• Members of one or a few powerful student social cliques control virtually all student leadership positions within the school. Dominance of the means of voicing student opinion by a small group may leave other students feeling they have no voice within the system (i.e. through student government, school media). The critical issue is that all students feel that they (or students they perceived to be like themselves) have a realistic opportunity to play a leadership role or to access channels of communication on issues of concern to them; the issue is not whether the students actually take advantage of the opportunity.
  
  
• Local history of youth violence. Once a major incident or even a series of minor incidents of violence occur in a community, the odds of more violence are enhanced. Some types of violence, such as gang violence or cross-school violence, can spawn retribution. Other forms of violence and intimidation (such as an actual school shooting or a bomb threat) can inspire copycat actions.
  
  
• Little or no social interaction among students across racial, ethnic, or socio-economic class lines. Even though academic classes within a school may contain cross-sections of students, students may be self-segregating outside of class. This self-segregation can occur in the formal context of clubs, organizations, or teams, or informally in the social circles seen in the cafeteria or outside of school hours. In either case, the self-segregation of students may be caused by overt biasing by one or more groups (including faculty advisors or coaches) or simply through a long-history of segregated patterns of association within the school or surrounding community.
  
  
• Faculty, staff, and/or administrators fall prey to the status "logic" of student cliques. Cliques seem to be an inevitable part of childhood, in particular in the middle and high school years. However, the power and potentially negative consequences of cliques is magnified when adults within a school appear to reinforce clique structures. For students who conceive themselves as members of an influential clique, adult reinforcement can appear to sanction bullying or harassment of other students. For students who are excluded from the "in" group, adult reinforcement of clique structures redoubles feelings of isolation and alienation.
  
  
• Presence of gangs within the larger community. Educators may not be fully aware of the dynamics of gangs within the local community. As such, educators may overlook insignia, jargon, or even clothing choices that signal gang activity within a school. School officials should consult frequently with local law enforcement officials to keep abreast of trends in gang activity in the community so that they may be vigilant for any signs of gang-related behavior within the school.
  
  
• Recent demographic changes within the immediate community or in nearby areas. Historically, Americans of all ages have been more prone to hatred and violence during times of social and economic change. Significant demographic changes in an area (i.e. an up-turn in immigration or mass layoffs from a local factory) create a social and emotional cauldron in which fear easily turns to hatred. In such cases, the nature of the change usually foretells which students in a school may be targeted, such as children of a particular race. Similarly, major national or international events (such as an urban riot or a war) tend to heighten tensions among various groups in virtually all geographic areas and, thus, increase the likelihood of violence in almost all communities.
  
  
• Hazing traditions. Although most schools formally prohibit all forms of hazing, hazing still occurs informally in many schools. From homecoming traditions that pit one grade-level against another to dress-up days, even "safe", sanctioned school traditions can get out of hand if not carefully supervised. More problematic are the traditions that have moved off school property and outside of school hours as hazing laws have tightened. Schools may not have authority to stop such events. But that does not mean they must remain silent about such events. When school authorities appear to "look the other way" by making no comment before or after a hazing tradition, they may signal to students that they condone the behavior.
  
  
• Presence of harassing graffiti. Bathroom stall doors, lockers, desktops, and walls often provide significant evidence of students' attitudes about other students, as groups or as individuals. Graffiti that demeans or dehumanizes may make an entire group of students feel afraid. Consider this: if some of the graffiti often found on school lockers were to be spray painted on a home or business, local police likely would investigate the case as a hate crime.
  
  
• Use of demeaning terms by adult authority figures. Sadly, some adults who work within our schools intentionally or unintentionally use terms that foster disrespect. A coach who motivates adolescent male players to run faster by chiding that they are running like "girls" or "pansies" is a coach who, intentionally or not, is encouraging his players in chauvinistic and homophobic attitudes.
  
  
• Circumvention of security systems. These days most schools have some form of security-from locked doors to metal detectors to full police presence. Too often, however, as time passes without an incident, the school becomes lax in actually using the system. Locked doors are propped open; metal detectors sit idle; the liaison officer only randomly checks identification. A student considering a significant act of violence will look for and make use of those cracks in the system.

1. Organizations and activities that appeal to a wide array of student interests. While athletics may involve the most students in a school, respectful schools provide outlets for all kinds of student interests---from forensics and mathematics to the arts and computer science. A variety of active organizations offers virtually all students a place to fit in, to find friends, and to make contact with an adult mentor. Significantly, respectful schools not only provide opportunities for students with diverse interests, but also provide equal promotion of all activities (i.e. press releases about the chess club's victory as well as the football team's victory).
   
