News (Media Awareness Project) - US CA: School Safety Report: County Doing Well, With Two |
| Title: | US CA: School Safety Report: County Doing Well, With Two |
| Published On: | 1999-02-26 |
| Source: | San Luis Obispo County Telegram-Tribune (CA) |
| Fetched On: | 2008-09-06 12:31:10 |
SCHOOL SAFETY REPORT: COUNTY DOING WELL, WITH TWO EXCEPTIONS
The county's schools are getting safer and the number of crimes on local
campuses is generally lower than the state average, according to statistics
from the county Office of Education.
Still, there is room for improvement, particularly in cases involving
battery and drugs or alcohol. In both areas, the countywide average has
exceeded the average statewide.
The statistics have been compiled in a report conducted by the state
Department of Education that will be released today.
The report, the "California Safe Schools Assessment," is expected to show
crime rates are falling on most local campuses.
Local school officials chalk up their safety successes to increased
prevention efforts and campus security.
And some students at Paso Robles High School on Tuesday said their
experiences lend credence to the numbers.
Jason Gowdy, a 14-year-old freshman, said he feels safer because of
security on campus provided by campus supervisor Dan Burrell and Jerry
Cathey, who is a campus resource officer and a city police officer.
"I'm also safer because they reinforce the rules," Gowdy said. "They don't
let anybody get away with anything."
Even in the two areas where countywide averages exceed the state averages
- -- in drug or alcohol offenses and battery cases -- the local rates are
declining.
Statewide results will be released today during a press conference. Those
results can be found on the state education department's Web site at
www.cde.ca.gov. beginning at 10 a.m.
As part of the state's study, local schools reported on eight crime
categories for the five districts that have 1,000 or more students: drug or
alcohol offenses, battery, assault with a deadly weapon, robbery/extortion,
sex offenses, possession of a weapon, property crimes, and the dollar-loss
to districts per student.
The Lucia Mar, San Luis Coastal and Templeton districts saw declines or no
change in most categories, but Atascadero and Paso Robles districts
reported slight increases in at least half of the categories.
In Atascadero, the largest increase was in the number of property crimes
and the ensuing costs. The rate of property crimes, measured per thousand
students, nearly doubled from the year before to 8.49 in the 1997-98 school
year.
The rate represents 51 property crimes in a district that had 6,005
students last year, and is more than double the county rate of 3.85.
Atascadero's total loss of $32,909 represented slightly more than half the
county total.
The district also had the highest rates in the county of drug and alcohol
offenses and assaults with a deadly weapon.
Superintendent Dan Dodds said he was puzzled by the increase in property
damage reports, since that issue had not previously been raised by staff or
school principals.
Dodds said there was an increase in graffiti and car vandalism at the high
school, but that he wasn't aware until seeing the state report that the
numbers were that high.
"My best guess is we've got some data that's been reported incorrectly, or
else we've got something going on I'm not aware of," he said.
Paso Robles reported increases in four categories, including drug and
alcohol offenses and possession of weapons. Although the district led the
county in the battery rate -- its 11.17 per 1,000 students is nearly four
times the state average -- it has dropped 10 percent each of the last two
years. The rate is just slightly higher than Lucia Mar's 11.09, which
declined from 16.82 the year before.
Officials at Paso Robles High School are not surprised at the improvement.
Burrell, now in his fifth year as campus supervisor, said the campus is
definitely safer than it was when he first arrived.
"Oh, goodness yes," he said Tuesday.
Burrell said he attributes that to campus programs designed to prevent
problems, along with giving students simple etiquette lessons like removing
one's hat when entering a room.
Assistant Principal Karl Dearie pointed to programs like the districtwide
Community of Caring, as well as peer mediation and conflict resolution.
"The more tools you give kids to appropriately deal with the situations
they deal with, the higher success rates you're going to have," he said.
Julian Crocker, first-year county superintendent of schools and the former
superintendent at Paso Robles, said such programs that teach values are the
best preventive measure.
