Police in Schools:

Student Perceptions of School Resource Officers

December 2011

Focus Group with SYPP Members

SYPP began this study with two focus groups—composed of ten female students, all SYPP members from five greater Seattle area schools.  The students were enrolled in the 9th, 10th, 11th, or 12th grade and came from Garfield High School, Franklin High School, Chief Sealth International High School, Ingraham High School, and Kenmore Junior High School.  The focus group’s primary topic was student attitudes about having a police officer, usually called a school resource officer (SRO), assigned to their school.  The discussion was not overly formal, and students were encouraged by the focus group facilitators, two law students from the University of Washington, to respond to and ask each other questions.[1]

Beyond the call of duty?

Overall, most students in the focus groups agreed that SROs tend to go beyond their safety and disciplinary duties and establish their authority by intimidating and harassing some students.  This harassment was most commonly described as being unsolicited comments, usually about a student’s clothing or appearance, but sometimes about a student’s academic performance.

Student opinion was fractured on whether this was an acceptable trade-off, given the benefits of having a police officer for campus safety.  Some believed that SROs made schools safer and that behavior was unsavory but not excessively negative; roughly half of the focus group participants believed SRO behavior impugned students’ sense of self-worth and made them more likely to lash out against the SRO or school officials, particularly when SROs searched students who hadn’t done anything wrong.

Searched

Searching students for evidence of wrongdoing, along with the harassing comments, were viewed by most focus group members as a way for SROs to intimidate students.  K.B., a 12^th grade female student, noted that the SRO at her school “judges me” and is “intimidating” whenever they speak.  Last year, K.B. was searched for marijuana possession after she left school grounds during lunch (allowed by her school during lunch hours) and walked past a popular off-campus gathering place for students.  According to K.B., the SRO didn’t have grounds for a search and simply searched her because she was walking by a place where students sometimes gather to smoke tobacco or marijuana.  The search turned up nothing, but the SRO nevertheless told her that he would arrest her if he “ever [saw her] in that area again.”

K.A., a 10^th grade student, and K.B. both felt SROs profiled them based on the disciplinary history of their older brothers, who the SROs were familiar with.  On one occasion, an SRO told K.B. that she “would probably drop out just like her brother.”  K.A. noted that SROs “constantly bug” her about things on account of her brother’s problems.  K.A. and K.B. experienced this treatment from their first day at that school, before they were given a chance to establish a reputation for themselves, because their SROs recognized their last names.  Other students felt “watched,” while those who attended Garfield High School reported unwarranted sweeps of all students’ lockers.  These accounts document a culture of intimidation and harassment for certain students that focus group members considered counterproductive to scholastic and social growth.

Security

Some students felt that SROs provided a sense of safety despite the negatives.  M.A., a 10^th grade student, noted that “we need SROs there because there’s so many kids, even if they might take things too far sometimes.”  Others felt that the intimidation and harassment overrode any feeling of added safety, and had little respect for school principals and vice-principals who “stay in their offices all the time” so that the SRO would handle all disciplinary matters.  K.B., who had been searched to no avail, noted that the way she was treated made her feel like “maybe [she] should have smoked that joint.”  M.B., a 9^th grader, echoed these sentiments when she noted that when SROs targeted her, she found herself wanting to actually break the rules whe was falsely accused of violating.  These statements indicate that many students internalize SRO harassment and “live down” to incorrect SRO judgments about their character.  In the final analysis, this behavior poisons the school environment by lowering student self-esteem and encouraging students to pay the harassment forward by taking out anxiety on other students.

November 2011 Student Survey on SROs

Immediately following the focus groups, participants worked with University of Washington law students (maybe call us focus group coordinators?) from the Race and Justice Clinic to refine questions for a survey of a wider group of students.  The survey, conducted informally but with close attention to neutral question structure, consisted of 9 questions about how visible SROs are at school, how much contact students have with them, and students’ reactions to both SRO contact and SRO presence overall.  This report only focuses on the most significant results, but all results can be seen in the datasheet.

SYPP members administered the survey at their respective high schools; participants were randomly selected, with administrators distributing their surveys to an entire class at a time.  This yielded 102 responses from students at five Seattle and greater King County area schools.[2]  Because the survey was administered in classrooms, all survey participants were actively enrolled at school (that is, none were on suspension or expulsion at the time).  Survey participants were in grades 9 through 12 as below:

Survey Summary

The survey revealed a few key themes:

• SRO Visibility: Students of color, particularly, African-American students, were generally more likely to see their SROs during the school day
  • In contrast to this, students from Asian backgrounds were by far the least likely to see or interact with their SRO

• SRO Contact: Most close interactions with SROs (being questioned or searched) were negative experiences for the students involved

• SRO Searches: Being searched by a police officer assigned to school was a universally negative experience for the students involved; in the comments section, many added that the search discovered nothing

• Comfort at School: Almost 27% of students reported they were either more likely or less likely to attend school due to the SRO being present there.

