Schools which follow a threat assessment model developed by Education School professors at the University experience significantly less bullying and fewer suspensions, a recent study found. The effort was spearheaded by Prof. Dewey Cornell and former University faculty Xipao Fan and Anne Gregory.
The study found that schools using the threat assessment showed a 79 percent reduction in bullying infractions and a 52 percent reduction in long-term suspensions.
It will be published in the next issue of The National Association of Secondary School Principals Bulletin.
Cornell, associate director of Youth-Nex, the University Center to Promote Effective Youth Development, conducted the study to measure the effectiveness of the threat assessment model he developed 10 years ago after examining how schools dealt with student threats.
The model also took into account recommendations by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Secret Service, said Ellen Daniels, the web and outreach communication specialist for the University's Education School.
Cornell said the threat assessment model allows schools to "develop consequences that fit the seriousness of [the student's] behavior," rather than toying with a zero tolerance model, which imposes automatic suspension on students for certain types of infractions and tends to lead to increased suspensions in the long term.
Rather than criminalizing student behavior, "threat assessment gives schools an alternative to automatic suspension by giving schools a way to look at student behavior to evaluate how serious it is, then take other kinds of action," Cornell said.
The study looked at 23 Fairfax County high schools from 2006 to 2009 and compared the number of suspension and bullying rates before and after the implementation of the threat assessment model to assess its effectiveness.
Mary Ann Panarelli, director of the office of intervention and prevention services for Fairfax County Public Schools, said she adheres to both the threat assessment and discipline guidelines in her school system.
"We have implemented both at a policy level and we train our administrators, psychologists and social workers on how to follow the threat assessment protocol," Paranelli said, "But our policy explicitly states that the threat assessment protocol is different from the discipline aspect [which is implemented by the principal]."
Despite the threat assessment model's observable effectiveness, its flaws include a dependability on the resources of the school. Cornell added that the guidelines "don't cover every circumstance that may occur in a school"
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