Bullying and school violence contribute directly to mental health difficulties among youth in the United States. Background/Objectives: This study describes the development and initial evaluation of a technology-enabled, multi-component school safety framework designed to support bullying prevention in middle and high schools. Methods: Students (n = 46), school personnel (n = 79), and parents/caregivers (n = 28) participated in three waves of usability and feasibility testing focused on a mobile application (Speak Out with Advocatr), companion classroom instructional materials, and guidelines for a school-wide safety campaign. Quantitative data were summarized using descriptive statistics and benchmark comparisons, and group differences across respondent roles were examined using analysis of variance with post hoc pairwise tests. Given small and unequal sample sizes, bootstrap resampling with 1000 resamples was used to obtain robust estimates of group means and confidence intervals. Qualitative responses were analyzed using content analysis. Results: Across waves, mean ratings generally met or exceeded predefined usability benchmarks, indicating favorable perceptions of the system. Findings indicated strong student acceptance and engagement with the framework. Adult participants expressed particular interest in restorative approaches to addressing student conflict, as well as concerns about preventing the recurrence of bullying behaviors. Conclusions: Findings provide initial support for the usability and feasibility of a multi-component, technology-enabled approach to school-based bullying prevention. Results also highlight the value of role-specific feedback for refining integrated mental health and safety interventions within school settings.

This study is a longitudinal subgroup analysis of two intervention groups (N = 188 teacher-student dyads in K-3rd grade) from a larger randomized controlled trial of First Step Next, an SEL program delivered over 30 consecutive school days. We tested how teachers' education and years of experience impacted program dosage and students' social skills and how teachers' program satisfaction, working alliance, and dosage influenced social skills. Teachers' education was associated with more dosage but not with social skills. Years of experience did not influence dosage or social skills. More dosage was linked with improved social skills. The effect of program satisfaction on social skills significantly differed between levels of working alliance. Our results contribute to understanding the interconnection between teachers' characteristics and implementation with program outcomes. Findings highlight the need to conduct process research to investigate program satisfaction and working relationship in relation to program effectiveness.Impact StatementThis study found that teachers' academic attainment, not years of experience, was associated with successfully delivering an SEL program for K-3rd grade students, First Step Next (FSN). The analyses also revealed that students who received FSN were more likely to improve their social skills when their teachers were highly satisfied with FSN and had very strong working relationships with FSN coaches. The findings extend the evidence for teachers effectively delivering SEL programs and underscore the importance of investing in program satisfaction and working alliance to optimize the effectiveness of FSN on children's social skills improvement.

Coaching is recognized as an implementation strategy to support teachers' use of effective instructional practices, and motivational interviewing (MI) has been recognized as a promising implementation technique to support this strategy. In this article, we present the results of a feasibility study to evaluate the fidelity, satisfaction, and impact of an MI skills training for instructional support personnel (ISP). Thirty-one ISP were randomized to Coaching with MI skills (C-MI) or Coaching with Business-as-Usual Skills (C-BAU) conditions. ISP in both conditions received training in a four-step coaching model designed to impact instructional practices with teachers. Trainees in the C-MI condition also received skill-based training in MI. Following training, Trainees in both conditions implemented the coaching model with up to two teachers. Training fidelity and satisfaction with the training were high in both conditions. At posttest, trainees in the C-MI condition reported significantly higher levels of coaching self-efficacy and demonstrated MI competency (i.e. skill in a simulated practice setting) compared to trainees in the C-BAU condition. Additionally, trainees in the C-MI condition met established thresholds of MI proficiency (i.e. skill while implementing the CBP procedures with teachers) at statistically higher rates than trainees in the C-BAU condition. The findings suggest that this training approach results in high demonstrated MI competence and self-efficacy. The implications of these findings and future research are discussed.

Purpose: Few cost-effectiveness studies have been conducted on social-emotional interventions for students in preschool settings. The current study is a cost-effectiveness analysis of the First Step Next (FSN) intervention for preschool students. Method: Our approach involved a secondary analysis of a randomized control trial that utilized the ingredients method to estimate costs (Levin & McEwan, 2001). In addition, effect sizes were used to generate incremental cost-effectiveness ratios representing the cost of improving student outcomes by one standard deviation (1 SD). Results: FSN was more cost-effective for improving behavior in the school setting than in the home setting, with an average cost per 1 SD improvement of $3,833 and $6,329, respectively. Additionally, the intervention had greater cost-effectiveness for social skill-related outcomes than problem behavior-related outcomes among preschool students. Discussion: This study advances our understanding of the costs and outcomes of practices designed to improve the school success of our youngest learners.

