The CMHS Approach to Enhancing Youth Resilience and
Preventing Youth Violence in Schools and Communities

For more information contact: Bernard S. Arons, M.D., Director, Center for Mental Health Services,
The Parklawn Building, 5600 Fishers Lane, Room 17-105, Rockville, Maryland 20857
1-800-789-2647 • www.mentalhealth.org

The Public Health Approach to Enhancing Resilience and Preventing Violence in Schools and Communities.
The Role of Schools

Given the right circumstances, a school can create a “coherent environment so potent that for at least six hours a day it can override almost everything else in the lives of children.”—Ron Edmonds, “The Grandaddy of School Effectiveness Research” Quoted by Benard (1992)

Schools are particularly well positioned to foster healthy development and help prevent youth violence by promoting prosocial, cooperative behavior and a culture of learning. Effective prevention, intervention, and crisis response strategies operate best in schools that do so. Characteristics of schools that are safe and responsive to all children are discussed in detail in Early Warning, Timely Response: A Guide to Safe Schools (U.S. Department of Education, 1998). These schools

• Focus on academic achievement;
  
• Involve families in meaningful ways;
• Develop links to the community;
• Emphasize positive relationships among students and staff;
• Discuss safety issues openly;
• Treat students with equal respect;
• Create ways for students to share their concerns;
• Help children feel safe expressing their feelings;
• Have a system in place for referring children suspected of being abused or neglected;
• Offer extended day care programs for children;
• Promote good citizenship and character;
• Identify problems and assess progress toward solutions; and
• Support students in making the transition to adult life and the workplace.

The full text of this public domain publication is available at http://www.ed.gov/offices/OSERS/OSEP/earlywrn.html