Gang activities are often part of a complex web of drugs, abuse, and high regard for violent and criminal behavior. This article discusses the spread of street gangs and describes innovative intervention and prevention programs, such as Chicago's counseling/support project using ex-gang members. Experts' tips are also provided. (MLH)

Based on the experience of the Los Angeles Unified School District (California), this article presents areas for school districts to scrutinize when planning for emergencies. These include written plans, duplicate home telephone listings, communications plans, staff identification cards, utility shutoff information, and food and shelter…

Despite legal protections since the 1960's, racism remains a serious problem for society and for schools. Physical attacks on minorities, racial clashes in schools, redlining, and stereotypes with racial overtones (like "welfare queen") are fairly commonplace. Schools need to teach appreciation of cultural differences and acknowledge minority…

Since the 1990s, truancy has become administrators' most persistent problem. This article examines student absenteeism trends, characteristics of nonattenders, and current attendance policies. While schools can encourage attendance, final responsibility rests with students and parents. Includes four references. (MLH)

America still refuses to deal with racism's effects on a child's character development. The "Focus on the Family" agenda must become part of the school's agenda, but it cannot be based on one religion's teachings, as Linda Page suggests ("A Conservative Christian View on Values," this issue). Public schools must teach the facts…

Law school instruction in professional responsibility should not attempt to inculcate particular ethical values but should aim to sensitize students to the ethical dimension of the lawyer's professional role, provide insight into the nature of the legal profession, and cultivate willingness to engage in reflective judgment through traditional…

A high school principal describes a 48-hour plan he constructed to deal with adolescent suicide. Essential steps include activating the emergency contact chain used for school closings, enlisting community support, relaying the facts, refusing to glorify the suicide, helping staff help students, and evaluating the plan. (four references) (MLH)

By focusing parent involvement programs on the parents and families instead of student "type," schools should identify parents not served by traditional outreach programs and find surrogate parents for certain students, as needed. Maintaining parent involvement depends on keeping records, respecting family culture and language, encouraging parents…

For both schools and hospitals, measure of quality is in tailoring service delivery (or responding) to individual need. To succeed, work process must be designed and managed for responding. Hospitals may appear to operate more systemically than schools because an invisible standard underlies all medical treatments. Perhaps a single framework or…

About half of all American marriages now end in divorce. Many divorces involve children whose parents remarry and create step-relationships. Educators should help normalize the idea of stepfamilies, send communications recognizing family diversity, train school personnel appropriately, enlist the school counselor's assistance, and provide…

Comprehensive sexuality education and education for a democracy have many important common features. They both seek to help individuals maintain physical and mental health, form and maintain stable relationships, develop decision-making skills, and develop a toleration for diversity. Sexuality education should encourage freedom of thought--not…

An education in the performing arts provides students with a rich growing environment and facilitates learning by requiring students to think, not just memorize. The performing arts also teach students to celebrate the differences between themselves and others, understand our pluralistic society, and learn discipline, self-respect, perseverance,…

The first federal Internet privacy law (the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act) provides safeguards for children by regulating collection of their personal information. Unfortunately, teens are not protected. Legislation is pending to protect children from online marketers such as ZapMe! Interactive technologies require constant vigilance.…

Although some media situations might spin out of control, school officials can make the difference between a positive or negative portrayal hitting the newsstands. Establishing an open-door policy, granting one-on-one interviews to trusted reporters, and allowing student input help foster good media relations. (MLH)

School principals are often faced with difficult decisions that challenge both their moral beliefs and ethical behaviors. Personal relationships and political associations can create an even greater challenge and level of frustration for building level administrators when attempting to carry out duties as moral agents and acting in "loco…