- Fast Facts:
- -Superintendent Addresses Rising Tide Of Violence
- -Dr. Cash Says MCS Teams Up With Operation Safe Community
- -New Strategies Unveiled To Curb Violence In Classrooms
City Schools Superintendent Dr. Kriner Cash says it's an issue that greeted him when he accepted the job in Memphis, "When we arrived in Memphis a little over a year ago, we were told and it was clear there was a rising tide of violence in the schools."
Appearing on News Channel 3 Live At 9 from Peabody Place, Dr. Cash openly talked about problems like assaults and shootings, "There were shootings inside of schools, children dead and it was very, very serious."
It's a serious problem that prompted Dr. Cash to team up with the District Attorney General's Office and Operation Safe Community.
Dr. Cash said, "You can't have good teaching and learning going on if you don't have safety in the schools. We have at least 10 very specific strategies to make the school climate safer."
Some of the strategies include having at least one officer at every middle, and high school and all high school will have metal detectors and cameras.
Dr. Cash said, "Focus has to be on prevention and intervention. We have to re-educate our young people about a whole host of issues they're dealing with."
Some of the re-education has teachers being trained in Crisis Prevention and Intervention. A Student Identification System has been implemented on campuses. Four Truancy Assessment Center have opened. A Parent Link has been created to notify parents when their students have been truant more than five times. Gang Reduction Assistance For Saving Youth or G.R.A.S.S.Y has started for students in two North Memphis Schools. Many students are also learning non-violence techniques of Dr. Martin Luther King, Junior. The goal is to break the cycle of violence in schools.
Dr. Cash said, "We are doing that by better educating and setting the bar higher and trying to break the back of this schoolhouse to jailhouse pipeline for too many of our kids."
