Safe School Ambassadors Program
- Is a research-based program that aims to build a safe school climate for all.
- Teaches that young people are uniquely positioned to break the cycle of mistreatment amongst their peers.
- Trains socially influential students in problem solving and intervention techniques to prevent aggressive behaviors that result in mistreatment.
Since 2004 Children's Health Foundation has worked with Community Matters to implement and maintain the nationally recognized Safe School Ambassadors Program (SSAP), which is based on the idea that students are best at preventing and stopping these behaviors. Program co-creators Rick Phillips and Chris Pack note that this program “challenges the current ‘outside-in’ thinking—that keeping schools safe is accomplished by adults through security and strict policies.” They make the case for “a complementary ‘inside-out’ approach that taps the power of students to change the social norms of a school culture in order to stop bullying and violence.”
Participating schools have seen a significant reduction in the incidence of bullying and violence. One elementary school in Rifle, CO documented a 42% decrease in the number of students disciplined for irresponsible or disrespectful behavior. One counselor at Kathryn Senor Elementary School reported: “During our first year [discipline problems] dropped more than 60%. There are less office referrals. The skills the kids are learning have impacted our school culture in a positive way.” More than 45 trainings to support the implementation of SSAP have been conducted at more than 17 Colorado schools. The overall concept is simple, yet extremely effective. Youth often see, hear, and know more than adults about what goes on in schools, and can intervene in ways adults can’t. Students who are not bullies themselves or are not victims of bullies are trained to intervene with their peers when they witness teasing, bullying, and other acts of cruelty.
The program:
- Provides a forum for students to share their bullying experiences
- Raises awareness about physical, emotional, and verbal bullying and its consequences
- Cultivates empathy for why bullying occurs
- Teaches tools that enable students to prevent, avoid, and de-escalate bullying
- Equips and supports students to become leaders who can help create safer school climates based on the values of tolerance and compassion
- Provides training to school professionals thereby creating sustainability
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