"Sometimes we call it character-based education," he said. "It deals with
all students in school, as opposed to trying to designate at-risk
youngsters or kids who have already been involved in a crime."
Crocker said these kinds of programs can also help improve the numbers he's
most concerned about, the drug and alcohol offenses. He said part of the
problem is that students get a mixed message on this issue from adults
compared to other types of behavior.
"It's just a long-term problem that takes a consistent program," he said.
"There's not a magic answer to that one."
Paso Robles High student David Cano, a 17-year-old junior, said he has
never felt threatened on campus.
DJ Pavich, a newcomer this year to the school after several years in Orange
County, provided a comparison with big city schools.
"I haven't felt this safe in all my life," she said. "I have more friends
than I've ever had before. It's the best thing that's ever happened to me."
Pavich, an 18-year-old senior, said other students threatened her with guns
and knives when she attended school in Tustin. It hasn't happened in Paso
Robles.
"People are friendlier here," she said. "They accept differences."
Dearie and Pam Ables, coordinator of At-Risk Services at Lucia Mar, said
the high battery numbers can be misleading, since the state guidelines
include reporting something as minor as an elementary school student
pushing another student to the ground.
"We really take seriously the guidelines for reporting batteries," Ables
said, in part because accurate numbers will better reflect an improvement
when it occurs.
She said security was increased a year ago, when two campus security
officers were added at Arroyo Grande High School. Although they don't wear
uniforms when they bike around the sprawling campus of about 3,000
students, Ables said students know exactly who they are.
Drug dogs also make unannounced visits to campus, which Ables said has
helped convince more students not to bring drugs to campus. Of the five
districts in the county that filed the report, Lucia Mar is second only to
Templeton in the lowest rate of drug or alcohol offenses.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
- ---
Crime in San Luis Obispo County schools
Crime rates per 1,000 students for school districts with more
than 999 students enrolled:
Crime Year AT* LM* PR* SLO* Temp* County*
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
- ---
Drug/alcohol '95-96 3.75 10.46 6.45 7.39 1.09 6.97
offenses '96-97 5.21 4.67 3.42 5.54 4.39 4.82
'97-98 5.33 3.26 5.26 4.99 2.65 4.70
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
- ---
Battery '95-96 1.79 15.26 13.25 5.33 0.55 8.47
'96-97 1.63 16.82 12.21 1.53 2.44 8.39
'97-98 2.00 11.09 11.17 1.39 2.65 7.23
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
- ---
Assault w/ '95-96 0.16 0.48 0.68 0.12 0.00 0.34
a deadly '96-97 1.14 0.47 0.33 0.47 0.00 0.53
weapon '97-98 0.50 0.28 0.33 0.12 0.00 0.27
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
- ---
Robbery/ '95-96 0.33 0.10 0.34 0.61 0.00 0.28
Extortion '96-97 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.12 0.49 0.06
'97-98 0.17 0.28 0.00 0.23 0.00 0.19
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
- ---
Sex '95-96 0.00 0.29 0.34 0.12 0.00 0.17
offenses '96-97 0.00 0.37 0.49 0.00 0.00 0.22
'97-98 0.00 0.00 0.33 0.00 0.00 0.08
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
- ---
Possession '95-96 0.33 2.78 0.85 1.57 1.64 1.54
of a weapon '96-97 0.16 2.06 1.30 0.83 0.00 1.30
'97-98 0.50 1.12 1.64 0.81 0.00 1.02
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
- ---
Property '95-96 4.56 5.09 5.44 2.18 2.19 4.01
crime '96-97 4.72 6.17 3.09 2.00 0.98 4.10
'97-98 8.49 2.70 3.29 2.44 3.53 3.85
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
- ---
District's '95-96 $1.72 $2.78 $6.22 $1.05 $2.24 $2.55
dollar loss '96-97 $1.28 $2.67 $0.85 $0.90 $1.22 $1.69
per student '97-98 $5.48 $0.88 $0.95 $1.05 $0.76 $1.70
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
- ---
*Heading abbr.
