Is Your School Safe?

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By Holly Zuluaga

Summary

Is your student safe in school? KEPR Action News is tracking assaults in local districts, finding hundreds happening every school year, but the numbers don't tell the whole story.

Story Published: Feb 26, 2010 at 6:39 PM PST

Is Your School Safe?
TRI-CITIES--Is your student safe in school?

KEPR Action News is tracking assaults in local districts, finding hundreds happening every school year, but the numbers don't tell the whole story.

What's considered assault might surprise you.

You'll see Assistant Principal Ryan Rettig roaming the halls of Richland High School.

He's looking for students causing trouble.

Rettig's also in the only district that saw more assaults from one school year to the next.

Action News pulled the numbers and found in the 07-08 school year there were 260 kids suspended for assault.

That number spiked to 301 for the following school year.

For the same time period Kennewick had 112 and 98 last year.

Pasco had the most assaults by far, but also saw the biggest drop.

Recording 555 in the 07-08 school year that number dropped by more than a hundred the next year.

School leaders tell me assault isn't just throwing a punch, it can come with words.

Richland says that's what they see the most of.

"Two students arguing in the hall that doesn't get physical," Assistant Principal Ryan Rettig said.

Only a handful of physical fights were recorded in a school year.

A student Action News talked to said they haven't seen any fights on campus.

Pasco says it's hard to compare the numbers between districts.

Last year there were about 4,000 kids at Pasco High, more kids will naturally drive up numbers for any stat.

"A lot of kids in a small place," Assistant Principal at Pasco High Charlotte Troxel said.

But again, their numbers are falling.

Action News asked why they've seen a drop in assaults.

"I would say we've been very intentional about building those relationships as well as putting those interventions into place such as each counselor has intervention specialists they work with because we were such a big school we broke it down into smaller schools," Charlotte Troxel said.

The districts say their biggest goal is keeping kids safe and cracking down on a shouting match keeps it from getting worse.