PHILDELPHIA, Pa. – The School District of Philadelphia has convened a panel to address the growing violence and truancy in its schools. Members of the panel hope to dispel the fear that many students feel traveling to and from school.
A recent surge in youth homicide, school violence, ethnic intimidation, flash mobs and assaults contributed to the formation of the panel according to a recent school district press release.
The panel, which was created by Superintendent Arlene Ackerman and Mayor Michael Nutter, will concentrate its efforts on the district’s “Focus 46” schools, reports The Philadelphia Daily News. The Focus 46 experience severe problems with daily attendance, violence and truancy. Catering to only 37,000 of the district’s 160,000 students, these schools account for 40 percent of the violent incidents and 63 percent of the truant students in the district.
Panel members intend to create pro-student discipline policies and petition schools to acquire resources that will better provide students with a quality education.
