Safe
Schools:
Tips for Parents
Parents
can help create safe schools. Here are some ideas that parents
in other communities have tried:
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- Discuss
the school’s discipline policy with your child.
Show your support for the rules, and help your child
understand the reasons for them.
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Involve your child in setting rules for appropriate
behavior at home.
- Talk with your child about the
violence he or she sees on television, in video
games, and possibly in the neighborhood. Help your
child understand the consequences of violence.
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Teach your child how to solve problems. Praise your
child when he or she follows through.
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Help your child find ways to show anger that do
not involve verbally or physically hurting others.
When you get angry, use it as an opportunity to
model these appropriate responses for your child,
and talk about it.
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Help your child understand the value of accepting
individual differences.
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Note any disturbing behaviors in your child. For
example, frequent angry outbursts, excessive fighting
and bullying of other children, cruelty to animals,
fire setting, frequent behavior problems at school
and in the neighborhood, lack of friends, and alcohol
or drug use can be signs of serious problems. Get
help for your child. Talk with a trusted professional
in your child’s school or in the community.
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Keep lines of communication open with your child,
even when it is tough. Encourage your child to always
let you know where and with whom he or she will
be. Get to know your child’s friends.
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Listen to your child if he or she shares concerns
about friends who may be exhibiting troubling behaviors.
Share this information with a trusted professional,
such as the school psychologist, principal or teacher.
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Be involved in your child’s school life by
supporting and reviewing homework, talking with
his or her teacher(s), and attending school functions
such as parent conferences, class programs, open
houses and PTA meetings.
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Work with your child’s school to make it more
responsive to all students and to all families.
Share your ideas about how the school can encourage
family involvement, welcome all families and include
them in meaningful ways in their children’s
education.
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Encourage your school to offer before-and-after-school
programs.
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Volunteer to work with school-based groups concerned
with violence prevention. If none exist, offer to
form one.
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Find out if there is a violence prevention group
in your community. Offer to participate in the group’s
activities.
- Talk
with the parents of your child’s friends. Discuss
how you can form a team to ensure your children’s
safety.
- Find
out if your employer offers provisions for parents
to participate in school activities.
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From
Early Warning, Timely Response: A Guide to Safe Schools,
published by the United States Department of Education,
August, 1998.
Helpful Links
The
Missouri Center for Safe Schools
- promotes safe and orderly schools by providing assistance
in identification of resources and by facilitating networking
of schools across Missouri as they develop effective ways
of dealing with violence and other safety related problems.
Missouri
School Violence Hotline - report threats against
students, teachers and schools.
The State of Missouri, through a grant from the Department
of Public Safety, has established a statewide School Violence
Hotline to help school districts and law enforcement agencies
be aware of reports of school violence as early as possible
and to ultimately make schools safer.
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