• About 14% of the total survey population were less likely to want to go to school, and these students had high levels of contact (seeing, being questioned by, or being searched by the SRO)
• About 13% were more likely to attend school due to SRO presence; most of these students saw their SRO regularly, but had very few interactions with the SRO

Questioning by SROs

Students were asked whether they had ever been questioned by their SRO and, if so, how the experience made them feel.  This included any type of questioning, and so included students who had been questioned as suspects, victims, or witnesses.[3]

Notes

• Students from most racial/ethnic groups were questioned at proportional rates.

• The exception was students of Asian backgrounds, who comprised were questioned much less than any other group.

• Males and females were questioned at relatively equal rates.

Search by SROs

As with being questioned by the SRO, students were asked whether they had been searched and, if so, how the search made them feel.

Notes

• Every student who had been searched felt it was a very negative experience, with some checking that they felt harassed or intimidated, and others writing in descriptions of the negative experience.
• Students from most racial/ethnic groups were searched at proportional rates.
• As with being questioned, Asian students had much less contact with SROs: no Asian students reported having been searched
• Males were considerably more likely to be searched than females.

Reason for Search

Students who had been searched were also asked whether they were given any reason or explanation for being searched:

Notes

• This matched the information gathered from the focus group: students, were usually only told to hand over their bag so that the SRO could search it; after nothing was discovered, which was overwhelmingly the case among focus group participants, the students were told to be on their way with no further explanation of what the SRO was looking for or what they had been doing that led to the search.
• Students in the focus group who had been searched but not given any explanation generally had no serious disciplinary history; because of this, and because they were not told why the search was happening, several assumed it was because of their race or ethnicity.

Which Students SROs Focus On

All students were asked whether they thought their SRO focused more on certain students than others.  Those who answered yes were also asked to write in why they thought the SRO focused on those students.

Reaction to Having an SRO at School

One of the key questions on the survey asked whether having an SRO assigned to their school made students more or less likely to attend school; those surveys that answered “Less likely” were then compared to other questions to see what may have led students to give this response.

• Out of those students who answered “Less likely”:
  • Nearly all – 13 students out of 14 – knew another student who had been questioned or searched by an SRO
  • A majority – 8 students out 14 – had been searched and questioned by an SRO
  • A large majority – 11 students out of 14 – knew another student who had been suspended, expelled, changed schools, or dropped out because of an interaction with an SRO
  • In general, these students had a much higher degree of contact with SROs than all students combined
  • The students who answered “More likely” had less contact with SROs: only 1 out of 13 students who answered this way had been questioned by an SRO, and none had ever been searched.

Conclusions

• We can infer that students benefit most from an SRO who they see around school regularly, but do not closely interact with: they feel more secure at school because they know the SRO is on hand for any serious incidents, but don’t feel like they’re being unfairly targeted or picked on.  Regular SRO interaction was not viewed as rapport-building by students, but as harassment.
• Students are usually searched without being given a reason; even when the search turns up nothing, no explanation or apology is offered.  This tends to make students resent their SRO, and can be particularly harmful in that students who don’t break the rules begin to see their SRO as someone who is out to get them.
• Students in the focus group tended to have more of a problem with an SRO’s actions than the mere presence of an SRO on campus.  Many appreciated having a police officer around for safety, but questioned the decisions that SROs made to search or repeatedly talk to certain students.
• Being searched by an SRO, especially when the student has done nothing wrong and has no contraband, can be tremendously damaging to both that student’s level of comfort at school and the SRO’s reputation and effectiveness in working with the student population.

• host a community meal: hosting a meal dedicated to raising funds for the organization
• bake sales – because who doesn’t like a fresh cookie?
• host a spoken word or band performance and ask for sliding scale donations
• phone calls, emails and asking 1:1 for donations

Hold up!! What’s going on at SYPP that I can share?

• This year’s YO 2.0 emphasizes technology as a tool within community organizing. We have enrolled 14 young women into the program and we are learning about: grassroots fundraising, understanding root causes of oppression and ways to challenge them. We are super excited to be teaming up with Reel Grrls to document our Education Justice Campaign and Biz Kids is coming in to document our Bowl-a-thon work!

• Education Justice Campaign: We are meeting every Wednesday at 4:30pm at the office. Recently, we collaborated with folks from YouthSpeaks to prepare for our Speak Out! on November 16 at Garfield Teen Life Center. We hope to share information about our campaign and the stories that ground it. We need YOU to be there to support us! Contact the Co-Directors for more info.

