• Safety Tips:
• School Safety: Getting There Safely
• Statistics: Hazing - It's Not Just for Fraternities
• Community Safety:School Security
• One Opinion: Open to Discussion

School Safety:

As the summer draws to a close and our thoughts turn toward the upcoming school year, one of the foremost issues on the minds of many parents will be making sure their children get to and from school safely. Whether your kids walk, ride a bicycle, are driven, or ride the bus, there are things you can do to make sure they arrive safely each morning.

First, go over your childrens' route and if necessary, make a few ‘dry runs’ before the first day. If they will walk or bike to school, find the route with the fewest intersections or streets that need to be crossed and, if possible, look for streets that are monitored by crossing guards. Also, make sure they don't travel alone; kids traveling in groups are less likely to be approached by a stranger.

If your kids will be taking the bus, make sure they know how to get to and from the bus stop; again, using the route with the fewest street crossings. If you will be driving your children to school, be sure to drop them off close to the building and let them know where you will pick them up at the end of the day. Advise them that while you will make every attempt to be there on time, there may be instances when you arrive late. If they find themselves waiting for you after everyone else has left, they should return to the school building until you arrive. You may also want to consider appointing a ‘back-up parent’ for your children and let them know to look for that person if they do not see you at the usual meeting place.

Regardless of how your kids will get to and from school, be sure they know their address, home telephone number and your work or cell phone number. This information can prove to be invaluable should traffic or other unexpected circumstances keep you from meeting them at the appointed time. You should also make sure your children have enough change in their backpacks to call you if necessary.

Statistics:

Earlier this spring, a group of high school girls in suburban Chicago participating in an annual Powderpuff football game made nationwide headlines when this seemingly innocent rite of passage turned violent. Many of us watched in disbelief as images of teenage girls covered in mud (and in some cases, animal feces) were shown over and over gain on news channels throughout the country. In the days that followed, we learned that the game was a
long-standing, albeit unofficial, tradition in which female members of the junior class were "initiated" into the senior class.

Long associated with college fraternities, hazing has become more widespread in high school circles as well. A survey of 1,500 high school juniors and seniors conducted in April 2000 by Alfred University, revealed the following:

• 48% of the students who belong to groups reported being a victim of some sort of hazing activity; 43% characterized the activity as "humiliating", while 30% said they were required to perform potentially illegal acts.
• 25% of those who have been the victim of a hazing incident say the incident took place before they had reached their 13th birthday.
• 23% say that illegal or dangerous substances were used during their hazing incidents.
• 36% of the students responding who had been involved in hazing incidents said that they did not report the incident to an adult.

The full survey results can be found at the National School Safety Website .

Community Safety:

As we approach the 2nd anniversary of the September 11 terror attacks, terms such as "code red alert", "contingency planning" and "disaster recovery" have made their way into our lexicon as a way of describing how we are dealing with the ever-present threat of terrorism.

Sadly, the events of the last two years, in addition to a steady increase of violent incidents taking place on school grounds, makes it necessary for school officials to spend as much time planning for terror attacks and random acts of violence as they do developing curriculum.

In many places, schools are the center of the community. They are not only places where children go to learn, they are where athletic, cultural and social events take place on a regular (and in some cases, daily) basis. As a result, every precaution should be taken to make sure our schools are secure, yet welcoming. Unfortunately, many school districts are caught between trying to implement security measures and maintaining a budget.

Accordingly, earlier this year, Secretary of Education Rod Paige announced that $30 million has been made available for schools to fund the development and implementation of crisis management plans during fiscal 2003, with an additional $30 million earmarked for fiscal year 2004. That’s good news for the many schools trying to maintain a balance between budget and safety. In addition, according to the National School Safety Center, many states, counties and local governments may also have funds available.

The National School Safety Center offers assistance to school district personnel interested in applying for federal or local grants. For more information, visit their website at www.nssc1.org

One Opinion, Open to Discussion: Being Prepared

As I write this, New York City, as well as many cities and towns throughout the northeastern United States are still recovering from the massive power outage that turned off the lights on August 14th. Here in central New Jersey, we were lucky: our lights were out for about two hours, however, we later learned our outage was the result of a downed power line and was not part of the larger problem facing so many other people.

Nonetheless, it only took about 2 hours of living without electricity to make me realize just how much my family and I depend upon it, and just how ill-prepared we are for a situation like this.

We learned of the power outage on our way home from an afternoon at the county 4-H fair. As the radio gave us reports of power being out from New Jersey to Michigan, we pulled into the driveway and readied ourselves for the long haul.

As my husband resurrected flashlights from the closet, I went in search of a battery-operated radio. My daughter volunteered her combination CD player/radio, however, upon opening the back, I discovered it would take 8 "C" batteries to operate. A quick search of the battery drawer yielded three candidates, and a raid of the kids’ toys resulted in 4 more, leaving me one battery short of my connection with the outside world.

Fortunately, after a little more rummaging through the house I found another radio that required only two "AAA" batteries and minutes later, we were "reconnected".

Next, my thoughts turned toward dinner. While we do not consider ourselves picky eaters by any means, we do rely fairly heavily on the stove (electric) and microwave (also electric) in meal preparation. Cereal and milk was an option, but that meant opening the refrigerator and with temperatures in the 90’s, opening the door (even for a few seconds) would drastically reduce the chances of salvaging the remaining food. We finally decided on peanut butter and jelly, however, as I was on my way out to the store to get bread, the lights came back on.

This experience, while just really a minor inconvenience, has served as a wake-up call for my husband and I. While we are thankful that we were spared the inconvenience many other people endured (and even more thankful that it appears terrorism was not the cause), we realize that the ever-present threat of terrorism has placed many of the things we take for granted (including electricity) at risk. We are going to spend the next few days preparing ourselves a little better - and that includes making sure we have plenty of batteries!

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