PeaceBuilders is an elementary and middle school level, community-wide, violence-prevention program that aims to change school climate, increase academic performance, and promote pro-social behavior among students and adults (i.e., school staff, parents, community members). PeaceBuilders’ instructional component is intended to be infused throughout academic classes, special events, and other strategies implemented by the school. Through these activities, children learn five principles: 1) praise people; 2) avoid put-downs; 3) seek wise people as advisors and friends; 4) notice and correct hurts we cause; 5) right wrongs; and 6) help others (for middle schools). Adults reinforce and model the behaviors at school, at home, and in public places. The underlying theory informing PeaceBuilders is a cognitive behavioral framework: youth violence can be reduced by altering the school environment to emphasize rewards and praise for pro-social behaviors, and by initiating prevention early in childhood, increasing children’s resilience, and reinforcing positive behaviors. PeaceBuilders is featured in Drug Strategies’ Safe Schools Safe Starts: A Guide to Violence Prevention Strategies, the 1998 Annual Report on School Safety and the American Journal of Preventive Medicine’s Youth Violence Prevention: Descriptions and Baseline Data from 13 Evaluation Projects (supported by funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). In addition, PeaceBuilders has been included in the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s “Best Practices” series and is designated as a “Promising Program” by the U.S. Department of Education.

Target Population

- Grade Level: from  Kindergarten to  Eighth grade