School
Safety:
The Value of Small Schools in Missouri
National research[1]
shows that:
1)
Small schools are more
likely to be safe, nurturing environments
Missouri-specific
research in a national context:
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Since 1995, Missouri has
taken several steps in an effort to curb violence in its schools, including
passage of the Missouri Safe Schools Act, funding of Safe School grants, and
creation of the Missouri Center for Safe Schools and Missouri School Violence
Hotline. These initiatives have clearly
had an impact on school safety in the state.
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In a public opinion
survey conducted by the Missouri Highway Patrol in 2002 citizens ranked crime
as the highest concern (64%) and drug use as their fourth highest concern (42%)[2]
Missouri Department of
Elementary and Secondary Education data show that[3]:
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One-fifth of Missouri 10th
graders (21%) admit they have carried a weapon to school—10% within 30 days of
being surveyed. 33% said they had used marijuana at least once; 7% say someone
has threatened or injured them on school property within the last year.
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28% of 11th
graders said they have been in a fight in the last year. 43% of 11th
graders have used marijuana at least once in their life.
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18% of seniors said
someone had stolen or deliberately damaged their property at school.
Data reported by the Missouri Department of Public Safety from DESE and other sources points out that:
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The proportion of
Missouri high school seniors who used marijuana in the 30 days prior to the
survey increased from 10% in 1991 to 15% in 1993, then increased to 21% in
1995, to a high of 35% in 1997, and declined to 25% in 1999 and 13% in
2000.
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Cocaine use among
Missouri high school seniors in the 30 days prior to the survey remained at 2%
from 1991 to 1993. In 1997, the proportion raised significantly to 7%, and in
1999, it decreased substantially to 2%. In 2000, the proportion further
decreased to 1%.
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In 2000, 10.8% of
Missouri high school seniors reported having used methamphetamines one or more
times in their life.
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Rural Missouri is
certainly not devoid of drug production or drug use, as Missouri continues to
lead the country since 2001 in meth lab seizures.[4]
Drug survey data in Missouri are not available by size or rurality of
school, however, National Center for Education Statistics data[5] show that:
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In the 1999–2000 school
year, the size of a school’s student enrollment was related to the prevalence
of both violent and serious violent incidents. That is, as enrollment size
increased, schools were more likely to report one or more violent or serious
violent incidents.
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Rural schools (12%) are
less likely than schools in cities (27%), urban fringe areas (22%), or towns
(20%) to experience a serious violent incident.
These findings are
corroborated in Missouri through disciplinary data provided to DESE through
CORE DATA reports for 2002 that show:
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Only 1413 of the 12,348
disciplinary incidents reported (11%) occurred in Missouri’s rural schools, as
did 15% of weapon incidents, 18% of drug incidents, and 7% of incidents involving violent acts