After a year of investigation into violence in the Philadelphia School District, the Blue Ribbon Commission on Safe Schools has determined what many have speculated: The district fails to report crime within its walls consistently and it does not do enough for students who have suffered through the violence.
According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, which reported on this exact problem last year, the commission proved the dysfunctional lack of action by the school district in its 41-page report. (See Full Report)
The report states that violence in Philadelphia schools is not only downplayed and under reported, but the schools don’t have the right counseling and treatment for students and their families, reports the Inquirer.
"No one will know our schools are getting safer unless they can trust the data we collect and report is valid and consistent, and that there is no 'down-coding' or under-reporting in an attempt to make a school look safer than it is," Nutter and acting Superintendent Leroy Nunery II wrote in the report's opening section.
SRC member Lorene Cary says the report is only the beginning of the positive changes the district is now strategizing. She is part of a steering committee that will continue to monitor safety matters and ask for community input, according to the Inquirer.
"What has happened in the last week and a half gives urgency to this safety work," Cary said at Tuesday’s meeting in which the report was presented. She was referring to the recent shooting death of three teenagers in Juniata Park, reports the Inquirer.
