By Stephanie Richards
Children have been taught since elementary school to play fair, share, and not hit each other.
But the trend of school violence is increasing in every school throughout the nation.
One out of five high-school-age boys took a weapon to school in 2000, according to a national survey conducted by the Josephson Institute of Ethics.
Furthermore, more than one out of three high school students said they do not feel safe at school.
School violence can mask itself in a variety of forms, ranging from the taunting and teasing of a school bully to life-taking tragedies that shock the nation.
'We need to recognize the fact that violence is more than Columbine,' said Garn Coombs, a professor of teacher education at BYU. 'There are different types of violence within schools.'
Nearly one-third of students throughout the nation reported that they have experienced bullying, according to the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Coombs said he teaches his students to have an active plan prepared to handle situations where violence is an issue.
Several of Coombs'' students have faced school violence situations while completing their student teaching, including the incident that occurred in Taylorsville.
'Unfortunately, students have learned to deal with situations in violent ways,' said Greg Hudnell, a school district employee and former principal. 'We are concerned with all violence, including the bullies in 5th and 6th grade. We want to set a standard that we won''t tolerate any of that.'
'We are a unique community but we are not immune to violence,' said Jay Mansanarez, a school resource officer at Timpview high school. 'School violence is as big of an issue here as anywhere else.'
As a former student in Provo schools, Shannon Abegglen, 20, a sophomore from Provo majoring in nursing, witnessed the different roles school violence played in her high school experience.
'Things are getting worse in the schools here and around the country,' Abegglen said. 'People think that nothing happens in Provo, but they do and they are getting worse.'
However, the Provo School District is taking active steps to reverse the trend of school violence by implementing programs that bridge the barriers between teachers, parents and children, Hudnell said.
The programs were initiated three years ago in light of an epidemic of school violence. They seek to find and treat the underlying problems causing violent behavior.
The Provo School District turned to these programs as a corrective method instead of expelling students, because it was able to change behavior, not postpone it, Hudnell said.
'Expelling students is a lose-lose situation,' Hudnell said. 'The parents become frustrated and the student becomes behind on their school work. We want to keep kids in the schoolroom.'
These programs include an advocacy program, a mentoring program and a rapid-response program, Hudnell said. In addition, social workers and police officers will have positions in schools.
The advocacy program pairs 30 BYU students majoring in social work or social sciences to children that are 'lost in the shuffle,' Hudnell said.
'Research shows that children with significant others are less likely to act out violence,' Hudnell said.
The advocacy program provides a situation where the mentor can identify with the child and allows the child to know that they are important, Hudnell said.
The mentoring program, similar to the advocacy program, provides a positive role model for children that come from difficult family backgrounds, Hudnell said.
More than 400 people from the community become parent figures to the children, providing them with a positive example.
The rapid-response program provides support for teachers that work with troubled youth, Hudnell said. A team of experienced teachers and social workers work with the teacher, the child, and the parents together to solve behavioral problems.