Book Contents and Excerpts

Safe School Ambassadors: Harnessing Student Power to Stop Bullying and Violence

Description

Though school shootings grab the headlines, every day an estimated 160,000 students stay home from school because they are afraid of hurtful treatment by their peers. Millions more attend classes fearful of the next insult, intimidating look, or shove, most of which happen out of sight and earshot of adults. For far too many students, school is a minefield; one wrong step can trigger exclusion, ridicule, bullying, or even physical violence.

Schools, youth-serving organizations, and communities are searching for effective solutions to address this pervasive and growing public health issue. While many books and articles address the problem, Safe School Ambassadors offer practical ways to involve students in the solution. It is an essential guide for school administrators, counselors, teachers, parents, and youth organization leaders.

It challenges the current “outside-in” thinking – that keeping schools safe is accomplished primarily by adults through heightened security and stricter policies. While these measures have been successful in reducing gun violence, they have not been as successful in reducing harassment, cyber-bullying, relational aggression, racial tension and gang involvement, which are often the underlying causes of youth violence.

Through its Ten Keys to Safer Schools, Safe School Ambassadors offers a unique road map for creating safer, high-performing, thriving schools. It makes the case for a complementary “inside-out” approach that focuses on improving school climate and taps the power of students to change the social norms of a school culture in order to stop bullying and violence.

This book introduces seven Elements of Effective Youth Empowerment Programs and offers a thorough description of the Safe School Ambassadors program. This field-tested and research-based best-practices model has been launched in more than 550 schools and trained nearly 24,000 students. It equips and empowers socially influential and diverse student leaders with nonviolent communication and intervention skills. Once trained these Ambassadors prevent, de-escalate, and stop hurtful incidents within their peer group, school, and community.

Safe School Ambassadors is a book about hope and the courage of young people. It is also a call to action; through its Seven Steps for Launching a Youth Empowerment Initiative, it offers practical guidance for harnessing the power of youth to stand up and speak out for justice, compassion, and peace.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments vii
Introduction xiii

PART I The Extent and Costs of Mistreatment and the Outside-In Response
C H A P T E R 1 : A Day in the Life 3
C H A P T E R 2 : The High Cost of Mistreatment 23
C H A P T E R 3 : The Outside-In Approach 55

PART I I Building Safer Schools from the Inside Out
C H A P T E R 4 : The Inside-Out Approach 83
C H A P T E R 5 : Building a Safe School Climate 95  

PART I I I Youth as Social Change Agents
C H A P T E R 6 : Empowering Youth 125
C H A P T E R 7 : Understanding and Mobilizing Bystanders 153
C H A P T E R 8 : From Bystanders to Peacemakers 171
C H A P T E R 9 : Results and Stories of Ambassadors in Action 209

 PART I V A Call to Action
CHAPTER 10: A Road Map for the Future 235

APPENDIX A: Presentation Tips 255
APPENDIX B: Responding to Questions and Concerns 259
APPENDIX C: Ambassador Survey 269
APPENDIX D: Recruiting Allies and Partners 275
APPENDIX E: Needs Assessment 281

Notes 285
Resources 303
Index 309

Excerpts

• Introduction
• Part I
• Part II
• Part III
• Part IV