More Should Be Done To Keep City's Schools Safe, Report Says

During the school year, police are called to district school buildings an average of 10 times a week. Teachers and administrators are called to quell between 20 and 50 student disturbances a week.

Though consultants with the Chartwell Education Group recently reported that Pontiac schools host relatively safe environments for students and staff, the findings suggest the district can do more to promote safety and security.

Board of Education Trustee Damon Dorkins, who also works as a Pontiac police officer, believes the board and administrators need to take a firm stand against the drug possession, violence, lewd conduct and other objectionable acts in which some students engage.

"Right now in the schools, kids are breaking the law," he said. "Let's enforce the law. Let's do what we need to do to bring our schools back."

The 292-page Chartwell report, which was compiled after a fivemonth study of district management practices, includes a number of recommendations to help accomplish this.

Among them are calls to develop and execute a comprehensive safe-schools plan, provide various degrees of safety training to staff at all levels, monitor and combat the influence of gangs in the district and develop a communications plan that keeps the community apprised of school safety issues.

"A lot of times with school safety policy, it's hot and it's cold, and when it's cold is when things can get dangerous," said Scott Jenkins, an assistant director with the Chartwell Education Group.

He said Pontiac can develop an effective safe-schools policy relatively quickly, but noted that ensuring its viability is a larger challenge.

"It is a long-term change in the organization and the culture of the organization in terms of how to handle the issue of school safety," he said.

Bucking bullies

Perhaps among the more eye opening of Chartwell report findings is the fact that Pontiac has no formal anti-bullying policy.

"I was surprised, given the magnitude of the climate we have in the schools, that we didn't have a policy in place," said Board of Education President Letyna Roberts.

Describing the need for one as a top priority, she said she expects that a policy will be adopted before the start of the coming school year.

But as Jenkins said, the real challenge the district may face is enforcing whatever policy is adopted.

Dorkins said the district can no longer afford to be tolerant in some situations and heavyhanded in others.

"We can't allow politics to dictate what we're going to do once a policy is in place," he said.

Dorkins said disciplinary action must adhere to district policy and be consistently applied in all district buildings.

In addition, truly effective intervention can be achieved only with support from the full community.

"We've got to figure out a way to increase the involvement of the parents," Dorkins said. "If the parents don't discipline their kids, how can they expect the school district to discipline them?"

Roberts added that efforts must be coordinated with local law enforcement and community organizations.

"I think it's a bigger issue than just the safety of kids in the schools," she said. "It's a matter of safety throughout the community."

Marking turf

The Chartwell report indicates that Pontiac has seen visible signs of gang activity, including graffiti allowed to remain on at least one school building.

"This lack of attention is an encouraging sign to a gang and it will be an uphill battle for the district to reclaim its own turf from a gang later on," the report states.

Educators and law enforcement officials agree that dealing with gangs extends beyond school doors.

Dorkins said that while on police patrol, he has responded to a number of gang-related incidents involving youths who will not report criminal offenses. He and other officers find it frustrating when they are unable to resolve disputes and rivalries that youths appear intent on settling themselves.

"That tells me it's going to go back into our schools," Dorkins said. "It's going to fester in the schools. That's where it starts."

To counteract this dynamic, Dorkins said the community must come together as a whole to show that gang activity will not be tolerated.

Roberts agreed, suggesting a communitywide approach is needed because the issues youths face come as result of broad societal problems such as poverty and lack of opportunity.

"This lends itself to alternative means of entertainment, and that sort of lands at our doorstep," she said.

The big picture

The Chartwell report recommends empowering the district's director of security to oversee a safe-schools plan that meets state and federal guidelines, ensuring there are school safety officers at every district building and establishing a districtwide emergency communications system.

Jenkins said that in order to be effective, the safe-schools policy must consider any and all possible emergency situations and must be practiced, reviewed and revised on a regular basis.

"Really, it's a comprehensive solution that deals with the whole school environment," he said.

Though implementing school safety measures would not likely impose either a significant cost or a direct financial benefit to the district, the Chartwell report suggests that effective execution of a plan could lure estranged students and families back to Pontiac schools.

With them would come perpupil state funding that the district has seen drain out of its coffers for years.

"Without a safe school environment, parents will continue to exercise their right to move their children elsewhere. It is a matter of economics - invest now or suffer the pain created by inaction," the report states.

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