Mangat: With Mentors, Support and Community Cooperation, Schools Can Help Stop Youth Violence Before It Starts
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The initial months of the pandemic in 2020 witnessed a rise in domestic violence, followed by an ongoing increase in gun violence. As students returned to K-12 schools, there was a 300 percent surge in gun-related incidents compared to the previous year, accompanied by escalated reports of disruptive behavior, threats, and fights.
It is necessary to conduct a thorough investigation to identify the causes, but it is evident that children have been enduring the same toxic stress as their families and communities during this period of global turmoil. The lack of social connections and essential services has left them vulnerable, resulting in trauma and exposure to violence, which significantly increases the likelihood of adolescents engaging in violent acts and becoming entangled in the criminal justice system.
This week marks National Youth Violence Prevention Week, which aims to raise awareness about the origins of youth violence and the methods to prevent it. At LISC, a nonprofit organization dedicated to community development, I lead a team that collaborates closely with residents and local organizations, including schools, to address the fundamental causes of crime and promote safety. Our experience suggests that it would be a grave error to persist with zero-tolerance school discipline policies that heavily rely on suspension, expulsion, and involvement of law enforcement.
While accountability is important, punitive measures without supportive interventions often lead to negative outcomes, pushing students away from educational environments and towards the criminal justice system. This is commonly referred to as the school-to-prison pipeline. Research has shown that middle schools with stringent discipline policies have higher dropout rates, lower college enrollment rates, and an increased likelihood of arrest and incarceration compared to schools with more lenient approaches to suspension and expulsion. These policies disproportionately impact children from low-income households and children of color, particularly Black boys, who have already been disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of health, mortality, unemployment, and business closures.
Instead of relying solely on disciplinary measures, schools, as the frontline institutions for child development, can play a crucial role in fostering relationships with community partners to address the individual needs of children. This approach helps children navigate challenging environments without succumbing to a cycle of violence that can disrupt their young lives.
The most effective school-based interventions incorporate two key elements. Firstly, they employ mentors or counselors who can connect with the students on a personal level, sharing similar backgrounds and experiences that make them credible figures to address the specific struggles and aspirations of individual children. Secondly, they collaborate with the wider community in a collective effort to tackle a problem that cannot be resolved by educators alone.
For instance, the school district in Spokane, Washington, hired a director of community relations and diversity training who possesses 17 years of experience in the local juvenile court system. With a deep understanding of how children of color in this predominantly white city face disproportionately high rates of exclusion and arrests in schools, Nicole Jenkins-Rosenkrantz and her colleagues established the RISE program. This initiative connects students with community-based services they may require and pairs them with relatable mentors who provide ongoing support. One mentor, Jerry Garcia, aged 23, even assists his mentees in solving algebra problems, fostering a friendly competition to achieve the highest test scores. "They just need someone to connect with," he explains.
RISE participants have developed stronger relationships with school administrators and staff, leading to a significant reduction in exclusionary punishments. Mentors have intervened in real-time to prevent conflicts, such as a recent incident in a cafeteria where a girl was about to engage in a fight after being subjected to insults. Her friend sought the assistance of a RISE mentor, who promptly defused the situation. Another teenager in Spokane, who had never achieved above a 2.0 grade point average, attained a 4.0 GPA last semester and is making progress towards graduation.
In Broward County Public Schools, which is the sixth-largest district in the country, there has been an increase in problematic social-media posts made by students. These posts are not limited to bullying, but also include direct threats. In response, the district has implemented an internet safety curriculum called Think B4U Post. This curriculum is being utilized in schools and other community settings across the district.
These interventions go beyond the traditional role of schools in teaching, and instead rely on the involvement of community partners and the potential hiring of "credible messengers" to intervene before violent outbursts occur. By addressing issues of fear, frustration, and groupthink, these grassroots-led and collaborative approaches have shown success in reducing both youth arrests for violent offenses and neighborhood gun violence. This has been demonstrated through programs like the Massachusetts Safe and Successful Youth Initiative and Cure Violence (formerly known as CeaseFire).
Implementing these interventions in schools requires dedicated resources and community engagement. However, by offering these programs, educators send an important message to all students, including those who may be at risk of causing harm or being harmed by others. This message is that everyone belongs in the school community, where they can learn and grow in an environment of peace and safety.
Mona Mangat, the vice president for safety & justice at LISC, a national community development nonprofit, emphasizes the importance of these interventions in creating safer school environments.
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