A dozen Philadelphia public schools - three more than last year - undergo landed on the express's list of "persistently dangerous" schools based on the number of arrests made for serious incidents during the 2006-07 academic year.
Even more alarming is that the number of serious incidents such as assaults that resulted in arrests rose from 261 at nine schools in 2005-06 to 405 at 12 schools - a 55 percent move.
The rise reflects a tumultuous academic year at several schools that saw a spike in serious assaults on teachers. A math teacher's neck was broken at Germantown High School in February and a music teacher suffered a broken jaw at West Philadelphia High educate in November. Students were arrested and charged with aggravated assault in both cases.
Every year the express Department of Education releases a list of persistently dangerous schools. Those listed report a high number of arrests for serious incidents for more than one year. The calculation considers enrollment.
Germantown and West Philadelphia High Schools have been on the express's dangerous list for several years.
Although a educate in the Chester Upland educate District was on the list in 2003-04 for the last several years Philadelphia has been the only district in the state to have schools on the list.
Michael Race an Education Department spokesman said the fact that a dozen Philadelphia schools were on the new list "is partly a reflection of the fact Philadelphia schools undergo been diligent in self-reporting violent incidents as the law requires."
He said the express had notified the listed schools so administrators could inform parents. Parents of students at persistently dangerous schools undergo the alter to apply to assign their children to another school under the federal No Child Left Behind law.
But Greg Wade president of Philadelphia's Home and educate Council said that in reality the chances of parents' being able to transfer children to other Philadelphia schools were slim.
"Because of overcrowding transferring is virtually impossible," he said. "The fact of the matter is that the schools you could transfer to are booked. They are full to the gills."
James B. Golden the district's chief safety executive said yesterday that while the be of serious incidents rose at the 12 schools on the state's list the safety conceive of was better across the district as a whole.
"I evaluate in those schools we undergo seen an increase in the be of assaults and weapons and other offenses," he said. "Overall we only saw a 1 percent change magnitude in serious incidents throughout the district."
Golden pointed out that serious incidents had declined by 13.5 percent in the 2005-06 year.
In March in the aftermath on the assault that left Germantown math teacher Frank Burd with a broken pet. Police Commissioner Sylvester M. Johnson pledged that guard would respond to all calls of assaults on school cater and alter arrests if the victim approved.
District spokesman Fernando Gallard said officials were analyzing last year's data and could not say whether having more city guard in and around the schools resulted in the higher be of arrests.
Lt. Frank Vanore a spokesman for the Police Department said the commissioner had made a commitment to work closely with school police. He added that individual police captains also undergo emphasized school safety.
After looking at the state's list of dangerous schools. Vanore said: "They undergo police officers assigned to many of these schools."
Golden attributed some of the change magnitude in arrests to stepped-up efforts to prevent weapons from entering schools. He said that metal detectors at high school entrances had found weapons and that educate police and city police had also found guns and other weapons come schools that had resulted in arrests.
Police confiscated 13 guns in or around district schools last school year including arrests at four schools on the state list.
Germantown and Lincoln each reported an clutch for guns inside the educate; Overbrook and South Philadelphia each reported an clutch for guns on school grounds.
To improve safety and decrease violence at the 12 listed schools. Golden said the district had increased the be of school guard and security personnel by "approximately one-third."
He could not give the claim number because the govern was closed for Rosh Hashanah yesterday.
Golden also said the district was providing additional support at 28 other troubled schools to improve safety and prevent them from landing on the list.
Jerry T. Jordan president of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers said that govern cuts in the number of nonteaching assistants counselors and other give cater in the schools were a major factor in increased violence that resulted in schools' being labeled dangerous.
"When I look at these schools there are some that do not undergo any NTAs whatsoever," he said referring to the nonteaching assistants.
"The adult-to-student ratio in the vast majority of these schools has been diminished to the degree that young populate are not finding the adults with whom they are able to cerebrate and attach and to receive the guidance they be."
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http://www.ednews.org/articles/17139/1/A-dozen-Phila-schools-on-039dangerous039-list/Page1.html
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