at the elementary school level" (U.S. Congress, 1992, p. 56).
Violence in city schools exerts a negative effect on the learning environment. In a 1991 survey, 44 percent of teachers reported that student misbehavior had a significant impact on their teaching. In 1986, almost 30 percent of teachers surveyed indicated that they had considered leaving the profession because of problems associated with student misbehavior (OERI 6). Some administrators now view teacher absenteeism and lack of committed involvement as major problems in their schools.
Violence affects students as much or more than teachers. In a 1993 survey conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health, 33 percent of parents said that fear of harm has made their children less interested in going to school and made it harder to pay attention in class (Brown 13). A recent study reported that one in 12 students remained home one or more days because of the fear that someone would hurt or bother them at school (Garcia 23). Clearly, safety issues interfere with the education of schoo
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