UB School of Social Work to Open V.I.S.A. Center for Students Suspended from School for Violence

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The University at Buffalo School of Social Work has announced the opening of a new center aimed at meeting the educational, emotional and behavioral needs of students who have been suspended from school for disruptive behavior and acts of violence.

The program is being offered in collaboration with the Buffalo Public Schools alternative-education program.

The Vision, Integrity, Structure and Accountability (V.I.S.A.) Center for Children Suspended from School for Violence will provide Buffalo Public Schools students in grades 7-10 with a short-term assessment and intervention program to help them successfully return to their regular schools.

The first university and school system collaboration of its kind in the nation, the center will offer up to 30 students and their families an intensive, two-week program that will include academic work and counseling. It will be located in the Acheson Annex on the UB South (Main Street) Campus.

The center expects to work with as many as 500 students over the course of the 2000-01 academic year. Participation in the program will be voluntary, and must be agreed to by suspended students and their parents. The program will begin serving students on Nov. 15.

The center is financed by a New York State Legislative Initiative Grant of $700,000 funded by state Assembly Deputy Speaker Arthur O. Eve and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.

Eve described the venture as "an important pilot project dealing with a crucial issue facing our schools and our children.

"We are hoping," Eve added, "that this will be a model for a state-wide program addressing the issue of violence in our schools."

Lawrence Shulman, dean of the UB School of Social Work, said the V.I.S.A. Center will target students who have been suspended from school for violence, threats of violence, weapons possession or other disruptive actions.

Between September 1997 and January 2000, the Buffalo Public Schools suspended 1,329 students for violent incidents. And that number is expected to grow as a result of recent state legislation passed in reaction to the overall increase in school violence that gives teachers the authority to expel students from the classroom.

By law, students suspended from school must receive two hours of in-home instruction each day. While the instruction helps them keep up with their school work, it does nothing to address the behavior that brought about the suspension.

A vital component of the V.I.S.A. Center's program will be an assessment of individual student needs.

"The behavior that got them thrown out of school is a communication, but no one has asked what that behavior was saying," said Shulman.

Many of the students that this program will serve are "vicarious victims of violence," he said, young people who may have witnessed drive-by shootings, or have been neglected or exposed to substance abuse and family violence. For many, there is a sense of hopelessness that combines with poor academic performance to leave them frustrated and angry.

"Two weeks is too short of a time for long-term, significant change. However, we hope to use this time to break the cycle," Shulman said.

"Self-esteem is a big part of it. We don't want them to think they're losers. We want them to believe they can succeed."

The center will be staffed by three teachers from the Buffalo Public Schools who will provide the students with two hours of classroom instruction each day. All are certified teachers who have volunteered to be reassigned to the center from their regular classroom duties and "are invested in working with these kids," Shulman said. They will be assisted by a full-time teacher's aid.

In addition to their academic work, students will receive psycho-social assessment, anger-management and conflict-resolution training, psychological testing and, where appropriate, individual, family and group counseling conducted by two full-time social workers and graduate students in the UB School of Social Work. A psychologist also will be available for assessments.

"The goal is to help these students to develop the skills they need, to help them keep up academically and to see themselves as potentially more successful than they thought they were," said Shulman. "The program provides the kind of structure we think will help free these kids, so they'll believe they're important and that we're invested in them."

Students participating in the program will receive bus passes to take them from their neighborhoods to Main Street, where a dedicated bus will pick up students and transport them directly to Acheson Annex. Students will have to pass through a metal detector to enter the

building, which will be staffed by a security guard. This screening is designed to guarantee students, parents and staff that the center is a safe area.

Once students have completed the two-week program at the center, the goal is to offer "continuity of care," Shulman said by identifying a re-entry person at the students' schools to help with their transition back into the regular classroom. In addition, the center will refer students and their families to social-service agencies, as necessary. The School of Social Work also is looking into providing mentoring and job training for students.

Sheila McGowan, a Buffalo Public Schools social worker, will serve as on-site director; Charles Syms, clinical assistant professor of social work, will serve as program director, and Mark Cameron, assistant professor of social work, will serve as research director. Elzie Fisher, principal at Buffalo Alternative High School will be the supervising principal.