Pubdate: Sun, 06 Nov 2005
Source: Jacksonville Daily Progress (TX)
Copyright: 2005 Jacksonville Progress
Contact:  http://www.jacksonvilleprogress.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3007
Author: April Barbe

SCHOOL POLICE ADDRESS CONCERNS AFTER TEACHER ASSAULTS

With five officers on duty, the Jacksonville Independent School 
District is a secure one, according to Jacksonville ISD Chief of 
Police Rex Brown.

Brown has been with the district since 1998 and has seen only a few 
offenses, which would be considered serious on a criminal level, in 
almost eight years.

A"We've had two teachers assaulted this semester, but this happens 
very rarely,A" Brown said. A"Our number one goal is for the safety 
and security of the students and all employees, and our second goal 
is to protect property.A"

JISD teachers attended a crisis intervention training seminar before 
the start of the semester to educate them on how to handle certain 
classroom situations, Brown said.

A"They don't really teach crisis intervention in college classes, and 
we want them to know how to handle certain situations. The only time 
a student wants to intervene into a situation is when the student is 
going to hurt themselves or somebody else,A" Brown said.

Teachers recently attended classes for a seminar called A"Discipline 
with Dignity.A" According to Scott Schwartz, assistant JHS principal, 
the seminar provides teachers with different strategies for the 
classroom in the areas of discipline, education and curriculum.

A"I look at it as giving them tools to use in every situation. Every 
situation is different, and every student is different, and you can't 
discipline them all the same way,A" Schwartz said.

Jacksonville ISD students come from a variety of different cultural 
and economical backgrounds, according to Schwartz. He said school 
staff try to recognize the different means for communicating with each student.

Officers begin educating students about crime prevention in middle 
school. District officers include Brown, Marvin Acker at the high 
school, Joey Ray at the middle school, Israel Meza at Nichol's 
Intermediate and Greg Ray at the Compass Campus.

A"Because of our repoire with students, if another student had a 
weapon like a knife or a firearm, and anybody else knows about it, we 
will know,A" Brown said. A"We have really great students here.A"

School staff are trained to handle situations on every level, 
including those requiring building and site evacuation. According to 
Brown, the district has not had to implement the site evacuation plan.

A"Our goal is to strive to make the students safe and welcome to an 
environment where they can learn, where their parents can feel safe 
to send their child. That's why we provide the services,A" Schwartz said.

When it comes to drugs, Brown said a narcotics dog makes rounds on 
campuses twice a month. The dog can detect narcotics, alcohol and gunpowder.

The service is provided by Interquest canines, a national firm, 
started in 1970, that has worked in districts across the state of 
Texas including Plano ISD, Denton ISD, Baytown ISD, Klein ISD, Lufkin 
ISD, Kilgore ISD, Marshall ISD and Palestine ISD.

A"About a week before fall break in October, one of the dogs found 
some marijuana hidden in a bathroom. It was about enough to make two 
joints,A" Brown said.

Brown said between five and seven drug-related arrests are made each 
year on JISD campuses.

There are two gangs represented on the JISD campuses - L3 and 13 St. 
Brown said both gangs involve mostly Hispanics, but include all 
races. Students who are associated with the gangs range from 
sixth-graders to young adults just out of high school.

According to Brown gang-associated students do not give school 
officials many problems. He said the students knew what they could 
and could not do on campus. Although, graffiti shows up on and near 
the campus sometimes.

Brown said the school's number one problem is with attendance. 
Truancy is usually an issue on all school campuses, but Brown said 
many people don't realize how much money truancy can cost a school district.

Otherwise, Brown said he feels students and staff on the campuses of 
JISD are both safe and secure. And just to make sure, there are 
surveillance cameras placed inside and outside of campus buildings.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman