis-by-analysis is needed on these issues.”

The Education Department’s chief expert on school safety disagreed, arguing that a threat-assessment guide expected to be released this month as a companion to the report will be the first of its kind. The guide will be used this summer in 12 regional training sessions for school officials.

“There isn’t a threat- assessment guide out there on the streets anywhere,” said William Modzeleski, the director of the department’s Safe and Drug-Free 69ý Program and a co- author of the report, which is not yet available to the public.

Related Tags:

A version of this article appeared in the May 22, 2002 edition of Education Week as U.S. Agencies Release Details From School Violence Research

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Artificial Intelligence Webinar
AI and Educational Leadership: Driving Innovation and Equity
Discover how to leverage AI to transform teaching, leadership, and administration. Network with experts and learn practical strategies.
Content provided by 
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
School Climate & Safety Webinar
Investing in Success: Leading a Culture of Safety and Support
Content provided by 
Assessment K-12 Essentials Forum Making Competency-Based Learning a Reality
Join this free virtual event to hear from educators and experts working to implement competency-based education.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.

Read Next

School Climate & Safety Letter to the Editor School Safety Should Be Built In, Not Tacked On
69ý and communities must address ways to prevent school violence by first working with people, says this letter to the editor.
1 min read
Education Week opinion letters submissions
Gwen Keraval for Education Week
School Climate & Safety Opinion How One Big City District Is Addressing the Middle East Conflict
Partnerships are helping the Philadelphia schools better support all students and staff, writes Superintendent Tony B. Watlington Sr.
Tony B. Watlington Sr.
4 min read
Young people protesting with signs.
DigitalVision Vectors/Getty
School Climate & Safety 69ý Feel Less Connected to School. Here's Why That Matters
There's a body of research that points to a number of benefits when students feel close to people at school.
3 min read
An illustration of a black broken chain link on a red background.
iStock/Getty
School Climate & Safety Opinion ‘Homemade’ Solutions to School Safety Can Be Fire Hazards. Here’s What to Know
With the threat of school shootings, it’s natural to guard against intruders. However, this urgency can lead to equally unsafe measures.
Lauris Freidenfelds
4 min read
Photo of chained school doors.
istock