NCJ Number
196498
Date Published
July 2002
Length
113 pages
Annotation
This handbook is designed to improve the effectiveness of data collection and use for school, district, and State staff.
Abstract
Collecting and using incident data are essential steps for creating safe schools. It is possible to develop effective prevention and intervention plans with good data. The benefits of data collection are improving overall school safety, addressing specific safety or discipline issues, conserving resources including staff time, and obtaining additional resources for school safety. Many schools have seen academic benefits from the use of strong data collection systems as part of violence prevention and school improvement efforts. Discipline data are necessary to ensure that ineffective discipline practices are modified or discontinued, effective programs are enhanced, and specialized behavior supports are arranged for students that display chronic problem behaviors. The goal of safe school planning is to create and maintain a positive and welcoming school climate, free of drugs, violence, intimidation, and fear. The challenges to data collection are accuracy, how interpretation affects the school image, how results are reported by the media, and costs of collecting data. Training is a critical element of data collection. All school staff should be trained on what kinds of behavior are to be reported to administrators. The components that ensure that reporting is reliable and valid are clear definitions, alignment of data, checks for completeness and accuracy, comparison with and contrast to other data sources, and detailed reports. In reporting incident data, it is important to report unfavorable results fully and openly along with an action plan to address the issues these data identify. It is also important to be alert to privacy issues when sharing data. The important elements for inclusion in an incident database are information about the incident itself, perpetrator data, victim data, and information about the disciplinary action taken. Communicating with the community about prevention needs is especially important. 7 figures, 2 appendixes, 46 references