The article discusses the goals, development, and outcomes of a three-stage research and development model used to produce short-term intervention programs for behavior disorders in elementary schools. This R & D effort spanned the 1971-1979 academic years and was administered by the Center at Oregon for Research in Behavioral and Emotional Health (CORBEH). It was supported by a large federal center grant to the University of Oregon. Four intervention programs were developed and validated across the three research stages of our CORBEH R & D model-two were on externalizing disorders (disruption, aggression) and two were on internalizing disorders (social withdrawal, low academic survival skills). The RECESS program for socially negative-aggressive students was used to illustrate how the R & D model operated, worked in actual implementation practice, and accounted for its behavioral outcomes.

The demand for preventive and easily implemented interventions to address the needs of children with significant behavioral challenges in general education settings is well-documented. First Step to Success is an evidenced-based program to address challenging behavior in preschool and elementary-school settings with a 20-year history of successful implementation (Walker et al., 1997; Walker et al., 2014b). A revision of the intervention, called First Step Next (Walker et al., 2015), was designed to (1) standardize the program components across preschool and elementary settings; (2) make the program more user friendly for implementers, including parents; and (3) increase the program’s efficacy by adding new components and updating existing ones. The current study used a mixed-method approach to compare process data collected from a previous efficacy trial of the original preschool version of First Step (Feil et al., 2014) to the revised version (First Step Next; Feil et al., 2020). Overall procedural fidelity ratings were high for both program variations. Further, alliance and satisfaction ratings, as per parent- and teacher-report, were acceptable, although there were some divergent findings between parent and teacher perspectives at the item level. This study provides support for the feasibility of successfully implementing First Step Next with young children and their families in preschool settings.

In preschool settings, ample evidence has long existed that some administrators and educators rely heavily on exclusionary practices to address unwanted behaviors despite evidence they are ineffective. There is a need for evidence-based interventions that provide teachers with skills to foster positive student–teacher relationships, teach students skills that result in positive interactions with teachers and peers, and provide opportunities to practice new skills during daily classroom interactions. First Step Next (FSN) is a short-term, multi-component Tier 2 intervention that helps address these needs. The current study examines the extent to which the immediate post-intervention effects were maintained after the FSN intervention was delivered in U.S. preschool classrooms. Results provide evidence that initial, post-intervention gains reported for social skills, problem behavior, student–teacher conflict, and relational aggression domains were maintained for 2 months post-intervention. The current study adds to the evidence base suggesting that FSN is a promising alternative to exclusionary discipline as its’ implementation addresses several factors contributing to continued reliance on these ineffective approaches such as (a) the escalation of conflicts with students with challenging behavior, (b) failure to anticipate and defuse problem situations, (c) unclear communication of behavioral expectations, and (d) unskilled use of teacher directives.

Early intervention efforts have been effective in reducing disruptive behaviors and the probability of poor developmental outcomes. Early interventions include common practice elements to improve social functioning and decrease problem behaviors that disrupt the teaching-learning process. The First Step Next intervention has been well validated across early childhood and early elementary settings. In the present article, we provide a best-evidence synthesis of five randomized controlled replication studies between 2009 and 2021. Collectively, these studies show the intervention has resulted in small to large effect sizes and statistically significant improvements, compared with students randomized to control conditions, on multiple indicators of prosocial and problem behavior. The current synthesis focuses on a range of outcomes across elementary and preschool populations, as well as implementation fidelity and social validity ratings, to help school professionals in determining whether First Step Next might be useful in their efforts to support students at risk of school failure.

