IV. Identifying Solutions

Introduction

“We need to invest in prevention. This involves teaching and supporting parents to raise their children in safe and nurturing environments. It involves providing children with high-quality, affordable day care and superb schools that promote success, not failure. It means doing whatever is necessary to make children feel valued and optimistic about their futures by investing in such pro-social programs as recreation, the arts, and, for adolescents, training to develop the skills that open up economic opportunities. It also means creating heroes for our children who are not only nonviolent but who model and promote pro-social behaviors to solve problems. We must make it clear that violence is unacceptable as a way to control others and resolve conflict, but we must give our children alternative strategies that will be successful.”52

Since school violence exists within a larger societal context, approaches that recognize the interrelationship among school, family, and community are most likely to have a meaningful impact. Prevention efforts allow for long-term improvements to school safety, as well as other benefits to the community at large.53 Therefore, prevention should be the focus of a multifaceted, community-wide effort.

This chapter includes descriptions of a variety of programs and ideas that can help communities to address problems of school violence. The first step of any community’s plan of action should be evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of its school and children (see Section B. Evaluating Violence at the Local Level). Just as each community is unique, it is important that each community understand that children who engage in violent behavior are themselves not identical.54 A multi-faceted approach should address a variety of needs for a community’s children.

Here is a checklist to help guide a community as it develops its own plan:

• Conduct community self-assessment – weaknesses and strengths (Section B)

• Identify programs and ideas that address issues in homes, communities, and schools (Sections C - I)

• Request research reports and interview others who have used these programs

• When needed, identify and apply for funding of programs

• Identify staff for training and implementation of programs • Implement programs

• Begin and continue ongoing evaluation and reporting

Although the majority of the programs and ideas focus on prevention, some are in response to violence. The ones described below include:

• Community-Oriented Programs (Section C)

• Parent-Focused Programs (Section D)

• Primary Prevention Programs (Section E)

• School Improvement Programs (Section F)

• School-Based Training Programs (Section G)

• Reducing the Effects of Television Violence (Section H)

• Gun Control (Section I)

B. Evaluating Violence at the Local Level

As communities begin to explore the causes and effects of school violences and possible solutions to it, self-assessment is a crucial component to a successful effort. Communities that assess themselves will have the advantage of incidence data, public perception data, and/or victimization data. Collecting data allows a community to choose and tailor programs to its particular problems. It also provides a barometer for gauging progress.

Youth Risk Behavior Surveys (YRBS) for grades 8 -12 have been conducted and are available for each Vermont community through the Vermont Department of Health. (See the text accompanying footnotes 16-18 for examples of Youth Risk Behavior data.) They can also be supplemented with other surveys. (See Appendix G) Whether a community relies solely on the YRBS or chooses other survey approaches, these tools help communities take stock, and they can be used within a planning process.

Communities may want to complement a youth violence survey with a Vermont Agency of Human Services “Youth Assets” survey. The Agency of Human Services has offered schools the possibility of collecting Youth Assets data for grades 6 - 12, and approximately 40% of the schools have taken advantage of this service. While it is important for each community to understand the scope and breadth of youth violence, it is equally important to identify, and then reinforce, the positive characteristics of its children.