NCJ Number
178627
Journal
Northwest Education Volume: 4 Issue: 3 Dated: Spring 1999 Pages: 28-33
Date Published
1999
Length
6 pages
Annotation
The Kennedy Middle School, along with a dozen other schools in the Eugene area (Oregon), is participating in the Peaceable Educational Practices (PEP) project, which draws upon current research to identify best practices for reducing school violence.
Abstract
PEP has organized the research on reducing school violence into three strategies: (1) collect data on school discipline patterns, so that the nature and frequency of negative student behaviors are identified; (2)establish schoolwide programs that teach students the consequences of participating in violent behavior, conflict-resolution and anger-management skills, and personal responsibility and empathy; and (3) develop additional strategies that are tailored to a school's specific problems. The latter strategies, which PEP calls Effective Behavior Support (EBS) systems, can range from schoolwide rules to individual interventions. The EBS team, a group of teachers who work with the PEP program coordinator, finds and tailors solutions for specific problem areas at their school. The Kennedy Middle School EBS team chose Second Step, which at the middle school level teaches empathy, impulse control, and anger management mainly through videotaped scenarios and scripted role playing. The efforts at Kennedy Middle School are spreading beyond campus. Parents report that students are using Second Step problem-solving strategies at home and with younger siblings. A survey taken after the first year found that more than 30 percent of students reported using Second Step strategies in their lives outside of school.