Student behavior problems in general-education classrooms present a major barrier to effective teaching. Behavior challenges, such as disruptions, noncompliance, and peer conflicts, reduce instructional time, whereas prosocial behaviors, such as paying attention, being ready to work, asking for help, participating in class, and completing homework, improve academic performance. Most interventions developed to address student behavior problems were not designed for general-education students in typical classrooms. The purpose of this paper is to present preliminary results from a novel intervention developed to enhance behavioral self-management skills among all upper-elementary students in general-education classrooms. We Have Choices, a universal intervention, was designed to increase students' capacity to make appropriate behavioral choices and decrease teachers' responsibility by transferring behavior management to students. An initial randomized controlled trial with 86 fourth- to sixth-grade teachers and 2055 students suggested that We Have Choices was associated with improvements in student-reported use of self-management strategies, teacher-reported student prosocial behavior, and teacher-reported self-efficacy in behavior management and instruction. Teachers gave the program high scores for social validity, suggesting a good fit for their classrooms.

This commentary addresses the justification provided by the Michigan school superintendent for returning Ethan Crumbley, of Oxford High School, to his classroom following some red flag warnings about him from two of his teachers prior to the school shootings. It suggests warning signs and prevention strategies that could be used to reduce school violence in the future. The commentary argues that extreme behavioral events rather than the frequency of disciplinary problems are more likely harbingers of school violence tragedies.

We describe a holistic approach to promoting school safety that merges an emphasis on student voice with staff training in restorative practices. We first describe current approaches to keeping schools safe based on the existing research literature. Given that most of these approaches rely on access to credible information about potential threats to school safety, we then discuss student voices as one critical source of information, especially at the middle and high school level. We report on a recently developed tool designed to encourage students to share threats to school safety they are aware of with adults. Initial testing identified potential barriers and facilitators to students' willingness to share information. We discuss teacher training in restorative practices as one approach that might address some of these barriers, including anti-snitching cultures in schools, students' lack of trust in adult responses to student-identified concerns, and punitive school climates. Based on recent work, we identify barriers and facilitators to implementing restorative practices in schools. We provide recommendations about potential strategies to merge student voice with school personnel's training in restorative practices to minimize peer victimization that can escalate into violent behavior.

Creating effective school-wide safety mechanisms depends on understanding students' previous experiences of reporting, however, students may also be apprehensive to report if it is considered “snitching.” Focus groups were conducted in the 2015–2016, 2016–2017 school years across four U.S. high schools (N = 40). A phenomenological approach was used to answer research questions on how high school students define snitching, what they perceive as the barriers and consequences of snitching, and under what circumstances they perceive reporting as acceptable or effective. Findings suggest students differentiate between reporting and snitching based on the perceived severity of the issue, its proximity, and how effective adults' responses are likely to be. As U.S. schools move forward implementing tiplines and reporting apps to address school safety issues, students will need support on what to report, how to report it and who/where to report it to and school staff should also focus on addressing the cultural norms around reporting.

This paper has two purposes: First, we describe the components of the Student Ownership, Accountability, and Responsibility for School Safety (SOARS) framework in the context of the literature on school safety. Second, we offer outcomes from a pilot study testing the framework's impact on student perceptions of: (a) school belonging, (b) sense of personal safety, (c) level of disruption, (d) level of delinquency, (e) responsibility for school safety, (f) engagement in victimizing behavior, and (g) sense of being victimized by peers. We conducted a study with two conditions, intervention and control. The study was conducted in Oregon and Illinois. Four high schools participated in the study. Two high schools received access to the SOARS framework and two high schools served as controls. We collected usage data of the Advocatr app, the central components of the SOARS framework, as well as survey data from students. We examined Advocatr use by overall frequency as well as across student race and gender. Survey data were analyzed using an ANCOVA analytic approach. Almost all outcomes were in the desired direction. Intervention effects on student-reported school belonging, sense of personal safety, and level of disruption reached statistical significance. Effect sizes ranged from small to medium, with the largest effect in students’ perceptions of personal safety. We contextualize our study in the literature on school safety and describe the alignment of the SOARS components with existing recommendations for increasing students’ safety at school.

Disruptive behavior disorders in childhood are increasingly pervasive and associated with numerous, negative long-term outcomes. The current study examined whether adding a brief, home-visitation intervention to an existing, multi-component (child and teacher) intervention, would improve social-emotional and behavioral outcomes for young children with challenging behavior in home and school settings who required intensive support. A total of 379 teacher-parent-student triads were screened for elevated levels of behavioral risk in school and home settings and then randomly assigned to school only intervention (i.e., teacher and student components), home only intervention (i.e., parent), both combined, or business-as-usual control conditions. We examined baseline and posttest outcomes across prosocial behavior, problem behavior, and academic domains. The results demonstrated substantial support for the teacher and child-focused condition and combined conditions, and modest support for the parent-focused condition. The study advances the literature by increasing the knowledge base related to these interventions implemented alone and in combination.

