TEENS SUGGEST THEY GET MORE AVENUES TO TALK AS A WAY TO CURB SCHOOL VIOLENCE

Houston-area students offered suggestions on ending school violence
Friday to a panel that included U.S. Secretary of Education Richard
Riley.

Some suggestions included allowing spiritual advisers on campus to
counsel students; expanding the anti-drug program Drug Abuse
Resistance Education, known as DARE, into junior high and high
schools; and offering peer-to-peer counseling.

U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Houston, Houston police Chief C.O.
Bradford and area school administrators also joined the panel at
Scarborough High School in Houston.

Jackson Lee said the students' comments mirrored what their peers have
said during hearings on school violence in Washington, D.C., following
the Littleton, Colo., school shootings. She said their comments
indicate adults need to create more opportunities for students to talk
about their concerns.

"I don't think the conversation has ended on this question. There is
still some pain and confusion. I'm hearing over and over that young
people want to be listened to. A listener in the school is vital,"
said Jackson Lee. "We've been teaching the `three Rs' but we've missed
guidance, counseling and hearing."

Jackson Lee, chairwoman of the Congressional Children's Caucus, wants
to see matching federal funding made available to help pay for either
a guidance counselor or school nurse on every public school campus,
and offer more intervention services for at-risk children other than
the juvenile justice system. She said she would like to see more
forums in the community for students to talk about violence.

Riley also stressed to the group of students from Houston and North
Forest school districts that overcoming the aftermath of Littleton
will require parents, students and teachers to reconnect with one
another through communication.

"This nation has been shaken by what happened in Littleton, Colo.
People all across the country now are beginning to talk to one
another," he said. "These discussions are good. We must continue to
talk to one another after we leave this auditorium."