AT Atascadero Unified
LM Lucia Mar Unified
PR Paso Robles Joint Unified
SLO San Luis Coastal Unified
Temp Templeton Unified
County San Luis Obispo County
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
- ---
Source: SLO County Office of Education
The county's schools are getting safer and the number of crimes on local
campuses is generally lower than the state average, according to statistics
from the county Office of Education.
Still, there is room for improvement, particularly in cases involving
battery and drugs or alcohol. In both areas, the countywide average has
exceeded the average statewide.
The statistics have been compiled in a report conducted by the state
Department of Education that will be released today.
The report, the "California Safe Schools Assessment," is expected to show
crime rates are falling on most local campuses.
Local school officials chalk up their safety successes to increased
prevention efforts and campus security.
And some students at Paso Robles High School on Tuesday said their
experiences lend credence to the numbers.
Jason Gowdy, a 14-year-old freshman, said he feels safer because of
security on campus provided by campus supervisor Dan Burrell and Jerry
Cathey, who is a campus resource officer and a city police officer.
"I'm also safer because they reinforce the rules," Gowdy said. "They don't
let anybody get away with anything."
Even in the two areas where countywide averages exceed the state averages
- -- in drug or alcohol offenses and battery cases -- the local rates are
declining.
Statewide results will be released today during a press conference. Those
results can be found on the state education department's Web site at
www.cde.ca.gov. beginning at 10 a.m.
As part of the state's study, local schools reported on eight crime
categories for the five districts that have 1,000 or more students: drug or
alcohol offenses, battery, assault with a deadly weapon, robbery/extortion,
sex offenses, possession of a weapon, property crimes, and the dollar-loss
to districts per student.
The Lucia Mar, San Luis Coastal and Templeton districts saw declines or no
change in most categories, but Atascadero and Paso Robles districts
reported slight increases in at least half of the categories.
In Atascadero, the largest increase was in the number of property crimes
and the ensuing costs. The rate of property crimes, measured per thousand
students, nearly doubled from the year before to 8.49 in the 1997-98 school
year.
The rate represents 51 property crimes in a district that had 6,005
students last year, and is more than double the county rate of 3.85.
Atascadero's total loss of $32,909 represented slightly more than half the
county total.
The district also had the highest rates in the county of drug and alcohol
offenses and assaults with a deadly weapon.
Superintendent Dan Dodds said he was puzzled by the increase in property
damage reports, since that issue had not previously been raised by staff or
school principals.
Dodds said there was an increase in graffiti and car vandalism at the high
school, but that he wasn't aware until seeing the state report that the
numbers were that high.
"My best guess is we've got some data that's been reported incorrectly, or
else we've got something going on I'm not aware of," he said.
Paso Robles reported increases in four categories, including drug and
alcohol offenses and possession of weapons. Although the district led the
county in the battery rate -- its 11.17 per 1,000 students is nearly four
times the state average -- it has dropped 10 percent each of the last two
years. The rate is just slightly higher than Lucia Mar's 11.09, which
declined from 16.82 the year before.
Officials at Paso Robles High School are not surprised at the improvement.
Burrell, now in his fifth year as campus supervisor, said the campus is
definitely safer than it was when he first arrived.
"Oh, goodness yes," he said Tuesday.
Burrell said he attributes that to campus programs designed to prevent
problems, along with giving students simple etiquette lessons like removing
one's hat when entering a room.
Assistant Principal Karl Dearie pointed to programs like the districtwide
Community of Caring, as well as peer mediation and conflict resolution.
"The more tools you give kids to appropriately deal with the situations
they deal with, the higher success rates you're going to have," he said.
Julian Crocker, first-year county superintendent of schools and the former
superintendent at Paso Robles, said such programs that teach values are the
best preventive measure.
"Sometimes we call it character-based education," he said. "It deals with
all students in school, as opposed to trying to designate at-risk
youngsters or kids who have already been involved in a crime."
Crocker said these kinds of programs can also help improve the numbers he's
most concerned about, the drug and alcohol offenses. He said part of the
problem is that students get a mixed message on this issue from adults
compared to other types of behavior.
