Fear & Safety at School

The Educational Testing Service report on factors that influence student learning identifies fear and safety as important factors. “Researchers have found that a positive disciplinary climate is directly linked to high achievement (Barton, Coley, and Wenglinsky, 1998; Byrk, Lee, and Holland, 1993; Chubb and Moe, 1990).” And once again, the factors are more severe in minority schools. “Minority students are more likely to report issues of fear and safety at school. The gaps widened for students reporting the presence of street gangs and fights in school, and remained unchanged for students reporting feeling fearful in school.” There are two distinctly different sets of issues here: those that occur outside the classroom and those that occur within the classroom. The latter has received far less attention. “In 1992, NAEP asked fourth graders how much they agreed or disagreed with the following statement: “Disruptions by other students get in the way of my learning.” Forty- three percent of White students agreed or strongly agreed, compared with 56 percent of Black students and 52 percent of Hispanic students. Since then, no similar measure is available.” Again, the issue of a moral imperative becomes clear. While it will involve significant expense, do we not have an obligation to insure that all students in all schools are protected from threat?