More than 15,000 secondary students in the United States participated in the "Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance-United States, 1999" survey.  The study, conducted by the National Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, revealed that

• nearly 1 in 5 students carried guns or knives to school in the 30 days preceding the survey;

• more than 1 in 10 students were involved in a physical fight on school property in the 12 months preceding the survey; and

• nearly one-third of all students surveyed have been offered drugs on school property in the 12 months preceding the survey.[48]

As the problems in government schools continue to mount and reform efforts fail to resolve this crisis in education, citizens are looking for a reform with results.