EDUCATIONAL SERVICE DELIVERY
This chapter discusses Wall Independent School District's (WISD's) educational service delivery system, student performance and safety and security measures in five sections:
- A. Student Performance
- B. Curriculum and Instructional Resources
- C. Special Programs
- D. Alternative Education Programs and Dropout Prevention
- E. Safety and Security
E. SAFETY AND SECURITY
One of the most critical issues facing school districts today is the need to provide safe and secure schools. Children and staff alike have a right to expect their schools to be free from harm and to be secure environments conducive to learning. But in recent years, research indicates that educators, parents and students perceive that crime and violence in schools is increasing. And they have reason to feel this way: According to a January 2000 TSPR report, Keeping Texas Children Safe in School, criminal activity in our schools is escalating.
The 1995 Texas Legislature addressed the issue of school violence by revising Chapter 37 of the Texas Education Code requiring each Texas public school to adopt a student code of conduct for discipline management and to establish consequences for misbehavior. The code also requires that each school district create an alternative education program for students guilty of misconduct. In addition, TEA collects and publishes data from each school district describing occurrences of violent and criminal activity on school grounds. Clearly, the state places a high value on the rights of children to attend public schools that provide a safe learning environment.
TSPR has discovered that many districts find it difficult to enforce state laws, and discipline often is meted out unevenly across districts. Keeping Texas Children Safe in School was a TSPR attempt to cause school officials to think differently about safety and security. According to the report, an effective program of safety and security begins with an understanding of three key elements:
- Prevention-the foundation laid to deter crime and violence, such as published codes of conduct that outline clear expectations and punitive measures for violations;
- Intervention-acts intended to defuse situations before they become dangerous, such as reminders of the consequences of misbehavior; and
- Enforcement-actions taken in the aftermath of misbehavior, such as placement in an alternative education program.
Exhibit 2-23 demonstrates TSPR's ten-step solution for a comprehensive and successful school safety program:
Exhibit 2-23 Source: TSPR: Keeping Texas Children Safe in School, January 2000.
TSPR Ten Steps to School Safety
Key Elements Steps Processes and Practices Prevention Know your goals and objectives: where your district is going and what you want to accomplish.
- Identify roles and responsibilities.
- Prepare a comprehensive plan.
Establish clear expectations for students, parents, teachers and administrators.
- Develop the student code of conduct in compliance with the law, and make it clear.
- Apply the code of conduct consistently.
- Make sure everyone knows the rules.
Address warning signs before they turn into trouble
- Know what to look for; share information.
- Take action.
Intervention Look for trouble before it finds you.
- Remember that detection takes many forms.
- Restrict outsiders' access to students.
- Establish an effective truancy program.
Recognize trouble when you see it.
- Know who is in your neighborhood.
- Give students ways to deal with bad situations.
- Identify students and families who need help.
Have individuals in the right place at the right time to intervene. Have a plan of action appropriate for the occasion, and practice it.
- Action plans should be specific.
- Rehearse the plan.
Enforcement Leave no room for double standards.
- Use the student code of conduct to set the standard.
- Apply the code of conduct consistently.
Ensure that discipline management extends inside and outside the classroom.
- Provide teachers and staff with appropriate training in discipline-management techniques.
- Give teachers support when students persistently misbehave.
Alternative programs are not just a matter of compliance with the law; they are many children's last chance at success.
- Learn what works and try to reproduce it.
- Know the alternatives.
A 1994 TEA report noted that, as schools have grappled with safety issues, several "themes" have emerged, including:
- the importance of partnerships among schools, law enforcement and social service agencies to deal with problems and share information;
- the need for accurate record keeping and reporting of misbehavior at school, particularly of a criminal nature;
- the need for alternative education programs for students who cannot succeed in regular school environments;
- the importance of recognizing and imitating schools with effective safety and violence prevention programs; and
- the need for staff training to help educators manage critical situations.
TEA collects and reports a variety of data on misbehavior and violent incidents on Texas campuses. Alternative education programs were authorized with the 1995 revision of the Texas Education Code.
FINDING
WISD has become increasingly concerned about school violence. Although surveys indicate that most respondents feel as safe at WISD as they would anywhere else, the administration and staff members have become more alert to potential hazards. In the past two years, for example, WISD has:
- developed and printed a crisis management plan that is kept handy in each classroom;
- held related training programs and practice drills, as well as weather alerts;
- rehearsed evacuations, taking high school students into San Angelo on buses and activating a "buddy system" for kindergartners who are "adopted" by older elementary or junior high children and escorted to a designated safe place;
- sent administrators to workshops, often in cooperation with Region 15, to help them learn to profile students with potentially serious problems; and
- enlisted more cooperation from the sheriff's department by encouraging deputies to spend time on campus becoming acquainted with students as well as the school's physical layout.
