Preventing School Violence through the B.A.D.G.E. 2019 Conference: An Opportunity and Responsibility for School Leaders, LEAs and Schools

This past week on January 8-9, 2019, Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama hosted the first of a five-year B.A.D.G.E Preventing School Violence Conference series. It was conducted through the Orlean Beeson School of Education. I had the honor of keynoting and training both days at this conference, as well as serving as a co-designer of the content and structure. B.A.D.G.E. is a style of conference that could be replicated in different cities and venues all for the same purpose of increasing safety in schools - wherever it could be beneficial.

The aim of the two-day conference was to teach skills that could create a climate in schools and communities that was more supportive of students at risk of violence and less conducive to these potential incidents occurring. Since the first year of the conference series centered on behaviors – by adults, students, communities, families, and even states – a lot of time was spent with participants in understanding behaviors that lead towards violent actions primarily by students and those that could lead towards prevention. In essence, the first-year conference goal was to Apply Behavioral Skills Where They Matter Most.

B.A.D.G.E. is an acronym, not just a symbol of organized leadership. For the conference series, B.A.D.G.E. is represented by:

• B for Behavior
• A for Attitudes
• D for Differentiation
• G for a Growth Mindset and Gradual Release, and
• E for Excellence and Elevating Sustainability.

The five B.A.D.G.E. topics are the themes of each of the respective years of the conference series. Below is a video describing the B.A.D.G.E. process, courtesy of Samford University, available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivtmBKu-YZE.

When reflecting on the incidence of school violence in America, prevention is at the forefront for many education leaders. Before dialoging on prevention, lets discuss some of the thoughts that may initially come to mind about this problem. Here is a short list of some of these ideas that set the stage for a discussion on prevention:

• School violence is preventable,
• Kids (and families) who are at risk need many supports,
• Gaps in services to students (and families) exist and are harmful,
• Students who commit acts of violence (physical or intimidation-based) are often managing internal pain beforehand,
• The media inundates us with news of lockdowns and violent events, but seldom showcases prevention that is ongoing and helpful,
• This generation of students (like previous ones) wants us as leaders to come up with solutions; the same is true for families and communities,
• Lastly, bullying is an ever-present problem for schools, adults, families, and communities to deal with and prevent.

Notice that I started with the positive presupposition that prevention is possible. I emphasize this to counter the vast stream of news stories which report problems and not their solutions. In order start the discussion, we need to know that solutions are achievable. We need to make that realization become deep-seated in our heart. Students in need of supports can be reached. Problems and gaps in services – even longstanding ones – can be solved. Solutions can be found and practiced. So, in order to press forward in finding these solutions, we have to activate our minds towards the creative possibilities in each of us to attain and attract them. As I told the participants in the conference, The Power to Prevent School Violence is in the Room (i.e. accessible to all those who are reaching for it).

With these things in mind, I'm reminded of how much "behavior" is a part of each assumption about school violence and the solutions that can be generated in response.

School violence is not something new and it spans many forms, including bullying, abuse, threatening, fights, gang violence, weapon use, cyber acts of intimidation or threatening, other forms of hate-speech, and even to devastating acts of violence that involve law enforcement and the justice system to make a short list (See CDC, About School Violence). Also, in previous generations the problem of school violence and the need for safe schools may have been more focused in scope and dealt with issues that were primarily attended to by the school in question. In recent times, however, with the growth of the instantaneous news cycle and the heightened fear that parents have, the most prudent solutions that can foster more supportive environments in schools are collaborative, inclusive, and restorative where possible, and they involve many of the stakeholders who support schools in the expansive work of education. Scarlett Lewis, who lost her child Jesse in the Newtown school shooting also stresses the importance of social emotional learning (SEL) which brings engagement, supports, awareness, and sensitivity to student’s as they learn (To learn more, see the Jesse Lewis Choose Love movement, which she leads). Empathy does not mean that punishment and alternative educational settings are avoided – actually the opposite is true. It means to provide the services and supports every at-risk student needs and not ignore any threats to safety.

Nowadays, two main issues simultaneously challenge schools in the work of violence prevention. The first is the need for healthy, comprehensive systems that identify students in need of supports and then the school, LEA, and community can provide these students. States and LEAs using comprehensive solutions like PBIS, RTI, and MTSS are well on the road towards systematic identification and supports for all students. With that is also the need for effective understanding of threat assessment protocols - of which another article series could easily be written (For more, see the US Department of Education, 2014, the National Association of School Psychologists, 2015 and materials in the conference Appendix). Second, is that schools need to increase the level of empathy for students who are emotionally-hurting inside and learn to more fully use inclusive behavioral interventions like restorative practices/restorative justice that can create a sense of holistic improvement, amends, and that every member of a school body can be a part of the solution. Empathy does not mean that punishment and alternative educational settings are avoided – actually the opposite. It means to provide the services and supports every at-risk student needs and not ignore any threats to safety.

