In the aftermath of last week’s Santa Barbara tragedy, where a deranged student ran down four students and seriously injured another with his car, and the more recent Santee, Calif. high school shooting of 15 people by a troubled student, the question is: Can local school administrators spot a kid who’s in trouble?
The following interviews with administrators cover four levels of education — elementary, middle and high school, and university — and the administrators thoughts on how to spot and deal with troubled students.
Webster Elementary
Phil Cott, principal of Webster Elementary for the last 11 years, said, “At the age we have them, it’s difficult to predict future problems.
“There’s a few names of kids that pop into my head as leading candidates, but a lot could happen between now and the time they reach college age.”
Cott does say there are areas parents should look at for signs of problems. Among them: lack of impulse control, emotional outbursts and an inability to cope with institutions.
“Then there’s what I call ‘Big Anger,’ ” he said , “which would be an outsized amount of anger over something that’s relatively insignificant.”
The lack of impulse control can be seen when the child does inappropriate things. “There’s no little voice inside saying ‘don’t do that,’ ” observed Cott.
He said he would be concerned about children who “never seem to fit, don’t make or keep friends, or are rejected.”
The UC Santa Barbara student who mowed down the students was reportedly such a student, desperate for friends but rejected by everyone in the dorm.
“Kids never have these problems for no reason,” said Cott. “There’s something amiss in the first place if they develop these problems. Other kids — even at the primary school ages — are going to be wary of you if you are a kid who they can’t predict the behavior of. If they don’t feel safe around you, they steer clear of you. Maybe it’s because a kid is espousing ideas that they know are wrong.”
“Then what you’ve got,” says Cott, “is a cycle going of rejection, alienation, and more rejection.
“It’s difficult for us to interview students like this because our school doesn’t have the necessary experts, but, fortunately, the Jewish Family Service sends volunteer workers and we have interns from a Pepperdine program, and with that volunteer help we are able to consult students with problems.”
Much of Cott’s time is taken up meeting with teachers who describe students with problems. “We try to devise whatever we can to help the children get in a better state of mind,” he said.
Cott wouldn’t go along with any generalization that children from a single-parent home are more susceptible to be becoming problem children than those in a home where there are two parents. “I would rather have one parent from a loving home than a kid from a two-parent home where they neglect the child,” he said.
When there is a problem with a student, the teachers contact the parents, and a meeting with some type of advisor is scheduled. Usually, the first level is with the school nurse.
One favorable influence on Webster students is the Star Program run with the Sheriff’s Department, where Sheriff’s deputies come and lecture the children about resisting peer pressure to take drugs. “We like to get them saying the right things in 4th and 5th grade,” said Cott.
Malibu Middle/High School
“We do our best to examine the lives of students who are experiencing any kind of difficulty in school,” said Michael Matthews, principal of Malibu High School. “It is something we discuss as a staff quite often. Our Student Study Team meets twice a month. This team is composed of our counselors, our school psychologist, our nurse, teachers and our two assistant principals. We look at students who are experiencing difficulties and find ways to try to help them.
“That could include getting parents informed of what is going on, finding extra tutoring, testing for emotional or academic disabilities or getting additional counseling,” added Matthews.
Malibu High has several counseling options — two full-time counselors, and they have a request pending for a third.
Like Webster Elementary, outside service clubs provide help. In the case of Malibu High, that includes financial support from the Kiwanis Club and counseling from the Jewish Family Service, which can handle long-term counseling.
“We also have a program called ‘Council’ that has 9th and 10th graders meeting once a week to talk and listen to each other about important issues,” said Matthews.
He points out the Boys and Girls Club, which has a new teen center, “is a good after-school safe haven staffed by people who love and care for kids. This club shows what can happen when a community unites to help its children.”
In response to questions about how school authorities can spot a troubled student who could be a danger to others, Matthews said: “The biggest thing that we look for is change. If a student changes the clothes they wear, the friends they hang out with, or if their grades drop significantly, they quit a sports team, or if a teacher notices an attitude change, we start asking questions.”
The most obvious sign is a student breaking school rules. As far as appearance, Malibu does not have any rules forbidding piercings or tattoos. However, not allowed are hats or any clothing that send messages of hate or disrespect, or messages that include drugs or alcohol.
Malibu High has no drug testing program because a Supreme Court ruling forbids it. But they do have “drug dogs” that come onto campus frequently, sniffing for drugs in lockers.
Matthews addressed the contention that children coming from single-parent homes are more likely to have emotional difficulties. “That doesn’t mean that they will be more emotionally fragile,” he said. “Rather, it is the quality of the home from which they come. Children who live in homes with parents who are angry with each other, whether they are divorced or married, are much more likely to be emotionally fragile. Children who come from homes of disinterested parents, who are too busy or too detached to give their children the love and time they need, are more likely to be emotionally fragile.
“The quality of life and the amount of love and care in the home are far more important than the structure of the home. Parenting is more difficult than ever. It is difficult for parents to compete against the media. We have to try harder than ever before.”
Matthews addressed the hard question of students knowing a fellow student is voicing dangerous thoughts, such as the school shooter in San Diego where several students heard his plans, but no one came forward to warn school authorities.
“We hope that all students will have the courage to come forward when they see signs of potential danger,” said Matthews. “We have had a lot of success with this at Malibu High School. It takes the entire school community, the students, the parents, the staff and the teachers, to keep a school safe.”
University level
At Pepperdine University, Jim “J.B.” Brock is the director of Residential Life and associate dean of students. The school’s Residential Life staff is “thoroughly trained to identity potential problems early and to respond to situations in appropriate ways,” said Brock. “At Pepperdine, there hopefully is a sense of belonging with a supporting and caring environment.”
Brock views “the training and preparation of the staff as key to reinforcing a healthy environment.”
In identifying students with emotional problems, Brock said: “Some students may exhibit abuse of drinking or drugs or violence against people or property, but others may show they have a problem by withdrawing and choosing not to participate in things they previously enjoyed.”
The biggest sign to look for is a “dramatic shift in behavior,” said Brock.
The Santa Barbara student’s behavior had grown radically worse during his first few weeks in the dorm at Isla Vista. A freshman, it was his first time living away from home.
As far as spotting a “bad attitude” by clothing, Brock said that Pepperdine students tend to follow popular trends in appearance. Pepperdine does not forbid tattoos or unusual clothing.
The university has drug testing only for students choosing to participate in sports, and since there are many sports teams, this covers a large part of the student body.
Pepperdine has a judicial process through which students are disciplined for breaking the student code. Sanctions can range from a warning all the way through to dismissal.
Also at hand is a large number of professionals to help students cope with problems. “The Pepperdine Counseling Center is made of 10 part-time and full-time therapists and counselors who promote the good mental and emotional health of our students through individual and group counseling and psychotherapeutic services,” said Brock.
Out of the large student body, only an average of four to five students are sent home each year for failure to adhere to the student code governing behavior.
Brock could not confirm the often-heard suggestion that a student from a single-parent home is headed for trouble (the UCSB student came from a two-parent home).
“Statistically, we keep no data comparing the behavior of students from a single-parent home vs. a two-parent home,” said Brock.