This is the ideal accompaniment for any school using the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program (OBPP) to reduce bullying and create a safe and caring school environment. This easy-to- use manual provides almost an entire year's worth of engaging, age-appropriate, and grade-specific ideas and topics to conduct meaningful class meetings.

Something is terribly wrong with our schools. How did a place that should be a sanctuary for kids becomes a source of fear and intimidation? What has happened? In Creating Emotionally Safe Schools, Jane Bluestein offers a plan to return schools to havens of nurturing and learning. She examines environmental, historical, developmental, psychological, sociological, interpersonal, instructional and administrative factors that contribute to the emotional climate of an educational institution. This is a comprehensive view of what makes a school feel the way it feels, and what we can do to make it feel safe for every child—and every adult—who walks through its doors. Emotional safety has many dimensions, such as: the impact of the family and early development, childhood stress and coping, the changing role of the school, acceptance and emotional support, respect and belonging, temperament and labels, gangs and violence, instructional strategies, learning styles and multiple intelligences, teacher training and support, and the inherent need for a sense of community. The message Jane Bluestein brings is positive: information, programs and solutions are available that can ultimately make our schools inviting, inspiring, and, yes—safe. Includes: Comprehensive list of references and resources Complete index

Creating Safe, Equitable, Engaging Schools brings together the collective wisdom of more than thirty experts from a variety of fields to show how school leaders can create communities that support the social, emotional, and academic needs of all students. It offers an essential guide for making sense of the myriad frameworks, resources, and tools available to create a continuous improvement system. Filled with recommendations gleaned from research and ongoing work in every US state and territory, this book is a critical resource for understanding and adopting evidence-based practices and making programmatic decisions to ensure the ideal conditions for learning, growth, and development. "Creating Safe, Equitable, Engaging Schools is an essential read for teachers, principals, district leaders, and organizations that work with schools to create challenging and supportive environments for all students." --Paul Cruz, superintendent, Austin Independent School District "Osher and colleagues not only connect the dots between big ideas--deeper learning, trauma, social and emotional learning, evidence-based programs, comprehensive community planning--but they model the continuous improvement approach in the way ideas are ordered across and within the chapters. This is a masterful volume: comprehensive, accessible, and way overdue." --Karen J. Pittman, cofounder, president and CEO, The Forum for Youth Investment "This book provides a very usable road map for creating safe, healthy, equitable, and caring schools. The editors and contributors successfully integrate research, practice, and policy to help educators develop and implement effective and sustainable models to nurture caring schools that all children and educators deserve." --Mark T. Greenberg, Bennett Chair of Prevention Research, Pennsylvania State University David Osher is vice president and an institute fellow at American Institutes for Research. Deborah Moroney is a managing director at American Institutes for Research and is director of the youth development and supportive learning environments practice area. Sandra Williamson is a vice president for policy, practice, and systems change at American Institutes for Research.

Illegal drug use is a recurrent problem across the nation, but at particular risk are the nation's youth. Studies have shown that among children, drug use begins with the abuse of legal substances (ie tobacco and alcohol) before graduating to illegal drugs, with marijuana generally the first. Along with drug abuse, violence is another danger the nation's young people must face, be it drug motivated or the result of other behavioural problems. Schools are considered prime places to head off these two threats through education about abstaining from drugs and controlling violent tendencies. In 1996, the Department of Education began overseeing the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act, which funds both state and national drug and violence prevention programs. Unfortunately, follow-up studies have revealed mixed results to the national program. The Education Department, though, is considering steps to strengthen and improve this critical program. This book examines and evaluates the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act and its programs, placing the measure in a background context and looking at its financial and administrative structures. Given the major problems of drug abuse and violence threatening to overwhelm children, these studies make for a timely analysis of an important issue.