Along these lines, the B.A.D.G.E. 2019 Preventing School Violence conference aimed to train in ways to recognize trigger behaviors before the occurrence of violence. Also, as this understanding grew during the conference in the context of learning about supports and the start of a behavioral toolkit, participants were shown that changing behavior is as much of a reality for adults as it is for students who are at risk. Finally, an added aim on the second day of the conference was to involve a wide range of viewpoints in a panel discussion and then in respective breakout sessions to discuss applicable areas including:

• Countering threats that are known,
• Suicide prevention,
• School finances for violence prevention,
• Mental health supports, and
• Effective responses to bullying and intimidation in the ways it impacts students, including how this relates to gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender students.

With all this in mind, let’s take a closer look at the problem of school violence and the urgency for finding and applying solutions.

From the research, what does the incidence of school violence in America look like?

There are many answers to that single question of what school violence looks like, but no single perspective fully can bring calm to families who have endured this problem firsthand. According to the federal government in a 2017 report by the Institute for Education Sciences (IES), nearly all forms of school violence have seen a drop over the past ten or more years under study (generally comparing 2005-6 rates with 2015-16) for all student groups averaged together. Thus, IES found that bullying rates in schools decreased from 29 to 11 percent; gangs affecting schools from 20 to 11 percent; bullying from 28 to 21 percent; and student victimization through theft and more violent means, from 10 to 3 percent (Source: IES Indicators of School Crime and Safety, 2017, Executive summary, pages v to vi, indicators 3,7, 8, and 11).

While the IES findings indeed seem to point towards hope, much work is still needing to be done because (a) school violence is harmful wherever it occurs and (b) many disparities exist even where aggregate numbers show improvements. An example of a disparity, for instance, is that while overall decreases were reported in the number of fights reported to have occurred, for students who self-identified as gay or lesbian, or bisexual higher rates were reported of being in a fight in the previous month either generally or on school grounds, at 28 and 11 percent, respectively compared to their heterosexual peers, at 22 and 7 percent, respectively (IES, indicator 5). Another disparity was shown by the level of victimization occurring toward teachers, which rose each of the over previously surveyed years to 6 percent except 2011-12 where it was the same. Taken together, these findings remind that the levels of violence in schools still requires urgency in our prevention, protection, mitigation, response, and recovery (For more also see the US Department of Education Guide for Developing High Quality School Emergency Operation Plans, 2013).

The problem of school violence extends much further than the US borders – its presence is global. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development – a multinational member organization of 36 countries including the US reported that 14 percent of 15-year-olds in the US found their learning was hindered because of intimidation and bullying (IES, page 28). While 11 counties reported rates higher than the US, and the Netherlands reports a percentage that is double that in the US, bullying and intimidation are still serious problems for students and schools.

As a final example, the Center for Homeland Defense and Security (CHDS) in Monterey, California maintains an ongoing database of gun violence in US schools. Their K12 School Shooting Database shows a steep rise in school gun violence rates spanning the years 1970 to the current time. Their research also depicts something that is quite troubling:

Out of the past 48 years, from 1970 to 2018, the year with the largest number of gun incidents which involved one or more deaths in K-12 schools was the highest in 2018, at 55. A similar graph combining numbers of those injured and killed was also highest in 2018!

Source: Center for Homeland Defense and Security (2018). K-12 School Shooting Database. Retrieved on December 11, 2018 from https://www.chds.us/ssdb/incidents-by-injured-killed-annually/ .

The impact of these statistics cannot be understated.

?The problem is at hand. The time for prevention is now. Most every student in America – if given the choice – would want to attend safer schools. Therefore, it is incumbent on our nation and leaders across the spectrum in schools, districts, support agencies, non-profit organizations, state safe school agencies (As examples, see Oregon’s Safe Schools and Communities Coalition, or New York State's Center for School Safety), and state and federal public servants that we all work together in actions that lead to prevention.

One such action is to promote healthy dialogue, discourse, awareness, and professional learning, as occurred at the B.A.D.G.E. 2019 Preventing School Violence conference. The highlight of the conference was that leaders were able to work on action planning based on the skills of proactive discipline techniques, restorative-type interventions, and ways of increasing the reach of their services to all students and student groups.

This year's conference included a group of over 60 education leaders spanning many diverse locations in Alabama - representing schools, LEA, and service providers. There were principals, superintendents, teachers and former teachers, consultants, counselors, a counter threat group, a non-profit agency serving area schools, and also those in higher education.

It is hoped that the B.A.D.G.E. conference in 2020 on Reforming Attitudes will have the honor of continuing this ever-important work of violence prevention in schools to an even greater degree.

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Dr. Jonathan Doll is an alumni of the Harvard University's Strategic Data Project, which is run by the Graduate School of Education (2015). He authored the book, Ending School Shootings: School and District Tools for Prevention and Action (2015) as a result of a 2013 school shooting in Centennial, Colorado at Arapahoe High School 364 days after the Newtown school shooting. He dedicated his book to Claire Esther Davis, who lost her life as a result of the Arapahoe High School shooting. He also featured a story about his own mother's impact in the Chicken Soup for the Soul Series, Best Mom Ever (2017). Dr. Doll's opinions are his own.