The rising concern of school violence — bullying, suicide, shootings — demands proactive solutions. At its worst, school violence leads directly to death, but victims of non-fatal violence may go on to develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), problems with substance use, and other life-altering complications.
School violence is a systemic issue, and there’s no single solution that will eliminate it. However, one of the key methods of prevention is bringing in a school violence prevention and intervention workshop. Here’s what to know about these workshops and how to choose the best one for your school.
What Is School Violence?
School violence involves using physical force to threaten or harm others. The term encompasses more kinds of violence than many people realize, including:
- Physical fights
- Physical assaults
- Sexual assaults
- Shootings
- Stabbings
- Gang violence
- Self-harm
- Suicide
Preventing school violence can be extremely challenging. Even when violent incidents happen between individuals, school violence is often fed by school-wide culture. School violence prevention and intervention workshops can help your school community start the shift toward a culture of kindness and connectedness.
What Are Key Elements of a School Violence Prevention and Intervention Workshop?
Choosing the right workshop can be difficult. But if you want to give your school the best chance of success, you should start by looking at the fundamentals of the program:
Focused on Kindness and Empathy
Teaching kindness and empathy is the cornerstone of reducing violence. From the outside, that can seem counterintuitive — many people believe that the only way to reduce violence is to implement harsher punishments for offenders. However, research has repeatedly shown that interventions involving empathy training can reduce bullying and aggressive behavior.
Engages Students in Emotional Connection
When students feel disconnected, it becomes easier to dehumanize one another. That makes students more inclined to commit violent acts. Programs that foster connection and teach students the importance of mutually supportive peer relationships tend to have higher success rates.
Tailored to Age Group
While the basic principles of empathy and connectedness are the same regardless of the age group you’re working with, the way those principles are taught should be different for elementary schoolers than for high school students.
Inclusive of All Students
Workshops should strike a balance between being broadly applicable and addressing the needs of marginalized populations. If a program acknowledges the unique struggles faced by different student demographics, students are more likely to pay attention to the message.
Evaluating a Workshop’s Effectiveness
Any school violence prevention and intervention workshop you choose should include the elements listed above — but you also want to consider only the programs that have been proven effective. Make sure to look for indicators of a program that works.
Evidence-Based Approaches
An evidence-based program is one that has been built on a foundation of quality research — not on hunches or anecdotal observations. Programs that are truly evidence-based are transparent when it comes to the evidence that supports them.
Program Success Stories
Just as you’d likely talk to former employers before hiring someone, you should see if a given program comes recommended by past clients. If other schools have clearly benefited, yours likely will as well.
Measurable Outcomes
You can’t see how well a program is doing if you can’t measure results. Any program you consider should have a way to track student behavior.
Involving the Whole School Community
Different school violence prevention and intervention workshops have varied levels of engagement with the broader school community.
Teachers and Staff Training
To ensure students receive consistent messaging, teachers and school staff should receive training as part of the workshop.
Parent and Community Involvement
Workshops that engage parents and the community tend to have a more transformative effect. You might consider offering a training or presentation during a parents’ night or even hosting regular workshops that are open to the public.
Creating a Supportive School Culture
While workshops help individuals learn key skills, they should also have the goal of building a positive school culture.
Customization and Flexibility
It’s also important that any program you choose can be tailored to your school — both in terms of subject matter and scheduling. Make sure the program can directly address specific concerns and demographics and that you can choose an in-person, virtual, or hybrid delivery that suits your needs.
Finally, because preventing school violence is an ongoing effort, the program you choose should offer follow-up sessions or other support. The more your school can embrace the message of kindness and empathy, the more likely you are to see great results.
Finding the Right Long-Term Partnership
If you’re in the process of choosing a school violence prevention and intervention workshop, you may already be aware that there are many providers who offer this service. So how do you choose the right partner? Start by looking for these key traits:
- Expertise in violence prevention and intervention
- Experience applying that expertise in school environments
- Genuine commitment to the cause
These factors are certainly important, but they aren’t the only considerations you should make. When you’re assessing potential partners in violence prevention, you should have a list of critical questions you ask each one. The exact questions on your list will depend on your school’s needs, but you might include questions on follow-up support, the program’s history of success, and other key elements.
Preventing School Violence Is Possible
Many school administrators across the country simply don’t try to stop school violence because they think it’s impossible. Violence in schools might seem overwhelming to take on, but with the right program, it can be prevented. At Rachel’s Challenge, we aren’t just an anti-bullying or anti-violence program — we’re pro-kindness.
Instead of simply focusing on negative consequences for violent students, we help schools around the country build community-centered cultures. If you’re ready to work with us to transform the culture of your school, get in touch to book an event today. If you want to be part of the solution to school violence everywhere, we invite you to make a donation.
