How can school communities make sure their environments are free from all forms of aggression and victimization, including harassment, violence, and bullying? This What Works Brief provides school staff with suggestions, including how to:

• Be visible, active, and interested
• Implement and advocate for clear, consistent, and fair behavior management policies, practices, and programs
• Encourage student and community involvement
• Provide conflict resolution education

Developed through the California Safe and Supportive Schools (S3) Grant, What Works Briefs summarize best practices, strategies, and programs for improving school climate. Based on research and grounded in experience, each brief provides practical recommendations for school staff, families, and community members. They are organized into three sections:

• Quick Wins: What Teachers and Adults Can Do Right Now
• Universal Supports: Schoolwide Policies, