Columbine. Jonesboro. Sandy Hook.

That's a list of names that can make even the strongest of stomachs turn. And every time these names are mentioned—whether in the media, in the classroom, or in our homes—we find ourselves wondering: what's going on in our schools? Are they becoming more dangerous? Are students and teachers safe? And what should we be doing to prevent school violence of all sorts, from bullying and harassment to bomb threats and all-out assaults?

Good questions, all of them. And tough ones, too. So let's get down to business.

Defining Violence

First things first. According to the Centers for Disease Control definition, "School violence is youth violence that occurs on school property, on the way to or from school or school-sponsored events, or during a school-sponsored event" (source).

And youth violence? That's a broader category that typically involves people between the ages of 10 and 24 engaged in anything from bullying, slapping, and shoving to robberies and assaults, either armed or unarmed.

So when we talk about school violence, we're not just talking about shootings—we're talking about all behavior that contributes to a hostile environment and does emotional or physical harm. Which means that that list at the top is some of the worst and the most visible of it, but that this is an issue that can go a lot deeper—and a lot more unseen—than a lot of the stuff that makes the headlines.

How Prevalent is School Violence?

Ah, yet another tough question. That's primarily because the definition of school violence (scroll up if you forgot what that was) is relatively broad.

If we're talking bullying, for instance, a 2013 CDC survey of high school students found that close to 20% of respondents had experienced some form of bullying at school in the last year, while nearly 15% said they had been cyberbullied.

When one in five students is experiencing bullying, it's obviously a problem. To be clear, any bullying at all is a big problem—we just mean to point out that one in five is seriously alarming.

However, if we're talking about extreme violent behavior—the kind of violence that results in fatalities—the rates of occurrence go way down. Fewer than 1% of all youth homicides occur at school, and according to the CDC's most recent fact sheet (dated 2015, but not appearing to have data more current than 2013), that rate has remained stable for the past ten years.

Still, the results of that 2013 CDC survey indicate that 8.1% of high school students who were polled said they had been in a physical fight at school in the last year, and 7% said they had stayed home from school at least once in the last 30 days because they felt unsafe.

Oof.

Is It Getting Worse?

Again, tough question. An NPR story from 2012 indicates that, in fact, there was a decline in school violence between the early 1990s and early 2012. Dewey Cornell, a clinical psychologist and University of Virginia professor, stated, "I know on the heels of any school shooting, there's the perception that violence is on the rise. It's not. In fact, there's been a very steady downward trend for the past 15 years" (source). Reassuring? Maybe. Though we know, it's tough to feel that reassured in an article like this in the first place.

Back to that article. It also tells us that school violence peaked in 1993 when there were "42 homicides by students in total, as well as 13 'serious violent crimes'—rape, sexual assault, robbery and aggravated assault—per 1,000 students at primary and secondary schools" (source).

In 2010 (the most recent year data was available at the time of the story) the corresponding totals were two homicides and four violent crimes per 1,000 students. Sure, as long as there are any, it's not great news, but a decline is better than a steady in this case.

But wait.

As you've probably already realized, the story is from March of 2012. In December of that year, 20 students and 6 staff members were fatally shot at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newton, Connecticut. One would think (and rightly so) that such an incident might skew the numbers for 2012 a bit. But as of this writing, the most recent homicide statistics available are from the National Center for Educational Statistics during the 2010-2011 school year. Yeah, the same year cited in the NPR story.

Not too much help there.

One stat we do have from 2013 is the percentage of students who reported being threatened or injured with a weapon on school grounds, which isn't going to make you feel great: it hovers around 7%, with females reporting at a slightly lower rate (6.1%) and males at a slightly higher one (7.7%).

And we also have the CDC's results from their Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS) in a chart that shows trends from 1991 to 2013. What you'll see is that in general, the statement made by Cornell in that 2012 NPR piece still appears to hold true: behaviors that contribute to violence on school property are trending downward.

Of course, as the CDC states, any level of school violence is unacceptable. Overall, however, it would seem that schools are, in fact, relatively safe places for students and teachers to be, and "the vast majority of students will never experience lethal violence at school source" (source). We know. That's not exactly a ringing endorsement for school safety, but it is an endorsement.

More students are, after all, injured or killed in car crashes each year than come to harm in a school system, and yet we ferry them to and fro—or allow them to ferry themselves—multiple times a day without great concern. No, we're not trying to get you to sell your car and stay locked up indoors all the time—just trying to give a sense of the odds.

But still, statistics and odds aside, we don't want students feeling unsafe to any degree in the place where they come to learn, and a place where they spend the majority of their weekdays for over half of every year.

So What Can We Do?

One positive development is that the problem of bullying and harassment in schools has received a great deal of attention in recent years, and many systems now have committees set up to engage in active prevention and response.

If your school does not yet have a committee in place, or if you just want more help with preventative strategies, the CDC has several recommendations and online tools, including their STRYVE Initiative (Striving To Reduce Youth Violence Everywhere), the HECAT (Health Curriculum Analysis Tool), and the School Health Index (SHI).

The world will probably never be without some degree of violence, and sadly, some of it is bound to come to schools. But taking steps like those suggested by the CDC—and also, you know, being kind to the kids around you, helping out when you see a problem, and creating a culture where bullying and violence aren't acceptable to anyone—can be important strides toward making schools an even safer place.