Assault on Learning: a sneak preview
Assault on Learning is a seven-part, yearlong Inquirer investigative series that begins on Sunday. Here's a look at what's to come.
So, the seven-part investigative series four colleagues and I have been working on for the past year runs beginning tomorrow. Assault on Learning is a look at violence in the Philadelphia School District.
In addition to the story, photos and graphics, there are online exclusives available beginning tomorrow at http://www.philly.com/schoolviolence. There, you'll be able to see videos and explore a database of school-by-school violence.
Here's the lineup of stories:
Sunday - In Philadelphia, schools are no sanctuary. The specter of violence traumatizes students and stifles learning. And assaults persist as a growing share of serious crime.
Monday - District records have gaps - the violent incidents that do not get reported to the district's central office and that never get reported to Philadelphia police.
Tuesday - Age poses no barrier to school violence. Children younger than 10 assault and threaten classmates and teachers, and a number of these incidents have sexual overtones.
Wednesday - Many Philadelphia teachers face danger and frustration daily as they try to cope with violent students. Teachers speak out.
Thursday - A district program aimed at helping violent students has become little more than a paper shuffle. It enrolls a high percentage of the district's students, offering many of them scant help.
Friday - Programs do exist to reduce in-school violence, but the Philadelphia School District has failed to embrace them widely. Some of the best examples are close to home.
Next Sunday - Healing a wounded South Philadelphia High School has fallen largely on the broad shoulders of principal Otis Hackney.