Research team begins healing school-violence victims
A local school-violence research team is working to heal several communities across the nation that have been hit with tragedies.
The 17-member team - consisting of clergy, mental-health officials, educators, law enforcement and media members - has thus far visited the towns of Pearl, Miss., Jonesboro, Ark. and Port Huron, Mich where threats and school violence have occurred.
Members first visited Pearl during the end of April, then went to Jonesboro and Port Huron in the middle of May. They plan to go to Peducah, Ky. in July, and their last visit will be to Columbine in September or October.
Walt Lesiak, retired CMU psychology professor and project consultant for the team, said the visits have been going well. He said the team rotates its members for each site visit, so all will have the opportunity to go and collect information.
"The team met last Thursday. The entire committee met to go over the information that has been gathered," he said.
Lesiak said the people at the sites have been very hospitable.
"They've treated us like colleagues, and have talked candidly. People have been willing to talk to us about the dilemmas they had and the issues involved. From each of those sites we've collected materials like press clippings and documents dealing with what they've learned and what they've changed after the interview process."
On Oct. 1, 1997, a 16-year-old boy in Pearl was accused of killing his mother and then going to Pearl High School and shooting nine students. Two students died, including the boy's ex-girlfriend. The boy is now serving three life sentences.
In Jonesboro, a 13-year-old boy and an 11-year-old boy were found guilty for killing four classmates and a teacher and wounding 10 others in March 1998. Both boys were found guilty of juvenile delinquency under Arkansas law and may be jailed until they reach age 21.
And last May, four teenage boys plotted a massacre of students at their Port Huron middle school, but their plans were thwarted when other students notified authorities. Police determined that a pipe bomb found at the school was not part of the plans.
Pat Housley, Community Relations director and recruitment manager at Central Michigan Community Hospital, 1221 South Drive, serves as the media relations contact for the team. Housley said she went with the team to Pearl and Port Huron.
"Kids need to know that if they know about something happening, they need to tell someone about it," she said.
During the visits, the research team interviewed police officers, court officials, probation officers, school officials and media that covered the events in the towns hit by school violence.
"We tried to find out logistically how everything occurred and what problems ensued," Housley said. "What we found was that the communities had one thing in common. They all worked together. That's a major factor, and something that our whole team focused on."
Housley said national media members abruptly leave the sites of school violence after they get their stories, and are not affected by the tragedies like local media members are.
"Two of the reporters in Pearl were veterans. They had been in reporting for 20 years, and they were still, three years later, having a difficult time with what had transpired there. They knew family members there and others. It was their community. The impact on them was very different than the impact on the national media."
Kim Rogers, a limited license psychologist and unit supervisor for Central Michigan Mental Health Clinic, 301 S. Crapo St., participated in the Pearl trip.
"So far we've been experiencing better receptions than we thought," she said. "We had gotten word beforehand that people would be reluctant to talk, but they were really willing to talk with us."
Rogers worked with crisis response teams, and learned how and why certain actions worked and others didn't.
"We also did grief counseling, where we asked 'If you could go back what would you do over?'"
The research team learned more about the needs of the people affected by violence and will help develop a plan for Isabella County, Housley said.
"It will help foster better relationships with the media, police, schools and the public in our own community. It's a real intense experience. School violence hits everybody," she said.
In August, team members will begin holding town meetings in Isabella County to discuss their findings. Rogers said the team will have documents on their findings the first week of August.
Lesiak said a completed document may be available in December for the Central Michigan community.
The school-violence research team originally formed last August, after members were chosen by a selection committee. A group of Isabella County law enforcement officials was the team's catalyst, and the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe contributed approximately $53,000 for the research team through 2-percent tribal allocations.
