Op Eds and Opinion Pieces by Strategies for Youth

We all remember the video of the South Carolina incident, in which a teacher called a school administrator to deal with a student who refused to give up her cell phone. The administrator called a School Resource Officer (SRO), who ripped the girl from her chair, threw her across the room, and arrested her. A classmate who videotaped this violence was also arrested. The ACLU is representing the student who videotaped the assault in a lawsuit.

When an angry middle-schooler swore at her vice principal, rolled her eyes, and tried to run down the hall, the police arrested her for disturbing a lawful assembly.

A blog post from earlier this summer poses interesting questions about whether students should be required to learn appropriate behavior when interacting with police (“Should Students Be Taught How to Deal With Police?,” July 7, 2017). But it fails to discuss the importance of considering how this information is taught or by whom, both of which influence what is taught.

The Greenville County Sheriff’s Office and Strategies for Youth are partnering to launch a new game at the Marcus Whitfield Summer Camp Youth Summit

In response to a June 5, 2017 story by Cory Shaffer, “Lakewood mother files suit against police officer who broke her teen daughter’s jaw inside library:” it’s time to protect our students’ civil rights and advocate for a set of state standards for law enforcement. Why are police departments exempt from the same state support, oversight and accountability as doctors and teachers?

Kudos to Trise Moore and to the Federal Way public school system in Washington state for developing a community- and family-engagement model in schools that empowers parents to advocate for their children (“Giving Parents a Prominent Voice in Schools,” Education Week, Feb. 22, 2017). It is heartening to not only learn about such programs, but to read that they are being used as models for other districts to emulate.

On Feb. 6 and 7, approximately 25 police officers and youth care workers, representing Alexandria, Anderson, Madison County, Elwood and Pendleton police departments as well as the Madison County Youth Center, attended a training titled “Policing the Teen Brain.” This training, paid for by Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative grant funding, was developed and conducted by Strategies for Youth.

As part of National Community Policing Week, in collaboration with the California Police Chiefs Association and the California State Sheriffs’ Association and with funding from the California Endowment, is proud to release the 3rd brief in a series of youth–focused policy briefs, “Defining the Role of School-Based Police Officers.” …

Just in time for ‘back to school,’ the Police Foundation, in collaboration with the California Police Chiefs Association and the California State Sheriffs’ Association and with funding from the California Endowment, is proud to release the 2nd brief from a series of youth –focused policy briefs…

When communities want to snip the school-to-prison pipeline, how do they do it? They revise their code of conduct, redefine the role of school police, address bias, build a positive school climate and address problematic behavior in a positive way, among other things…