Sharing information key to safer schools
On the surface, it appears Illinois school districts are doing what they should when it comes to cooperation between administrators and local police agencies.
After all, a Daily Herald investigation, reported by Projects and Politics Writer Kerry Lester last week, showed that of 40 districts representing more than 350 schools around the state, 35 have “reciprocal reporting” agreements meant to allow information about students to be shared with law enforcement officials.
But that’s only on the surface. Lester reported that only four of those districts tracked how many times they actually shared information and only seven districts knew how many of their students had been arrested in any given year.
Schools and police need to do better. A lot better. We should look at other states like neighboring Missouri or to Pennsylvania where detailed information is required between schools and police on incidents involved students.
We agree with state Sen. John Millner, a Carol Stream Republican who is a former police chief and juvenile officer, who told Lester: “We always know more information is better than less information. I think we need to craft legislation (looking at) what’s in the best interest of the child based on the sharing of information.”
While we understand reluctance of juvenile justice advocates afraid of stigmatizing students, the safety of all in the schools must be a priority.
That’s what John Heiderscheidt, safety coordinator for Elgin Area School District U-46 believes, as long as the law is specific about how information should be shared and when. Doing so may have helped avert the stabbing of an Elgin High School teacher by a student who was under investigation by police in two earlier cases. The school was not aware.
So when Betsy Clarke, president of the Illinois Juvenile Justice Commission, says “Teachers have a better sense of who’s going to act out, who’s a class clown. They really don’t need police to tell them who’s who in a class,” she’s clearly not speaking from authority.
Former Elgin High Principal Dave Smiley is: “We had a very, very sick child. He hid it well. We were not aware of the level of dysfunction he was experiencing.”
Indeed, teachers and administrators might not know what is happening at home or elsewhere that has an affect on a students’ psyche. Communication is the key.
Again, speaking from authority, Buffalo Grove Police Chief Steve Husak told Lester that years of daily communication with Northwest Suburban High School District 214 schools has helped on both sides.
Unfortunately, that’s not the case everywhere and it’s why we urge legislators to make the appropriate changes to state law. We don’t need any more tragedies like the one in Elgin.