JBHE: Latest News for 12/16/10

When Black High School Students Fear For Their Safety, Preparing For College is Not Their Priority

It is obvious that when one’s personal safety is in question, it is difficult to concentrate on academic matters. Hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of black students in the nation’s public schools must constantly look over their shoulder rather than look down at their textbooks or up at their teachers in front of the classroom.

Consider the following statistics in a report from the Education Department and the Bureau of Justice Statistics entitled, Indicators of School Crime and Safety, 2010:

• In 2008, 259,700 black students ages 12 to 18 were victimized by crime while at school. More than 142,000 black students at secondary schools were victims of violent crime. Of these, 28,000 black students were the victims of serious violent crimes such as rape, sexual assault, or robbery. Blacks were more than three times as likely as whites to be victims of serious violent crimes while at school.

• More than 37 percent of black students ages 12 to 18 in 2007 reported that there were gangs in their school. For whites, the figure was 16 percent.

• More than 33 percent of black students ages 12 to 18 in 2007 said they had seen hate-related graffiti at their school.

• In 2009 more than 17 percent of black high school students reported having been involved in a physical fight while on school grounds. This is double the rate for whites. Nearly 41 percent of black high school students reported being involved in a physical fight either at school or off campus.

• In 2007, 8.6 percent of black students ages 12 to 18 were afraid of being attacked or harmed at school. This was more than double the rate for white students.

For black students preparing for college in our nation’s high schools, it’s tough to hit the books when they are worried about getting hit.

To download the new report on school safety, click here.