School Violence Interventions in the Safe Schools/Healthy Students Initiative: Evaluation of Two Early Intervention Programs

• NCJ Number: 220058
• Journal: Journal of School Violence Volume: 6 Issue: 2 Dated: 2007 Pages: 57-74
• Author(s): Oliver T. Massey; Michael Boroughs; Kathleen H. Armstrong
• Date Published: 2007
• Length: 18 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Program/Project Evaluation
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

As part of the national evaluation of the Safe Schools/Healthy Students (SS/HS) Initiative, an effort to reduce student violence and substance abuse, this article reports on evaluation results for two programs designed to reduce violent and disruptive behavior in the schools of a large countywide school district in Florida.

Abstract

The evaluation showed that the class-based curricula produced better outcomes and was better accepted than the approach that removed students from their regular classroom routine. The curriculum in the class-based setting may have produced greater improvements because it fit better with the normal demands of routine school activities. An additional benefit included the use of classroom teachers, who already had rapport with the students. This supports a model of collaboration among teachers, program specialists, and administrators. One of the programs, the On-Campus Intervention Program, is a 3-day program that offers an alternative to out-of-school suspensions for disorderly and violent behavior. A student admitted to the program remains in school but is separated from the rest of the student body for the 3 days. A teacher helps students complete academic work and stay current with their studies, and a counselor provides individual and group intervention for behavioral and emotional problems that students may be experiencing. The other program evaluated is an anger management and conflict-resolution curriculum for secondary students that uses the Think First material. It is designed to promote the emotional and social competencies of students and reduce the incidence of aggressive and disruptive behaviors. The evaluation consisted of a contextual analysis of the experience of violence and safety in schools, a cohort analysis that matched program-involved and noninvolved students, and changes over time in student program participants. 37 references