Olivia Sanderfoot had heard the rap about violence at Madison East High School, so she said she was surprised last year as a freshman when she witnessed a large police presence just twice — to stop a fight a block away and to pick up a student for a prior offense.

She ended up thinking that some headline-making fights had colored her view.

"They make huge news, and everyone starts freaking out," said Olivia, 15, who begins her sophomore year this week and said she has never felt unsafe at East.

The Madison School District's reputation has been battered the last couple of years by several high-profile police incidents, some with unusual twists — an irate mother subdued by a stun gun, adults egging on students to fight, a teacher punched in the face.

For a clearer look at safety trends, the State Journal reviewed police calls to Madison's four main public high schools, as well as staff injury reports and school climate surveys.

The view that emerges is of a district still dealing with a number of serious fights and disturbances, but not nearly as many as two years ago. Police calls for violence-related crimes have dropped steadily over the last four semesters, although some people question whether the statistics reflect an actual decline in incidents or an effort by school officials to call police less often.

Student perceptions of safety have remained relatively stable over the past six years, with about 20 percent of high school students consistently saying they don't feel safe. Injuries to high school staff members jumped in 2006-07 and inched up again last year.

Police calls down

Total police calls to Madison's four main high schools declined 38 percent from the fall semester of 2006 to last spring. But those figures tell only a partial story, and not a very meaningful one.

That's because the numbers include all police calls, including ones for 911 disconnects, parking lot crashes and stranded baby ducks. (It happened at La Follette last May.)

The State Journal then looked at police calls in eight categories closely related to safety — aggravated batteries, batteries, weapons offenses, fights, bomb threats, disturbances, robberies and sexual assaults. Those calls are down 46 percent from fall 2006 to spring 2008.

The schools varied little last spring in the eight categories. Memorial and West each had 13 such calls, La Follette 14 and East 16.

School officials are relieved by the downward trend but careful not to read too much into the figures.

"We know there's almost a cyclical nature to crime statistics and even to individual behavior," said Luis Yudice, who is beginning his third year as district security coordinator.

Art Camosy, a veteran science teacher at Memorial, said he thinks the climate is improving at his school. Yet he views the police figures skeptically, in part because the numbers are "blips in time" but also because he wonders if the district's central office is behind the drop.

"Are our building administrators being pressured not to call police as often?" he asks.

John Matthews, the longtime executive director of Madison Teachers Inc. (MTI), the district's teachers union, contends that the district's leadership has indeed done this from time to time, directing building administrators to hold off on calling police so often.

Yudice, a former Madison police captain, said there was a time years ago when the district was extremely sensitive about appearing to have a large police presence at its schools. He rejects that notion now.

"It's just the opposite," he said. "We are more openly acknowledging that we have issues that need to be dealt with by the police. Since I've been working here, there has never been a directive to me or the school principals to minimize the involvement of police."

Yudice offers several initiatives he hopes are reducing police calls, but he first mentions the 2006 shooting death of Weston Schools Principal John Klang by a student in Cazenovia, about 70 miles northwest of Madison. It gave everyone pause and shifted priorities, Yudice said. Staff members became more receptive to safety-related training, and the district intensified efforts to build strong relationships between adults and students, he said.

Since the 1999 Columbine school shootings, the Madison School District's primary approach to safety has been an attempt to make sure every student feels connected to at least one staff member, someone they trust enough to confide in. Although each high school has a couple of dozen security cameras, the district has generally downplayed technology as the answer.

"Our best safety measure is the voice of students talking to adults," said East Principal Alan Harris. "Every time that conversation can be enhanced, our schools are safer."

Survey results stable

When Madison high school students are surveyed, a majority of respondents consistently say they feel safe. The percentage answering this way is around 75 percent at Memorial and West and only slightly less but still above 65 percent at East.

The exception is La Follette, where the percentage of students who say they feel safe has been dropping and stands at barely over half (51 percent).

