WASHINGTON -- Crime and violent incidents are down in D.C. Public Schools, but officials with the teachers union said they don't believe the statistics.
Serious incidents -- a category that includes fights, robbery, weapon possession and drug violations -- totaled 1,117 from August 2008 to April 2009, the school system said. That's down 17 percent from the year before.
School officials attribute the drop to new efforts to engage students with after-school and summer programs.
But Washington Teachers Union President George Parker said teachers tell him discipline is worse this year. He suggested reporting of incidents has dropped, rather than the incidents themselves.
Copyright AP - Associated Press
