Next month marks the 90th anniversary of one of the deadliest school violence incidents in U.S. history.

Forty-five were killed - most of them children aged 7 to 12 - and another 58 were injured when three bombs exploded inside a school in Bath Township, Michigan. Andrew Kehoe, owner of the property who died in one of the blasts, was involved in a property tax dispute that triggered him to kill his wife and set his farm on fire before targeting the school campus.Eighteen years ago, the nation was again shaken by school violence when two Colorado students, Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris, went on a killing spree - killing 13, including one teacher and 12 students, while injuring 23 - at Columbine High School. Both students killed themselves in the attack.These two horrible incidents show the randomness and unpredictability of school violence. The Michigan attack was initiated from outside the school while the Colorado tragedy was precipitated by two students inside the campus.Although violent crime in schools has decreased over the past two decades, it's still a deep concern. Statistics show teens are still far more likely to be victims of violent crime than any other age group, and students fearing for their safety is at the highest rate since 2001.In 2013, about 3 percent of students ages 12-18 reported that they were afraid of attack or harm at school or on the way to and from school during the school year. In 2014, teenage students experienced about 486,400 nonfatal violent victimizations at school.Gangs have a major impact, especially in urban areas where street violence is common. In 2013, 12 percent of teen students reported gang presence at their school. Today's pop culture impresses young people of today into believing that being part of a gang is cool.A friend of mine was dating a woman who was a teacher in the Florida public school system. Last year she was involved in classroom violence initiated by a female student.The confrontation began when the teacher asked the student to stop using her smartphone during class. The student refused, and after the teacher turned her back to report it to administration, she was assaulted from behind and then punched in the front by the student.The student was suspended for three days, and later said she caused the classroom chaos and assaulted the teacher because it was part of her gang initiation. The teacher left teaching and is now working in the business world.Resources are available for school administrators and teachers regarding violence at schools. Luzerne County educators recently held a leadership program in Wilkes-Barre to discuss ways to reduce crime and keep students out of gangs. The program addressed how childhood poverty affects education and discussed ways to keep at-risk students from joining a gang.Just last week, a cellphone video showing a brutal beating of a female student at Rockville High School in Maryland circulated on social media. It came just nine days after an alleged rape reported by a 14-year-old girl by two classmates at the same school.In the beating video, the victim's attorney says she was lured to the high school's entrance lobby just before classes started and met there by a 15-year-old student who she says she had never met. Video shows the assailant continuing to kick the victim in the head while she is down.The attack was witnessed by dozens of students, some of whom then posted the phone video online. A statement released by the Montgomery County Public Schools was critical of those students who chose to record and post the assault on social media."This was a traumatic incident for the student, and the exploitation of her pain in the hopes of getting clicks on a social media is extremely troubling," the school release stated. "We ask that students put down their smartphone cameras and find an adult to intervene to protect their fellow students."The Rockville school officials raise a valid concern. Videos posted to social media sites showing fights involving teenagers from schools have raised questions about what consequences, if any, the teens in the videos or the people who made and posted the videos should face.With social media so much a part of their lives, young people are confronted by peer pressures and challenges that their parents and grandparents never faced. School systems are also facing daily challenges, the most dangerous of which include possible walk-in threats; troubled students from within the school; or the cyber influences.To safeguard against possible violence, teachers, students, parents and administrators must be vigilant, constantly upgrading strategies and having enforceable policies in place.By Jim Zbick |

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