May 20, 2008

HEALTH MATTERS: Chicago schools safer, but streets more dangerous

By LJ Anderson / Daily News Columnist

The Chicago public school system tries hard within its walls to educate and keep students safe, but what happens once they go home is another matter. Twenty-four students between the ages of 15 to 18 have died so far this year, and 21 of the 24 were killed by gunfire. The most recent fatality, a 17-year-old boy, was the second shooting victim from a small public charter school to die within six weeks. His fellow students were still recovering emotionally from the first death when a crisis team was brought in to help them deal with the latest loss.

Bryan Samuels is chief of staff for Chicago Public Schools (CPS) and manages implementation of major initiatives within a system of 600 schools and 435,000 children, the third-largest school system in the country (www.cps.k12.il.us). He was formerly director of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, and has degrees in economics from the University of Notre Dame and public policy from the University of Chicago.



Q: What types of safety issues do you deal with in the Chicago public schools?
A: Part of the recent attention on student fatalities in our schools is a little misleading. Over the last six years or so, we’ve had fewer students violate the student code of conduct, or be suspended or expelled. Most of our high schools have some form of metal detectors so fewer weapons are being confiscated as a result of someone trying to carry them into schools. We are at a historical low with respect to violence and safety concerns. Our challenge is what happens to kids once they leave the school property. The vast majority of these fatalities happen during the non-school part of the day when kids live in their communities. Over the last two years, we have focused on our crisis response within schools where fatalities have occurred.


Q: What will keep kids safe in school?

A: By any reasonable measure, kids are safer in Chicago schools than they’ve been in the last 10 years. That is reflected in the above information and the district’s continuing improvement from an academic standpoint. The schools tested better than the state average over the last six years. We feel really good about what’s happening inside the building, but we have limited control over what happens outside of the schools. We have increased the availability of after-school programming and what we call “community schools,” which typically remain open until 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. In the current year, we opened 40 additional community schools (totaling 150) to provide kids with a further safe haven until it is likely that their parents have returned home from work. We have also expanded extracurricular programs for kids beyond the school day.

(When responding to a crisis), we have a team made up of CPS employees and outside medical and behavioral health providers available for the first four or five days. The literature suggests that the more [violent] exposures kids have, the greater is the likelihood that they themselves will engage in risky behavior — not necessarily criminal, but risky. So we began de-escalation training to help staff identify students who suffer from anxiety and trauma, intervene appropriately, or refer them. The more complicated (task) is to design an overarching health strategy that addresses exposure to violence through direct services to kids and families. With a group of experts, we’re looking at an overall behavior plan and what that would look like in a school district of Chicago’s size.



Q: What role do parents, students, and schools play in reducing violence?

A: We want to provide support and training for parents so they can better support and help their kids. The test scores and everything else suggest that we are getting more parents involved. Chicago has a very aggressive charter-school effort to identify students who have been underserved by public schools, and communities where we can offer new and exciting programs to our parents. In the next academic year, Chicago will bring online 30 new schools, and an additional six magnet schools that are currently neighborhood schools. We have a waiting list of more than 6,000 students who, with their parents, applied to enroll in a charter school — but for whom we didn’t have enough seats. I wouldn’t underestimate the current efforts of parents to improve the well-being of their kids. Right now about 15 percent of the student body is enrolled in charter schools.



Q: Were the fatalities gang-related?

A: We have little evidence that the victims were engaged in gang-related activity while it’s probably the case that the majority of the perpetrators were gang-related. Our mayor has been a vocal advocate of gun turn-in programs and gun laws, but the Illinois state Legislature has not been receptive at a time where we are clearly documenting the great vulnerability that our kids have relative to handguns.



Q: How has the community responded?
A: There has been an outpouring from community-based agencies, churches, and other folks asking, “How can we help?” The community is rallying at a time when we really don’t have a silver bullet, but their support reinforces the message that our kids have value, and we all have a stake in investing in them. In that respect, we (at the schools) are incredibly helpful, but I don’t know that the school system alone can stem the immediate tide of violence on the streets in Chicago.


LJ Anderson writes on health matters every Tuesday. She can be reached at lj.anderson@yahoo.com.