The school had a particularly rocky 2006-07. Following several fights, its new principal resigned mid-year. Current principal Joe Gothard begins his second year Tuesday amid generally favorable reviews.

The school's administrative team focused last year on how it supervises students, Gothard said. "We feel like we've been able to generate some momentum for change."

La Follette senior Deidre Green, 17, described the school as "kind of unstable" before Gothard's arrival and said police are "always at the school — always." But she said things have turned around. Despite some high-profile fights, Deidre said she feels safe.

Many students interviewed by the State Journal said the same thing — fights and police officers are part of the school landscape yet not cause for much concern. The students said they're savvy about who they mix with, so they don't feel personally endangered.

"There are a lot of fights every day at West," said senior Chloe Brown, 17. "But I just don't get into conflicts, so I feel pretty safe."

West Principal Ed Holmes disagreed that fights are common, noting that students typically rate the school as safe on surveys.

La Follette parent Towonner Childress said she doesn't worry about her daughter's safety because her daughter knows not to watch a fight or jump in. "She scoots right along."

The flip side is that 15 percent to 25 percent of Madison high school students usually report they don't feel safe. "We need to do better," Yudice said.

Climate surveys also reveal that a majority of students don't think their personal items are safe, and staff members report a big problem with students bullying each other.

Some parents interviewed by the State Journal said they think incidents are underreported by students, and there is considerable concern about the safety of Metro Transit buses, which many students use for transport. "A lot of the behavior problems start and end on buses," said La Follette parent Sue Solomon.

New initiatives

Last semester, each high school added a student engagement coordinator to build rapport with the most disenfranchised students. "We want them to feel safe and welcome and let them know there is someone here who has their back," said Cathy Accardi, who holds the position at Memorial.

Also last year, the School Board approved hiring 10 additional security assistants for a total of 24, most of them at high schools. These district-trained, unarmed employees complement the four Madison police officers — one per high school.

It's probably too early to attribute much of the decline in police calls to these measures — only five of the 10 security assistants were on staff by the end of last semester — but it's reasonable to think they will calm some situations before they require police, Yudice said.

Janet House, a parent of two Memorial students, said she hopes the district adds even more security assistants. She'd also like metal detectors at all high school entrances.

"I don't feel it's safe here," she said recently during high school enrollment. "It can be calm one minute, a storm the next." She blames poor parenting and unruly students more than the district.

Memorial Principal Bruce Dahmen said school conflicts involve only about 1 percent of the student body annually but are a given with 2,100 students and 300 staff members. "We're bigger than many cities, so there will be disturbances," he said. What's critical is that school officials respond quickly, firmly and consistently, he said.

Staff injuries up

When fights occur, teachers and other staff members sometimes must intervene. The number of high school staff members injured by students has more than tripled to 41 in three years, and the percentage of those injuries requiring medical attention also is up.

School officials note that in a majority of the cases, the students involved were in special education programs, and some of them may not have intentionally caused the injury.

In 13 of the 41 cases last year, the injury occurred while "intervening in an altercation" or "maintaining order." The injuries included being kicked in the ankle, being punched in the side with a fist and having a hand closed in a door.

Steve Pike, a West science teacher and president of MTI, said the teachers union surveyed members last February and 70 percent responded that they feel "very safe" or "usually safe" at their schools.

Middle school concerns

For this article, the State Journal looked only at high school data. Increasingly, parents have become troubled by disturbances at some of the district's 11 middle schools, particularly Toki.

On a local Web site where Madison parents discuss school safety — www.schoolinfosystem.org — talk often turns to disruptive middle school students upending classroom learning. Yudice said the district is aware of these concerns. Currently, four of the 24 security assistants are at middle schools, he said.

Yudice and other officials take a big-picture perspective. The city is changing — crime has spiked in some neighborhoods, gang involvement is increasing, girls are becoming more violent. These issues play out at schools, too, they say.

"The aspiration, which is to have truly public schools, is also fraught with challenges," said Harris, East's principal. "What happens in the community will always be a part of your school. There will be an ebb and flow at times."