"It's just a long-term problem that takes a consistent program," he said.
"There's not a magic answer to that one."
Paso Robles High student David Cano, a 17-year-old junior, said he has
never felt threatened on campus.
DJ Pavich, a newcomer this year to the school after several years in Orange
County, provided a comparison with big city schools.
"I haven't felt this safe in all my life," she said. "I have more friends
than I've ever had before. It's the best thing that's ever happened to me."
Pavich, an 18-year-old senior, said other students threatened her with guns
and knives when she attended school in Tustin. It hasn't happened in Paso
Robles.
"People are friendlier here," she said. "They accept differences."
Dearie and Pam Ables, coordinator of At-Risk Services at Lucia Mar, said
the high battery numbers can be misleading, since the state guidelines
include reporting something as minor as an elementary school student
pushing another student to the ground.
"We really take seriously the guidelines for reporting batteries," Ables
said, in part because accurate numbers will better reflect an improvement
when it occurs.
She said security was increased a year ago, when two campus security
officers were added at Arroyo Grande High School. Although they don't wear
uniforms when they bike around the sprawling campus of about 3,000
students, Ables said students know exactly who they are.
Drug dogs also make unannounced visits to campus, which Ables said has
helped convince more students not to bring drugs to campus. Of the five
districts in the county that filed the report, Lucia Mar is second only to
Templeton in the lowest rate of drug or alcohol offenses.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
- ---
Crime in San Luis Obispo County schools
Crime rates per 1,000 students for school districts with more
than 999 students enrolled:
Crime Year AT* LM* PR* SLO* Temp* County*
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
- ---
Drug/alcohol '95-96 3.75 10.46 6.45 7.39 1.09 6.97
offenses '96-97 5.21 4.67 3.42 5.54 4.39 4.82
'97-98 5.33 3.26 5.26 4.99 2.65 4.70
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
- ---
Battery '95-96 1.79 15.26 13.25 5.33 0.55 8.47
'96-97 1.63 16.82 12.21 1.53 2.44 8.39
'97-98 2.00 11.09 11.17 1.39 2.65 7.23
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
- ---
Assault w/ '95-96 0.16 0.48 0.68 0.12 0.00 0.34
a deadly '96-97 1.14 0.47 0.33 0.47 0.00 0.53
weapon '97-98 0.50 0.28 0.33 0.12 0.00 0.27
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
- ---
Robbery/ '95-96 0.33 0.10 0.34 0.61 0.00 0.28
Extortion '96-97 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.12 0.49 0.06
'97-98 0.17 0.28 0.00 0.23 0.00 0.19
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
- ---
Sex '95-96 0.00 0.29 0.34 0.12 0.00 0.17
offenses '96-97 0.00 0.37 0.49 0.00 0.00 0.22
'97-98 0.00 0.00 0.33 0.00 0.00 0.08
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
- ---
Possession '95-96 0.33 2.78 0.85 1.57 1.64 1.54
of a weapon '96-97 0.16 2.06 1.30 0.83 0.00 1.30
'97-98 0.50 1.12 1.64 0.81 0.00 1.02
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
- ---
Property '95-96 4.56 5.09 5.44 2.18 2.19 4.01
crime '96-97 4.72 6.17 3.09 2.00 0.98 4.10
'97-98 8.49 2.70 3.29 2.44 3.53 3.85
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
- ---
District's '95-96 $1.72 $2.78 $6.22 $1.05 $2.24 $2.55
dollar loss '96-97 $1.28 $2.67 $0.85 $0.90 $1.22 $1.69
per student '97-98 $5.48 $0.88 $0.95 $1.05 $0.76 $1.70
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
- ---
*Heading abbr.
AT Atascadero Unified
LM Lucia Mar Unified
PR Paso Robles Joint Unified
SLO San Luis Coastal Unified
Temp Templeton Unified
County San Luis Obispo County
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
- ---
Source: SLO County Office of Education
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