The purpose of this chapter is to provide an overview of the development history, critical features, implementation, and evidence base of the First Step early intervention and its 2015 revision, First Step Next. The original First Step program was designed for young children who struggle in school and display challenging behavior patterns (Walker et al., 1997). First Step is a short-term, selected intervention designed to prevent the development and elaboration of challenging behavior within general education pre-K through K-2 grade settings. Detailed information on First Step can be accessed through the Oregon Research Institute's First Step website: firststeptosuccess.org

This paper reports the results of a randomized controlled trial evaluating We Have Skills, a brief curriculum designed to teach early elementary students academic and social skills as well as improve teacher efficacy in classroom management. Intervention efficacy was tested with 127 teachers, randomly assigned to condition, and 2,817 of their students. On key outcomes of student academically related behavioral skills and classroom adjustment, intervention teachers reported greater gains for their students than comparison teachers (Hedges's g >= 0.19). Baseline scores moderated effects, demonstrating greater differences between conditions for initially struggling students. Intervention teachers also reported greater improvements on their sense of self-efficacy for classroom management and concerns about student behavior (|g| >= 0.30) relative to comparison teachers. Effect sizes were similar to or greater than those reported for similar programs, and an economic analysis suggested that We Have Skills was less costly than many. The findings support cost-effective solutions that teach social-behavioral skills in early elementary grades-and suggest that such programs may be especially beneficial for students who struggle with academically related behaviors.

We present outcomes from a field test of a student-centered and technology-driven school safety framework. We describe the framework components rooted in school violence prevention. Results from our field test indicate moderate student and teacher use of the framework components, improvements in student perceptions of school safety, reductions in student reported peer victimization, and reductions in teacher and parent reported inappropriate student behavior. Consumer satisfaction rating were adequate. We present recommendations for implementing a school safety framework emphasizing student voice.

This study, grounded in the theory of diffusion, utilizes a qualitative phenomenological methodology to understand perspectives of parents and school personnel on the implementation of tiplines and/or reporting apps for school safety. Barriers and facilitators for the development and successful implementation of Advocatr, a school-based tipline/reporting app were identified. Adult participants were recruited from four U.S. high schools. These participants attended one of three sets of focus groups (parents, staff, and administrators) at two time points (Wave 1: n = 56; Wave 2: n = 55). Results indicated that parents and school staff are primarily concerned about mental health as a school safety issue. While many thought school tiplines could be useful, they identified improvements that could support its successful development and implementation such as school-wide training and school climate improvement frameworks. Implications for practice, policy, and future research addressing school safety are discussed.

Disruptive behavior problems frequently emerge in the preschool years and are associated with numerous, long-term negative outcomes, including comorbid disorders. First Step is a psychosocial early intervention with substantial empirical evidence supporting its efficacy among young children. The present study reports on a validation study of the revised and updated First Step early intervention, called First Step Next, conducted within four preschool settings. One hundred sixty students at risk for school failure, and their teachers, were randomized to intervention and control conditions. Results indicated coach and teacher adherence to implementing the core components of the program was excellent. Teachers and parents had high satisfaction ratings. For the three First Step Next prosocial domains, Hedges'geffect sizes (ESs) ranged from 0.34 to 0.91. For the problem behavior domain, children who received the First Step Next intervention had significant reductions in teacher- and parent-reported problem behavior as compared to children randomized to the control condition. For the problem behavior domain, Hedges'gESs ranged from 0.33 to 0.63, again favoring the intervention condition. All of the domains were statistically significant. This study builds on the evidence base supporting the First Step intervention in preschool settings.

We compared the student, school-related crime and violence in all the traditional public versus public charter schools in the state of North Carolina during school year 2015-2016. Results showed that traditional public schools demonstrated higher crime and violence rates than did public charter schools. Risk ratios related to lower rates of crime and violence in school greatly favored students attending public charter schools. Implications concerning the school-related crime and violence characteristics of two different types of schools, on a large scale, are provided.