Update: May 17, 2026.. Stopping school violence needs to include holding parents criminally liable. One case in Georgia did hold at least one parent criminally liable; the other parent is no less guilty. In Virginia, an adminstrator is scheduled for a criminal trial this week. A civil trial held earlier this year, awarded a wounded teacher 10 million dollars after she was shot by her 6 year old student. That mother also was found guilty of crimes.
Older post:
One of the mistakes, purposeful intentions, and ignorant moves of Northfield Public Schools was the misinterpretation of the Individual with Disabilities Education Act. Lucky for them I recited the Pledge of Allegiance every day with my class and focused on "with liberty and justice for all." I knew my 25 kids were being served up a plate of injustice for three years. The kid with the serious problems was taking up a huge part of our time and violating the rights of other children. In fact, other important problems of children in his classes were being missed (child assaulted by her father). He is included in the 25 count. He was served an injustice too by administration and his parents.
A huge error in justice happened last year in Parkland, Florida. Between the Promise Act and the IDEA, Cruz the identified shooter, per all news reports, got away with murder. Well almost, they caught him at McDonald's, right?
Published on June 7, 1999, in NJ, was the Assembly Task Force on Adolescent Violence Findings and Recommendations. I have written about it in other blog posts but since the news just broke on Reuters and Fox News that the officials in Jefferson County, Colorado (home of infamous Columbine fame) are floating the idea of tearing the high school down, I thought I would take a another step back in history too.
Now tearing down the school is certainly worth considering but the horses asses got out of the barn 20 years ago. Too little, too late... The events inspired the copy cats. It is known as the Columbine effect. They keep letting the keeper of the barn, the principal, talk in public which is a shame.
He even wrote a book for the 20th anniversary and did a book tour.
I have a better option for you to read.
The findings in the task force book are still available (see link above), and like the GUIDE TO SAFE SCHOOLS August 1998 (check it out- it is still available) is worth reading even if you don't live in NJ. Evidently some school districts did not get the memo the first time around. I know for certain I gave out copies to teachers but Mainland and Somers Point teachers did not receive it well. Neither did teachers in workshops I led.. well except for Atlantic City. Those teachers got it.
If you don't want to read the complete documents which are set up in an easy to read format, at least pay attention to the Executive Summary in the Assembly Task Force on Adolescent Violence. In a Guide to Safe Schools, the document is broken into sections.
Page 1 of the Guide to Safe Schools states in the third paragraph:
"The 1997-98 school year served as a dramatic wake-up call to the fact that guns do come to school and some students will use them to kill. One after the other, school communities across the country from Oregon to Virginia, from Arkansas to Pennsylvania, from Mississippi to Kentucky- have been forced to face the fact that violence can happen to them. And while these serious incidents trouble us deeply, they should not prevent us from acting to prevent school violence of any kind."
When you read the findings in both of these reports, made over 20 years ago, you may weep for the children. You are not alone because Jesus did warn the women. He told them " Do not weep for me, weep for your children."
Are you tired yet of weeping? Read my post about my public letter of resignation. I was tired of the violence in my class. It hadn't involved guns up to that point. But I could see the hand writing on the wall. PUBLIC LETTER OF RESIGNATION
In 2014, co-workers here in Pittsburgh got calls from their schools. Franklin Regional High School is where a kid went on an attack with kitchen knives. It is not the weapon used. All the shootings involved breaking the law. This kids' parents wanted to give other people advice. Franklin Regional High School
I am glad that the Resource Officer from the high school in Parkland, Florida has been arrested.
In 1999, after the Guide to Safe Schools was published (then ignored), all school district employees should have been held accountable. Who knew and did nothing? Doing nothing until the Swat Team is called in? They also can fail, to at first, do their jobs. Send in the Swat Teams
Also, Sandy Hook evidently did not have a great impact on Parkland, Florida although a teacher there said it should have been a "9/ 11 for Teachers".
I have been writing editorials even before my exit from public education. The newspapers gave me a platform. I hope people read and listen. My past editorials are as relevant today, June 7, 2019 , as they were the day I wrote them.
If not you, who? I woke up for good on March 24, 1998 when Shannon Wright died taking a bullet for a student. In memory of Shannon Wright This post is also repeated in my blog post of Taking a cue from Rosa Parks. I recommend the book by Parker Palmer, The Courage to Teach.
Marian R. Carlino
June 7, 2019
One of the mistakes, purposeful intentions, and ignorant moves of Northfield Public Schools was the misinterpretation of the Individual with Disabilities Education Act. Lucky for them I recited the Pledge of Allegiance every day with my class and focused on "with liberty and justice for all." I knew my 25 kids were being served up a plate of injustice for three years. The kid with the serious problems was taking up a huge part of our time and violating the rights of other children. In fact, other important problems of children in his classes were being missed (child assaulted by her father). He is included in the 25 count. He was served an injustice too by administration and his parents.
A huge error in justice happened last year in Parkland, Florida. Between the Promise Act and the IDEA, Cruz the identified shooter, per all news reports, got away with murder. Well almost, they caught him at McDonald's, right?
Published on June 7, 1999, in NJ, was the Assembly Task Force on Adolescent Violence Findings and Recommendations. I have written about it in other blog posts but since the news just broke on Reuters and Fox News that the officials in Jefferson County, Colorado (home of infamous Columbine fame) are floating the idea of tearing the high school down, I thought I would take a another step back in history too.
Now tearing down the school is certainly worth considering but the horses asses got out of the barn 20 years ago. Too little, too late... The events inspired the copy cats. It is known as the Columbine effect. They keep letting the keeper of the barn, the principal, talk in public which is a shame.
He even wrote a book for the 20th anniversary and did a book tour.
I have a better option for you to read.
The findings in the task force book are still available (see link above), and like the GUIDE TO SAFE SCHOOLS August 1998 (check it out- it is still available) is worth reading even if you don't live in NJ. Evidently some school districts did not get the memo the first time around. I know for certain I gave out copies to teachers but Mainland and Somers Point teachers did not receive it well. Neither did teachers in workshops I led.. well except for Atlantic City. Those teachers got it.
If you don't want to read the complete documents which are set up in an easy to read format, at least pay attention to the Executive Summary in the Assembly Task Force on Adolescent Violence. In a Guide to Safe Schools, the document is broken into sections.
Page 1 of the Guide to Safe Schools states in the third paragraph:
"The 1997-98 school year served as a dramatic wake-up call to the fact that guns do come to school and some students will use them to kill. One after the other, school communities across the country from Oregon to Virginia, from Arkansas to Pennsylvania, from Mississippi to Kentucky- have been forced to face the fact that violence can happen to them. And while these serious incidents trouble us deeply, they should not prevent us from acting to prevent school violence of any kind."
When you read the findings in both of these reports, made over 20 years ago, you may weep for the children. You are not alone because Jesus did warn the women. He told them " Do not weep for me, weep for your children."
Are you tired yet of weeping? Read my post about my public letter of resignation. I was tired of the violence in my class. It hadn't involved guns up to that point. But I could see the hand writing on the wall. PUBLIC LETTER OF RESIGNATION
In 2014, co-workers here in Pittsburgh got calls from their schools. Franklin Regional High School is where a kid went on an attack with kitchen knives. It is not the weapon used. All the shootings involved breaking the law. This kids' parents wanted to give other people advice. Franklin Regional High School
I am glad that the Resource Officer from the high school in Parkland, Florida has been arrested.
In 1999, after the Guide to Safe Schools was published (then ignored), all school district employees should have been held accountable. Who knew and did nothing? Doing nothing until the Swat Team is called in? They also can fail, to at first, do their jobs. Send in the Swat Teams
Also, Sandy Hook evidently did not have a great impact on Parkland, Florida although a teacher there said it should have been a "9/ 11 for Teachers".
I have been writing editorials even before my exit from public education. The newspapers gave me a platform. I hope people read and listen. My past editorials are as relevant today, June 7, 2019 , as they were the day I wrote them.
If not you, who? I woke up for good on March 24, 1998 when Shannon Wright died taking a bullet for a student. In memory of Shannon Wright This post is also repeated in my blog post of Taking a cue from Rosa Parks. I recommend the book by Parker Palmer, The Courage to Teach.
Marian R. Carlino
June 7, 2019