The policy and the principal: Caring Places to Learn /Safe School Environment and the role of effective administrative leadership in creating safe intermediate school environments in the Eastern School District of Prince Edward Island

In 1999, a new violence reduction policy called Caring Places to Learn/Safe School Environment was introduced to every school within the Eastern School District of Prince Edward Island. This study evaluated the methods by which the principals of the district's five largest intermediate schools have promoted this policy through awareness, implementation, and enforcement. Areas of review include an examination of effective policy characteristics such as communication, fairness, consistency, and meaningful consequence. This is complemented with a discussion of important principal strategies such as maintaining visibility, providing teacher support, communicating with stakeholders, and responding to students fairly and consistently. Information was collected through in-depth interviews, and the findings indicate a heightened awareness of policy objectives among administrators, an increased communication between principals, staff, students, and parents, and a practical interpretation of policy procedures in accordance with the factors surrounding each violent incident that occurs. The efficacy of the policy is questioned, the possibilities for future research are presented, and the educational implications of combining good policy and effective administrative strategies are discussed in detail.