   
2. All students and staff know where to report problems and find assistance and trust that the system actually works. Respectful schools have clearly defined systems in place to manage incidents of bullying and harassment. All members of the school community are aware of the system, know where to report problems, and know what services the school provides to help victims. All members of the school community understand that the victim's privacy will be carefully guarded (most importantly to protect the victim from retribution). Yet while both the victim and perpetrator should have their privacy protected, the system communicates the consequences of actions to the entire school community. In respectful schools, everyone knows that hate-motivated harassment and violence really are not tolerated because they are made aware of the ramifications of such actions.
   
   
3. Students from different racial, ethnic, and socio-economic backgrounds (as well as students of different sexualities) regularly interact outside the classroom. Whether informally around lunchroom tables or via involvement in student organizations, students from diverse backgrounds are seen interacting with each other. Such visible interaction within a school (among older students) signals to new students that it is "cool" to get to know individuals and, thus, helps break down the strict group lines that too often divide students into cliques. Once such interactions are part of a school's culture, they self-perpetuate as younger students role model on the behaviors and attitudes of older students.
   
   
4. Active faculty and staff involvement in student activities. Respectful schools provide students with access to adult role models outside the classroom. As students find their niche within the student activity offerings of a school, they also find organization advisors with whom they share a common interest (i.e. debate or tennis). The relatively informal interactions with a group advisor or coach (compared to classroom interactions) give students an opportunity to forge a bond with an adult to whom they may turn in times of crisis.
   
   
5. Inter-grade-level interactions. Particularly in large schools, students often are segregated by grade-level not only in classes, but also on teams and in clubs. Such segregation by age reduces the odds that a student will encounter others who share his/her actual interests and goals. By opening up interactions across grade levels, respectful schools increase the chances of students forging bonds based on authentic interests and, thus, discourage focus on the kinds of more superficial bonds that tend to cement cliques (i.e. same socio-economic background).
   
   
6. Systems in place to facilitate regular faculty/staff exchange of information about students, in particular those who are at-risk either as likely victims or as perpetrators. While respectful schools do not "profile" students from particular backgrounds as likely perpetrators, they do closely monitor students whose behavior signals a propensity for harming others (i.e. a student who has threatened another student or who already has behaved violently.) Whether via regular full-school staff meetings or through some other system of reporting, all members of the faculty and staff need to be made aware of situations which have been and/or are likely to become hateful or violent. (Note: for obvious reasons this poses special challenges for very large schools. Yet regardless of the school's size---and the attendant difficulty of sharing information---only schools with a fully informed staff can pro-actively prevent violence and effectively support victims of harassment.)
   
   
7. Active parent and community involvement in the life of the school. Respectful schools work hard to develop positive community relations and to involve parents from all backgrounds in the school. Respectful schools view parents and the community at large as partners in preparing the next generation of citizens. From an active PTA to parent booster clubs for all student organizations (not just varsity athletics), respectful schools help demonstrate to students that adults at school, at home, and throughout the community care about their success and well-being. Such schools provide parents and other adults in the area with a variety of different ways to get involved based on their own interests and available time.
   
   
8. Students are placed in courses based on their demonstrated skill level. Sadly, de facto tracking of students by race or socio-economic class still occurs in some schools. This is a systemic form of hatred. Respectful schools assess students solely on their individual achievement in the classroom when making decisions about enrollment. Such authentic assessment and placement proves to students that hard work and ability have rewards and that they are judged by their merits not pre-judged by their background.
   
   
9. Student government and other school-wide bodies actually represent the diversity of the student population. Whether at the level of demographic factors such as ethnicity or at the level of academic/social factors such as grade-point-average or interest areas, respectful schools create systems that ensure all types of students within a school feel that they have representation. Some schools achieve this by providing each homeroom with a seat on student council; others rely on student organizations to elect representatives. No matter how authentic representation is achieved, respectful schools guard against representation systems that seem to be nothing more than popularity contests among the members of the most powerful social cliques.
   
   
10. The curriculum fosters respect by providing realistic, yet authentic challenges for students. Ultimately, respectful schools are defined by the presence of students who respect themselves and others. A school that provides students with on-going opportunities to challenge themselves, to grow, and to develop their skills is a school that provides students with the opportunity continually to earn respect for themselves, their peers, and their teachers. Respectful schools provide students with all the help they need to learn, but asks students to prove---most profoundly to themselves-that they are learning.

Special thanks to Dr. Jody Roy, Rippon College, for providing these materials.
 

National Association of Students Against Violence Everywhere SAVE: Youth Voices... Grown-Up Choices! Toll Free 866-343-SAVE For more information contact cwray@nationalsave.org   /   Copyright 2007