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Central Region Neighborhood Youth Safety Coalition Social Contract
Ratified, July 12, 2004
Negotiated by the Institute for the Study of Civic Values
To secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, we, the principals and teachers, the community organizations and agencies, and
elected representatives serving the Central Region, pledge to work together with students, parents, caregivers, and community residents to build a safe and supportive environment in our schools and throughout the
neighborhood.
To achieve this goal:
We pledge to build a Central Region Neighborhood Safety Coalition, composed of school administrators, teachers, students, Home and School Associations, the police, human
service agencies, faith-based institutions, and community organizations dedicated to insuring the safety of young people in the schools and the neighborhood and to providing effective response to youth violence
wherever it occurs.
Specifically:
The school administrators, business, and community leaders in the Central Region pledge to establish a Central Region Safety Coalition, as an ongoing partnership between
the schools and organizations serving the neighborhoods, encouraging community and business organizations to become increasingly involved in the schools and school administrators and teachers to participate in the
community.
The Central Region will secure support from the City and the School District to implement the social contract as a sanctioned activity of the City and the School District.
The Central Region Community Builder pledges to provide support for as many as two meetings per month for parents, community leaders, and City Departments to insure
continued community involvement in the effort to promote school and neighborhood safety.
The Central Region Safety Coalition will define the specific contributions that each of the participating organizations will make toward promoting safety in the schools and
the neighborhood.
The Institute for the Study of Civic Values will provide staff support to the Central Region Safety Coalition and will moderate an email list aimed at building an
online network of schools, parents, caregivers, community organizations and city departments working together in the Coalition.
The schools, the Home and School Associations, and community organizations pledge to recruit parents to volunteer in the schools, for Safe Corridors, and Town Watch.
The School District and Town Watch organizations pledge to conduct training sessions for parents and community members to play these important roles. The schools will contact parents who already walk their children
to school to allow other children and parents to walk with them. The schools will re-establish safety patrols with older students.
The Central Region Safety Coalition pledges to work with the area Police Districts promoting youth involvement in the Police Athletic League and to encourage police
involvement in the schools to provide support for the students.
The schools, Home and School Associations, and community organizations pledge to support sustained and effective efforts to respond to disruptions and violent incidents
when they occur.
The School District administration pledges to seek broad endorsement of the Student Code of Conduct on the part of students, parents, and community organizations, to
demonstrate that the Code of Conduct has strong support and that students who violate the Code of Conduct will be acting in defiance of the standards supported by other students, parents, and larger community.
The principal in each school pledges to establish a team working to uphold the principle of the Student Code of Conduct, including teachers, students, leaders of the Home
and School Association, and community leaders in the surrounding neighborhood. The aim of each team will be to uphold standards of safety in the school and the neighborhood and to create a school climate that
prevents violence before it occurs.
The schools pledge to enforce the provisions of the Student Code of Conduct and the school dress code consistently throughout the school year. For students who fail to come
to school appropriately dressed, the schools will provide them with several options to obtain uniforms.
The Central Region Safety Coalition pledges to find alternatives to suspension as the only recourse available to schools in responding to violence. It will seek out
services and programs which disruptive students will be required to attend until they are willing and able to behave responsibly within the school.
The Central Region Safety Coalition will take full advantage of the resources of the Philadelphia Anti-Drug, Anti-Violence Network (PAAN) and similar groups in diffusing
conflicts that take place over time in the schools and the neighborhoods.
The Central Region Safety Coalition will work to identify programs and services that will be offered to the parents of students engaged in disruptive and violent behavior,
so that responding to these problems will be seen as an important family responsibility.
The Central Region Safety Coalition will work to strengthen the relationship between the schools and the Department of Human Services (DHS), so that DHS supportive services
and programs can play an increasing role in helping to reduce violence within the schools and strengthen services to families and caregivers whose children are prone to violence and disruptive behavior.
The schools, Home and School Associations, and community and business organizations in the Central Region Safety Coalition pledge to work together to develop programs for
students in and out of school that will provide constructive alternatives to violence and disruptive behavior.
The Central Region Safety Coalition will work with the schools to develop alternative approaches to student discipline that promote non-violence, parental involvement, and
restorative justice. These will include conflict management programs such as a Disciplinary Advisory Courtcomprised of students, parents, police and community members. The Coalition will work with the Office of
School Climate and Safety, faith-based organizations and institutions, and community organizations to develop these alternative approaches to discipline.
The Central Region Safety Coalition will take responsibility for developing and disseminating information about community , city and school resources available to promote
safety in the schools and in the neighborhoods. The Central Region will seek support from the City to provide resources needed to make this information available to community newspapers, radio, the School District
channel, and the Internet.
The Central Region Safety Coalition will publish a newsletter reporting on area and city-wide programs benefiting young people in the Central Region. The Coalition
will develop a web site providing on-going information on youth programs and events in the Region that enable participants to obtain this information on a daily basis. This information will also be
disseminated through the Central Region Safety Coalition email list.
The Central Region Safety Coalition will develop activities that provide recognition to schools, neighborhoods, and young people within the Region for the accomplishments
of students and for their success in efforts to promote safety in the schools and the neighborhoods.
I, _______________, hereby sign the above document and promise to support the Central Region Safety Coalition to the best of my ability to ensure the safety of our schools
and neighborhoods.
Name: ____________________________
Organization:________________________
Date: ______________________________
Central Region Safe Schools Social Contract Implementation
Developed a Central Region Safety Coalition Social Contract focused on pro-active prevention programs.
Created a Central Region Safety Coalition which developed the Social Contract with 40 active member organizations including the following:
15 community-based organizations
5 faith-based institutions
The School District of Philadelphia with 6 representatives
6 principals from area schools in the Central Region
2 elementary schools
3 middle schools of which two are classified as persistently dangerous
1 persistently dangerous high school
The Philadelphia Home and School Council
6 Home and School Associations
2 Educational Management Organizations (EMO's)
4 city departments
2 offices of elected officials
For a complete list of participating agencies, contact ISCV at 215-238-1434.
Created the PhillyBlocks Central Region community email network with over 50 members to establish online dialogue between community members and to disseminate information
concerning safety initiatives.
Established the Central Region Safety Coalition Advisory Team with 28 members to implement social contract initiatives and measure progress of social contract.
Commitment from the School District of Philadelphia to provide benchmark data on the Central Region to help measure the success of the social contract.
Commitment from the Central Region Community Builder to hold two meetings per month for parents and community members focused on expanding their involvement in schools in the
Central Region.
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