Dr. Wangari Maathai--"environmentalist, human rights advocate, global peace worker, and community builder"--passed away in 2011. The first African woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, Dr. Maathai left a legacy even greater than the 47 million trees that her organization, the Greenbelt Movement, has planted across Kenya since 1977. As the Nobel…

Vandalism is a prevalent problem on college campuses. This paper will describe why vandalism is not as readily noticed in higher education as a major problem and what those institutions can do to reduce the issue. Surveillance will be discussed as one of the various ways in which a campus can reduce crime on campus and make the college safer.…

This article describes the use of an observation system to measure middle school staff practices, environment characteristics, and student behavior in the school common areas. Data were collected at baseline from 18 middle schools participating in a randomized controlled trial of school-wide Positive Behavior Support. The observations were…

This report presents findings on crime and violence in U.S. public schools, using data from the 2007-08 School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS:2008). SSOCS provides information about school crime-related topics from the perspective of schools by asking school principals about the frequency of incidents, such as physical attacks, robberies, and…

From 2003 to 2005, fires on school properties cost about $85 million a year. An estimated 14,700 fires required a fire department response: 36 percent were trash fires, 19 percent were fires in open fields, and 43 percent were structural fires. Sometimes, the needs of school security seem to conflict with the requirements of fire safety. In this…

This report details how political and military violence targeting educational systems is depriving a growing number of children of the right to education. This study focuses on targeted violent attacks, carried out for political, military, ideological, sectarian, ethnic or religious reasons, against students, teachers, academics, education trade…

Social movement research suggests that protest is effective because it de-legitimizes existing policies and imposes costs on power holders. The author tests this hypothesis with data on African-American student protest and the creation of departments of African-American Studies. The author finds that nondisruptive protest, such as rallies and…

Public or private, K-12, college or university, no one knows their facilities better than school maintenance and operations staff--from the front-line custodians to facility managers. When it comes to planning restrooms for new construction and renovation, operational experience is especially critical. Applying best practices in advance can save…

This guide addresses school vandalism and break-ins, describing the problem and reviewing the risk factors. It also discusses the associated problems of school burglaries and arson. The guide then identifies a series of questions to help analyze each local problem. Finally, it reviews responses to the problem, and what is known about them from…

A daily war is waged in schools all over the United States over wall space. Adolescents are using school walls to convey messages, create name recognition, slander each other, or for claiming territorial space. On the other side is the school administration, which paints over and erases these unsanctioned claims to space, power and identity, as it…

Schools are the primary means by which society transmits skills, values, and concepts about self to youth. Without a safe and secure environment, it becomes virtually impossible for students to learn. This book reports on one project to change the atmosphere of fear in a high school. Eleventh grade students were taught the SARA (Scanning,…

Israeli students (N=600) responded to a questionnaire dealing with motives for participating in vandalism. Factors accounting for such motivation included perceived level of vandalism at school, attitude toward school, attitude toward teacher, and school anxiety. Punishment, father's level of education, sense of hope, and class level had no effect…

Describes how a New Hampshire school system eliminated internal school vandalism and bomb threats, and reduced the number of false alarms, by using video security software (WebEyeAlert security solution) that is accessible via a variety of methods from remote locations. (Author/EV)

Public schools that use punitive approaches toward student discipline can unwittingly promote violence and other antisocial behavior. This article reviews constructive and preventive methods to reduce school violence and vandalism. Various strategies are presented and discussed. (Contains 62 references.) (Author)

Discusses how creative planning can help schools to keep washroom traffic moving, deter vandalism, and reduce maintenance. (EV)