May 2005

Four years ago Joanna Lougin, principal of Madison Middle School, was asked by Safe Passages to take a daring leap of faith and adopt a new violence prevention/intervention strategy at her school – the Safe Passages Middle School Strategy.  During that time, this comprehensive program that addressed the root causes of student violent behavior had not been tested in Oakland.  Safe Passages was armed only with research and strong testimony from schools in other cities in the country that boasted the success of such a strategy.

“I thought they were insane when they asked me to pay for some School Site Services Coordinator position,” Lougin says of her initial thoughts of the program.  “My budget had just been cut and more reductions were on their way.  But something caught my ear; I was told that if I put up money for this position, the City and the County would give my kids all kinds of services.  I am sure glad I agreed.  Look at us now!”

Since the implementation of the Middle School Strategy at Madison Middle School, tremendous change has occurred.  Suspension rates due to violence have dropped 85 percent, attendance is steadily improving, and teachers and students alike claim an improved school climate.  More surprising is the fact that this has occurred at a school located in an Oakland City Council District with the second highest violent crime rate in the city.

Art Mola, the Safe Passages Site Coordinator at Madison Middle School, coordinates activities including academic tutoring, arts, sports, student leadership and counseling program.  “I must say that the credit goes to all the teachers who have supported the programs, and even taught the Second Step lessons in their classrooms,” he says of the effort’s success.  “The programs that we have been able to bring on site are implemented by professionals who care for the children as if they were their own.”

Another very important component of the Middle School Strategy is case management.  At Madison, these efforts are led by Patrinia Redd, the school’s on-site case manager.  Her role as a case manager is to learn what is troubling students and help their families access the resources they lack.  “It can be as simple as helping a student and his family fill out a free or reduced lunch application so that the student does not go hungry at school, and as complicated as helping a student deal with the grief of having witnessed the stabbing death of a loved one,” Redd says. “We do it all, and everyday is something new.”

The Safe Passages Middle School Strategy is a six-component strategy based on research of best practices in violence prevention.   Safe Passages’ goal for the strategy is to reduce the incidence of violence among youth, measured by the reduction in suspensions for violence and improvement in perceptions of safety at school.  To improve school safety, Safe Passages works collaboratively with Oakland Unified School District administration, principals, teachers, staff and families at seven middle schools in Oakland, including Madison Middle School.

Since its inception, the Middle School Strategy has served more than 4500 students in Oakland.  Preliminary outcome data – such as the statistics from Madison Middle School – is very promising, with more in-depth data analysis to come. 

For more information on this website about Safe Passages, click here.  For more articles on this website about youth violence prevention, click here.