Watch out for ‘leakage’: These are some clues students can look out for to help prevent school violence
This is the story of a child who was shot, allegedly by another student, at a school in California.
It’s still unclear why the 16-year-old shot herself in the head and chest with a high-powered rifle. She had told her mother she was going to a birthday party Saturday morning.
By the time her mother, Christine Boulay, got to the school, the boy was gone. The gun was still in his hands.
Now in its third year, a new school security program, called “No Place for Hate,” is used in all 55 public schools in the Bay Area, including ones that are at a high or middle risk for violent incidents.
It’s a joint effort between the school districts and the California Department of Justice, whose goal is to reduce violent crime in schools. And it’s one of several programs being used to help curb the problem at schools across the country.
So how does it work?
Like all programs, it has its share of failures.
First, the program’s director, Bill Heidary, has to make a personal commitment to the school and to the students.
Next, the program is put in place.
Finally, it has to be evaluated and tweaked before it’s put into the hands of students.
What, exactly, is the No Place for Hate program?
It was started by the Los Angeles Unified School District two years ago and has been used across most of the country.
The program’s goal is to give students like Aaron Boulay, a 16-year-old who was shot Saturday at the Academy for Exceptional Young Women at Marymount High School in Oakland.
Aaron Boulay
“The kids who are already experiencing and feeling the stigma of being labeled violent, it could cause a significant problem in the future,” Heidary said.
The program has two main parts.
First, it gives students and parents a chance to get involved in the school’s anti-violence plan, which is made up of six steps that get students talking with parents,
