At a recent health conference, psychologist W. Rodney Hammond, Ph.D. of CDC, outlined what works in violence prevention based on research. Here is a brief list of his findings:

1. Make the program comprehensive involving families, schools and communities.
2. Launch anti-violence curricula in the primary grades and reinforce it across grade levels.
3. Build personal and social assets that inoculate children against violent habits and diffuse their tendency to lash out physically when angry.
4. Make the program content relevant to culture and ethnicity.
5. Ultimately the most effective technique is using programs that develop students' violence resistance skills.

Many of these violence programs have research that indicates changes in knowledge and attitudes. However, these programs must be used as they were intended. Infusion of programs may be successful but come under more stringent guidelines for evaluation. By looking at your schools' discipline incident and action codes, you will be able to develop strategies based on needs. Conflict Resolution and Peer Mediation programs have an abundance of research that show great effectiveness when used as part of a comprehensive prevention plan. Please contact Jeff Dess or Barry Miller for statistical data on the above mentioned programs.

b.) Mentoring Programs

A senior at McEachern High School who has been involved in prevention based programs including Peer Helpers for the last six years writes: "I had the opportunity to speak to 5th graders at a local elementary school on the effects of ATOD. This experience impacted me many ways. Most importantly, I discovered that I want to become a teacher. One kid looked to me and said, 'When I get into high school, I want to be like you. I then realized that if I could touch one kid in one way and maybe give him a positive role model, imagine how many kids I would be able to touch in 30 years of teaching".

Most researchers will document low attachment as a precursor to ATOD, violence and/or suicide. In Gavin DeBecker's book, The Gift of Fear, DeBecker suggests that one of the leading precursors for attention getting violent acts is being ignored, not feeling connected. Establishing mentoring programs that utilize community and high school leaders, working with younger children have been found effective in giving children a sense of attachment. Once a child feels connected, academic effect may increase. In Search Institutes, 40 developmental assets, adult role models and positive peer influence were listed as asset building characteristics every child needs to feel successful.

c.) After School Programs

The key to this recommendation is surveying the students to determine what activities they would like to attend during the hours of 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. There is research that suggests that ATOD use and other unhealthy behaviors take place between the hours of 4:00-8:00 p.m. and before school starts. We must make students feel successful in other areas besides academics. After School Programs do not need to be housed at the school. Community and business leader involvement is essential in implementing a successful After School Program.

a.) Team Building - It is important for school faculty to support one another during the school year. This sense of family and attachment to school will create a more positive climate.

b.) Program Training - In the 1993 article, Comprehensive Steps Used to Stem Youth Violence, education week states "that violence prevention strategies should be taught in schools and to teachers, administrators, school staff members and health professionals who work with children". Whatever strategy is used, faculty should be trained and support the initiative. Programs that are not supported or are one person driven are more apt to fail.

c.) Signs and Symptoms - All educators need to be periodically updated on child abuse, drug and suicide signs and symptoms. "Children who are physically abused at home are much more likely to act out in violent and aggressive ways by the time they enter kindergarten", Science News, January 12, 1991. Paul Mones states in his book, When a Child Kills, "the most single reliable pre-incident indicator of parricide killing is child abuse".

d.) Anger Management and Empathy - In DeBecker's book The Gift of Fear, Mr. DeBecker sites a "predictor of violence is chronic anger in childhood". In Daniel Goldman's thought provoking book Emotional Intelligence, he describes seven key abilities most beneficial for human beings. Five of them have to do with learning the necessary tools to deal with anger and empathy. Lack of impulse control, lack of empathy, and inability to express feeling have all been documented as possible precursors to violent behavior. It is important for staff to be able to identify students who fit into some of these categories.

e.) School Wide Assistance Group (SWAG), Care Teams/Core Groups - Care teams are different from SWAG in that they deal specifically with the emotional and behavior needs of the child. These teams should be made up of teachers, school psychologist, social workers, counselors, administrator and Prevention/Intervention staff (may be available depending on schedule). This care group would handle referrals from teachers in hopes of addressing the student's need.

f.) Drug Perception and Attitude - It is important to understand the correlation between drugs and violence in terms of risk and protective factors. Training in perceptions of drug use for educators, especially on the middle and high school level, will create a higher level of insight into drug use today.

g.) School Asset Mapping - The focus has always been on what the problem is and how do we fix it. A needs assessment only points out what is needed. United Way developed a definition of asset mapping states: "members share skills and experiences that strengthen and develop each other's gifts". A list of these gifts can be collected from faculty members in order to develop a systematic way in reaching each other and serving our youth.

h.) Safety and Security In-services - This in-service would address the "what if" questions. An example would be: what if Johnny pulled a gun in my class? This in-service would also address issues concerning personal safety.

i.) Staff Development Course - The question concerning A-H is how do we get all of this information to staff members during the school day when they already have too much on their plate? Some options are:

1. A 50-hour staff development course that trains staff in specific programs and strategies. (Trainer of Trainers model)

2. A 50-hour staff development course that introduces the educator to youth risk behavior and signs and symptoms on a variety of topics.

3. Staff in-services once a month that focus on a specific topic related to youth drug use and violence.

Training can be provided through school psychologists, counselors, social workers, Prevention/Intervention staff, safety and security, as well as other educators and community leaders.

On July 16, 1998, Linda Schrenko announced" a new weapon to help local educators and law enforcement officials stop school violence". The toll-free school safety hotline - 1-877-729-7867. Every school is encouraged to have a safe and confidential way that students can report weapons on school grounds. A system also needs to be in place for students who witness teasing and bullying to share that information with an adult. For those schools who do not have such a plan in place, students should be included in the brainstorming phase. Every faculty member and student needs to be aware of the plan.

In the 1997 book by Don Campbell called The Mozart Effect, he describes the power that music can have over our attitudes, feelings and moods. Recently, there has been data suggesting music (especially Mozart) can increase math and science scores. There are studies to debate this issue, however, when you combine environment factors like music, lighting, space, and color the overall climate becomes more conducive to learning.

We cannot do this in isolation. "Being problem free doesn't mean you are fully prepared", Karen Pittman, Center of Youth Development. Grady High School has a program where members from the community sit down with youth and school staff once a month to talk about problems and brainstorm solutions. In order for this to work, boundary issues must be dissolved. For the school to be successful the community must become part of the solution. Collaboration is a key component in making a violence prevention plan successful.

Summary - "You cannot learn a new life skill until you give up a survival skill" - Anonymous. We realize that many schools in our county have already begun to address violence. We wanted to create a foundation not mandate policies. We want each school to have the flexibility to meet their own individual need in creating a violence prevention plan. This proposal is based on prevention ideas not intervention. It is based solely on ideas that are rich in research. We will support those schools who need help in determining what their needs are and making sure that their violence prevention plan will be a successful one that meets parents,' students' and faculties' needs.