Benefits of distance: An inquiry into the protective factors of attending open-enrollment schools for violence-exposed youth

Saybe, M. C. (Megan)¹, Overstreet, S. (Stacy)¹, Baker, C. N. (Courtney)^1
1Tulane University, 2007 Percival Stern Hall, 70118, New Orleans

 

Submission type

Poster only

Scheduled

Hallway, 22-07-2016, 16:00 - 17:00

Keywords

open-enrollment schools, violence-exposed youth, school climate

Summary

Youth exposed to violence often experience negative effects that carry over into school (Milam, Furr-Holden, & Leaf, 2010). Many districts have adopted open-enrollment programs, allowing students to attend schools outside their residential neighborhood. Research examining differential effects of violence exposure when residences and schools are in separate neighborhoods is limited. We hypothesized that distance between school and home will be associated with perceptions of better school climate and better social-emotional outcomes, but only for those children who are exposed to violence in their home neighborhoods. Data including student residential addresses, school addresses, and student self-reported perceptions of school climate and social-emotional outcomes were gathered from 551 students in six urban open-enrollment charter schools. These data, part of a larger intervention study on school safety, were mapped to publicly available crime data. Preliminary descriptive analyses revealed residential neighborhood violence exposure ranged from 0 to 60 exposures within 200 meters of the home (M=9.58; SD=8.08). Additional multilevel analyses are currently underway. This study examines the effects that environmental factors, such as distance to school and residential violence exposure have on student social-emotional functioning and perceptions of school climate, in an effort to highlight potential protective effects of attending open-enrollment schools for violence-exposed youth.

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