STUDENTS EXHIBITING PRE-VIOLENT BEHAVIOR

While the incidence of violent acts against students or staff is actually low, pre-violent behaviors, such as threats, bullying, and classroom disruptions are common. Your school's quick response to these early warning signs will help to prevent pre-violent behaviors from esclating into violent behavior.

Intervention programs designed to reduce school violence are usually multifacted, long-term, far reaching, and rigorously implemented. Effective early intervention efforts include working with troubled youth in small groups or individually to provide direct support. In addition, schools have found value to linking students and their families to community services. Other interventions include the following components:

• Staff, student, and family training to understanding the factors that trigger and or exacerbate aggressive outbursts.

• Teaching troubled youth socially appropriate "replacement responses," such as problem solving and anger management skills.

• Teaching all students social problem solving and social decision making skills. This is a standard feature in most effective drug and violence prevention programs.

• Teaching at risk students interpersonal, problem solving, and conflict resolution skills. They may also need more intensive assistance in learning how to stop and think before they react.

• Identifying staff (teachers, counselors, social workers, and/or psychologists) to become your school's violence prevention team. Their job will be to design intervention programs that will focus on reducing aggressive behaviors and support responsible behaviors at school, in the home, and in the community. The team should also look for ways to reduce and correct alienation tactics used by various student groups or cliques. (For example, those who are in athletics tease and other-wise exclude the more introverted student?)

• Using Detention and Suspension Learning Packets from the Advantage Press to reduce and diffuse behavior problems in your school. Students are provided with material that relates to their school offense and requires an introspective response--including behavioral goals.

Effective and safe schools tend to be places where there is strong leadership, caring faculty, parent and community involvement, and meaningful violence prevention programs. Effective and safe schools also are places where prevention and intervention programs are based upon careful assessment of student problems and are research based. Furthermore, effective and safe schools are places where teachers and staff have access to qualified consultants who can help them address behavior problems.