How does the Bowl-a-thon work?

• There are 30 Teams with a minimum of 5 people
• Each team raises money for SYPP ($100 per Adult and $50 per Youth)
• Our theme this year is Blast to the Past: Classic Fashion through the Decades. Each team is expected to have their own interpretation of the theme – so get creative and host a crafty party! We award prizes!!
• On Saturday, December 17 from 12-4pm your team will sign up for a time to bowl and celebrate with us at the AMF Imperial Lanes! SYPP pays for you to bowl (shoes & lanes) and we’ll feed you!

How do I create/join a Bowl-a-thon Team?

1. Go to: https://sypp.myetap.org/fundraiser/bowl2011/
2. Click on “Register”
3. Click on ” I need to Create an Account” or “I already Have an Account” and fill out your information.
4. Follow the rest of the steps and you’ll create your Team Page.
5. Email your friends, families, coworkers and community and ask them to be team members and for donations
6. Captains, don’t forget: team members must create their own account and sign up as a member of your team!

I just want to donate, where do I go?

Go to:  bit.ly/syppbowl2011

Blast to the Past:

Classic fashion through the decades

DATE: DECEMBER 17, 2011 Saturday

TIME: 12-4pm

SYPP’s Bowl-a-thon is a youth-organized, grassroots fundraising event that brings together youth, allies, and community members dedicated to supporting youth power and youth activism in Seattle.

There will be food, fantastic prizes, free t-shirts, and incredible flashbacks to fashion firsts, fits and flops!

Get involved and sign up as a Team Captain or donate to support your favorite social justice fashionista!

• Can you find 4 (or more) of your friends who would each be willing to raise $100 for SYPP? Your team goal is $500!
• Do you have a love for youth organizing and SYPP’s Education Justice Campaign?
• Do you love dressing up and being silly?

Here’s the video created by Pepperspray Productions about the event:

Thursday, September 22 from 7 – 9 pm

The event is FREE, please register HERE

This panel will feature speakers from Seattle Young People’s Project, TeamChild, Children and Youth Advocacy Clinic at UW Law and Kent School District Alliance for Diversity and Equity

DIRECTIONS:

From I-5 South: Take exit 154A on the left to merge onto I-405 N toward Renton Take exit 2 to merge onto WA-167 S toward Auburn Take the 84th Ave S/N Central Ave exit toward Kent City Center Turn left onto 84th Ave S Continue onto Central Ave N Turn left onto E Smith St Destination will be on the right From I-5 North: Take exit 149A for WA-516 E toward Kent Turn right onto WA-516 E/S Kent Des Moines Rd Continue to follow WA-516 E Turn left onto Central Ave S Turn right onto E Smith St Destination will be on the right

Please welcome:

Some Words From Jeremy:

“For the last 3 ½ years, SYPP’s work and mission have been at the center of my life, and I think it would take some particularly strong poetry to express how deeply SYPP and its youth members have affected me.  When I became a youth organizer at 14, my friends and I often imagined creating a place like SYPP, so the privilege of working as a Co-Director has been the fulfillment of a life’s wish.

Although I’m very critical of how the non-profit industrial complex saps energy and initiative from social movements, I’m so proud of how seriously SYPP thinks about its mission, its relevance, and its relationship to the much bigger struggle for justice.  From an insider perspective, I am more convinced than ever of how important SYPP’s local youth organizing and leadership development work is.  I just wish we had even more community investment and capacity to better realize all the powerful strategies and ideas that we’ve generated.

That’s why I’m going to continue into the future as a passionate supporter and donor.  I hope that anyone who reads this will consider stepping up their support.  Now is the time to take SYPP to the next level!”

Announcing the New Position

While we’re really sad to see Jeremy go, we love SYPP’s ability to evolve and change with new members and staff, and we’re excited about finding an amazing new Co-Director to take his place!  Could you be that Co-Director?  Do you know someone who’s perfect for the job?

We’ve attached the Co-Director job description below.  The due date for applications is May 20th.

Click for the Job Announcement and how to apply: 2011 Co-Director Announcement

What’s a FamBam?

fam·i·ly [fam-uh-lee, fam-lee] noun + bam [bam] noun, verb =  Fam·Bam

-noun

1. a night of sharing, storytelling, eating and laughter with old and new friends.

ex. I can’t wait to go to the fambam tonight so I can eat til I burst and laugh til I cry!

-verb

2. to bring communities together to celebrate the accomplishments of youth organizers with families, community and SYPP supporters.

ex. I’m glad we fambam’d last night. I learned so much about everyone there!

No auction this year? What makes this different?