COMMENDATION
WISD has developed a strategic approach to crisis management that ensures that the school is as ready as it can be for any unforeseen emergency, crisis or security breach.
FINDING
WISD participates with nine other small area school districts in a cooperative alternative education program (AEP). Each district contributes financially to the program to obtain equipment, materials, staff and transportation services for the Fairview Accelerated Education Cooperative campus located in WISD. WISD acts as fiscal agent for the cooperative.
Fairview's student enrollment has risen from 30 in 1994-95 to 48 in 2000-01. In the seven years Fairview has been operating, 153 students have graduated from the program. In 1999-2000, 28 students graduated from Fairview and only one dropped out. Although dropout data are not yet available for 2000-01, 27 students graduated and the only one that might be considered a dropout moved away. Students may participate in the program until they have caught up with their peers, at which time they can return to their home school or elect to stay in Fairview until they graduate.
Fairview also operates a discipline alternative education program at the same location for students who have violated state laws or district codes of conduct. The two programs do not mix. The Fairview campus also has an on-campus nursery for students with children.
COMMENDATION
The Fairview cooperative has proven to be a cost-effective solution for helping at-risk students.
FINDING
TSPR's surveys and comments submitted by staff, parents and members of the public indicate that certain urban problems are encroaching on WISD. In the small, close-knit community of Wall, volunteerism and cooperation are common, and the community takes great pride in its school district. However, most school districts are facing up to the reality that, even in remote areas, schools are becoming more vulnerable to drugs, gangs and random violence.
Given this state of affairs, a community-wide committee to address school safety and security seems not only appropriate but timely. Sharing ideas and resources through such a committee could prove to be an excellent way to air concerns and develop community-based solutions to local problems.
Recommendation 14:
Develop a community safety committee to tap into area resources and share information.
Assembling a strong group of community leaders to share ideas is an excellent way to begin. In addition to key school personnel, the group should include representatives from law enforcement, fire departments, social and psychological services, health care providers, emergency services and the business community. The group should be as large as possible to ensure that a fair number can attend each meeting. Members should meet at least once a month, initially to exchange ideas about how to increase safety awareness within the schools. For example, law enforcement officials should receive copies of school floor plans, daily e-mails of absentees and school crisis management plans. School officials might participate in the sheriff's "civilian rider" program. Law enforcement and emergency personnel could be invited to career days. Such resource sharing would allow the school district to tap into valuable community resources while exposing the community at large to the school's needs.
IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES AND TIMELINE
1. The superintendent and school principals meet to select school personnel to serve on the community safety committee. October 2001 2. Principals ask teachers and staff to suggest persons within the community who might serve on the committee. October 2001 3. The superintendent invites candidates to participate, explains the potential value of the initiative to the community and follows up with letters of appointment. November 2001 4. The superintendent describes the purpose of the committee and asks participants to bring suggestions for safety improvement to the next meeting. December 2001 5. At the next meeting, committee members begin brainstorming and interact to improve existing safety and emergency management practices. January 2002 - Ongoing 6. Committee members continue to meet and form subcommittees as appropriate. Ongoing FISCAL IMPACT
This recommendation can be implemented with existing resources.
FINDING
Chapter 37 of the Code of Education requires each school district to prepare a student code of conduct that specifies expectations for appropriate behavior. WISD, however, does not have a consistent student code for its schools.
The high school, for example, has a "discipline management plan" that contains much of the material ordinarily found in a student code of conduct. The elementary and junior high codes are included in student handbooks but "code of conduct" is not mentioned on the cover. Taken as a whole, these materials appear to have been assembled to meet the state requirement, not necessarily to serve an instructive purpose. While conduct codes may vary among a district's schools, they should reflect a common intent and appearance.
Recommendation 15:
Review and revise school handbooks and disciplinary management plans to ensure that students, staff and parents are provided a common set of expectations and consequences.
The superintendent and principals should review all student handbooks and codes of conduct to ensure that their tenets are being enforced. The words, "Student Code of Conduct" should be clearly displayed on the front cover, even if the document is also considered a student handbook. Code-related materials should have a common format and should be dated. Each should have an accompanying signature page that parents and students should be required to sign and return, indicating that they have reviewed the information. In addition, code-related information should be reviewed during an in-service program at least annually.
IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES AND TIMELINE
1. The superintendent, school principals and other designees form a task force to review all handbooks for content, consistency and readability. September 2001 2. The task force begins its review of the code of conduct and the district disciplinary plan to ensure that the cited consequences are appropriate for misbehaviors at different grade levels. September 2001 3. The task force and/or its designees prepare handbooks for each school reflecting a consistency of intent across the district. Each should include a signature page. December 2001 4. Computer graphics and art teachers develop a competition for the cover design and general production of the manual. January 2002 5. The task force submits a draft of the codes to a representative group of teachers and students for their input and makes changes as appropriate. February 2002 6. The task force submits a draft of the materials to the district attorney for a legal opinion. March 2002 7. The task force arranges to have the student handbooks printed, perhaps by a community volunteer. May 2002 8. The task force distributes the handbooks to staff members during fall in-service training and trains them on key points. August 2002 9. The task force distributes handbooks to students early in the first month of school and holds informational assemblies on the contents. August 2002 10. Principals continue to revise a "master copy" of their school's handbook during each school year and print an updated version, as needed each summer. Ongoing FISCAL IMPACT
This recommendation can be implemented with existing resources.
FINDING
Although, the incidence of drug use by WISD students has been reported to be less than 1 percent, concern is increasing. As the community has grown and changed, WISD has found itself facing some of the same problems, urban schools confront. More than 400 parents and community members attended a special board meeting in February 2001 called to address this issue.
Comments gathered through TSPR surveys indicate that many members of the community remain deeply concerned about this issue. Nearly 40 percent of parents and 45 percent of students believe that drugs are a problem in the district, compared to 10 percent of teachers and 22 percent of district administration and support staff.
In an effort to attack the drug problem before it becomes serious, WISD contracts with a private drug-dog tracking firm. The district does not rely on the Sheriff's Department for this service because the department is in the process of certifying new dogs.
Recommendation 16:
Carry out drug searches at all schools using Sheriff's Department-certified dogs.
The Tom Green County Sheriff's Department will not charge for the use of its drug dogs, allowing the district to terminate its contracted service agreement and saving $1,200 per year. This move will also demonstrate a strong partnership between the district and local law enforcement.
IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES AND TIMELINE
1. The superintendent or designee contacts the Sheriff's Department to ask for notification when its dogs have been certified. October 2001 2. The superintendent or a designee arranges for unannounced searches in all district schools. November 2001 3. The superintendent notifies board members, staff and students of the new procedure, explaining that searches will be unannounced November 2001 FISCAL IMPACT
The private company places drug dogs on campus four times a year at a cost of $300 per visit. This recommendation would result in a savings of $1,200 each year.
Recommendation 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 Carry out drug searches at all schools using Sheriff's Department-certified dogs. $1,200 $1,200 $1,200 $1,200 $1,200 FINDING
WISD is accessed via Loop 570, which intersects US Highway 87, a major thoroughfare into San Angelo and a source of considerable concern among WISD personnel. Access to and from the school via the major highway is all too convenient, leaving the school vulnerable to unwanted intrusions. Furthermore, the speed limit is 70 miles per hour where Loop 570 intersects with the highway, making driving conditions potentially dangerous in the area, particularly in light of the amount of school traffic passing by. Finally, the Highway 87 road sign that points to WISD is so small that it is barely noticeable until a driver is almost upon it. This may lead to a serious accident, particularly with so many young drivers negotiating this intersection before and after school.
Recommendation 17:
Work with local law enforcement, the Texas Department of Public Safety and the community to study the intersection of US Highway 87 and Loop 570.
Administrators should meet with key community members and law enforcement personnel to decide how to propose a study of this dangerous intersection. The combination of poor roadside signage, a high speed limit and the number of teenage drivers who use US Highway 87 before and after school may prove deadly.
IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES AND TIMELINE
1. The high school principal meets with the Tom Green County sheriff and a representative of the Texas Department of Public Safety to review procedures for recommending that the intersection be studied. October 2001 2. The principal and law enforcement officials gather data supporting the claim of a dangerous intersection, such as traffic accidents, affidavits of near-accidents and moving violations in the area. December 2001 3. The principal and/or superintendent follow procedures for recommending a study of the intersection, which might include meeting with a representative from the Texas Department of Transportation and/or county commissioners. March 2002 FISCAL IMPACT
This recommendation can be implemented with existing resources.