Violence Prevention in Schools: A Case Study of the Thurgood Marshall Academy Public Charter High School

FINAL REPORT AUGUST 2010 VIOLENCE PREVENTION IN SCHOOLS: A CASE STUDY OF THE THURGOOD MARSHALL ACADEMY PUBLIC CHARTER HIGH SCHOOL Jocelyn Fontaine Sara Debus-Sherrill P. Mitchell Downey Samantha S. Lowry research for safer communities URBAN INSTITUTE Justice Policy Center CONTENTS ABSTRACT...........................................................................................................................III INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................................... 1 THURGOOD MARSHALL ACADEMY PUBLIC CHARTER HIGH SCHOOL................................. 1 THE ISSUE OF VIOLENCE IN SCHOOLS................................................................................. 2 RESPONSES TO SCHOOL VIOLENCE..................................................................................... 3 VIOLENCE PREVENTION AT THURGOOD MARSHALL ACADEMY.......................................... 4 PROGRAM INPUTS............................................................................................................. 5 PROGRAM ACTIVITIES AND OUTPUTS.............................................................................. 6 PROGRAM IMPACT............................................................................................................ 6 CATEGORIZATION OF VIOLENCE PREVENTION ACTIVITIES................................................. 9 DIRECT SERVICES TO STUDENTS, FAMILIES, AND STAFF.................................................. 9 ORGANIZATIONAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ARRANGEMENTS......................................... 14 DISCIPLINE AND SAFETY MANAGEMENT........................................................................ 18 STUDENT SURVEYS............................................................................................................ 21 SOCIODEMOGRAPHICS.................................................................................................... 22 PERCEPTIONS OF NEIGHBORHOOD DISORDER............................................................... 22 PARENTAL ATTACHMENT.............................................................................................. 23 TOLERANCE FOR AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOR...................................................................... 23 EXPERIENCES OF VICTIMIZATION IN SCHOOL................................................................ 24 PERCEPTIONS OF SCHOOL CLIMATE.............................................................................. 25 PERCEPTIONS OF TMA VIOLENCE PREVENTION ACTIVITIES......................................... 26 FACULTY MEMBER SURVEYS.............................................................................................. 30 PERCEPTIONS OF STUDENT BODY................................................................................. 30 PERCEPT IONS OF SCHOOL CLIMATE............................................................................. 31 PERCEPTIONS OF TMA VIOLENCE PREVENTION ACTIVITIES......................................... 34 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS......................................................................... 37 REFERENCES....................................................................................................................... 41 © 2010. The Urban Institute. All rights reserved. Opinions expressed in this document are those of the authors and should not be attributed to the Urban Institute, its trustees, or its funders. The contents of this report were funded by the Thurgood Marshall Academy Public Charter High School under a grant from the U.S. Department of Education. However, the contents of this report do not necessarily represent the policy of the U.S. Department of Education and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government. EDGAR 75.620(b). The authors wish to acknowledge the research assistance provided by Carey Anne Nadeau of the Urban Institute and Ben Grunwald of the University of Pennsylvania (formerly of the Urban Institute). ii ABSTRACT This report is based on research conducted by the Urban Institute’s Justice Policy Center on the violence prevention activities taking place at the Thurgood Marshall Academy Public Charter High School during the 2008–2009 school year. Based on an assessment of the school’s violence prevention approach using qualitative and quantitative data from stakeholder interviews, field observations, programmatic records, and surveys with students and faculty, this report includes: a logic model of the school’s violence prevention approach; detailed information on each of the violence prevention activities within the violence prevention approach and how they compare to national best practices; student and faculty perceptions of the school climate and the violence prevention approach; and recommendations to the school administrators on how to strengthen their