• Instead of an emphasis on items and purchases, the focus is on fun and connection between supporters, youth, and their families.
• A creative and unique celebration of how all generations contribute to social change, from our ancestors, to our supporters and alumni, to our current members.
• More diverse and in-depth sharing about who SYPP is and why our work matters.

I want to be there! What do I need to know?

• A delicious dinner is provided and you should be prepared to run for our famously fun dessert dash.
• Come with a spirit of grassroots support for a worthy organization empowering youth in Seattle to fight for social justice. There will be a variety of ways to donate to SYPP and demonstrate support for our work.
• You’ll be sharing a table with 7 friends so start asking each other now! Tickets are $40 for adults and $20 for youth
• Please register yourself as a guest by clicking this link: http://bit.ly/syppfambam

If you have any questions about anything at all please feel free to call us at 206-860-9606 or email sunny@sypp.org or jeremy@sypp.org

Seattle Young People’s Project is about to make a heartfelt, but risky change to our fundraising strategy, and we’re counting on your support to pull it off.

After extensive discussions among members, staff, some alumni, and the Board of Directors, we have decided to discontinue our annual auction fundraiser. Instead, we are excited to pursue some new fundraising ideas that better reflect our values and capacity.  Please, read on to hear about our reasons, our plans, and how you can help us take this bold step.

Saying Goodbye to the Auction

Year after year, SYPP has been able to pull off auction fundraisers that are warm, fun, and also sustain our youth-led organizing work.  In fact, last year was our most financially successful auction yet, raising almost $27,000.  However, there are a number of things about the auction that just don’t sit right with us, and don’t feel like a good fit with our mission.

For example:

• Youth members often feel tokenized, standing behind products and on stage for just a few minutes to ask for money.  For all the work this event takes, they want an opportunity for more authentic interactions with their supporters.
• As a social justice organization, critical of cutthroat capitalism, we feel sad to have our biggest event of the year so focused on consumerism.  In fact, many youth’s own families and communities feel priced out of the event.  We want to connect with you about our work, not about buying things.
• With only two staff and two youth interns, the auction monopolizes almost 3 full months of SYPP’s capacity.  This is time that can and should be better used to push our organizing forward and to grow youth power in Seattle.  If we are going to spend three months going door-to-door across Seattle, we want to be asking our neighbors to build a movement, not just donate gift certificates.
• Just as we’ve seen more and more organizations borrowing the fun Bowl-a-Thon model, it seems that every year more local groups are doing auctions.  In fact, Seattle has an incredibly auction-heavy fundraising climate compared to other cities.  At SYPP, we think it’s time to try something different.
• While we loved professional auctioneer Laura Michalek’s work last year, ever since our long-time auctioneer Larry Taylor passed, the SYPP auction just hasn’t felt the same to us.

For these reasons and more, SYPP is looking to change things up.

3 SYPP Values, 3 New Initiatives

This year we are launching three new fundraising and community building programs that are rooted in values that matter to us at SYPP:

—

1) Building an intergenerational community that honors youth’s justice work.

SYPP FamBam!

A Dinner and Celebration of the SYPP Family

-Saturday, May 21st, 5:30-8pm-

This dinner will gather SYPP’s entire community of members, supporters, alumni, and parents to celebrate together as a SYPP family.   Like the auction, there will be giving opportunities like fund-a-need and the dessert dash, but the focus will be on having fun, meaningful sharing about SYPP’s work, and honoring each generation’s contributions to building social change movements. GOAL: $10,000

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2) Appreciating SYPP’s legacy and listening to those who come before us.

SYPP Alumni Story Project and Giving Circle

With SYPP coming up on its 20th birthday, there are hundreds, if not thousands of community members who count SYPP as one of their first activist homes.  We are creating a project to reconnect with these SYPP history makers, to learn from their stories, and to seek their support to sustain SYPP into the future.

GOAL: $2,5000

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3) Expanding class-accessible fundraising that values people’s time contributions and relationships

Major Fundraiser Program

While we love our Major Donors and appreciate their sizeable annual contributions, we also want to expand spaces for supporters who might not have deep pockets, but who do have deep commitments to youth empowerment.  We are recruiting 10 major fundraisers, who will utilize their own passions and chosen communities to raise $1,000 over a 12 month period.

GOAL: $10,000

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SYPP NEEDS YOU!

This change in our fundraising is much less about the money, and more about sticking to our values.  But that doesn’t change the harsh economic realities out there.

In order to make this risk work out, we need our SYPP community to show up for us.  We still need captains for the SYPP FamBam!, we need alumni to reconnect with us, and we need Major Fundraisers.

What will your contribution be?

Thank You,

SYPP’s Board and Staff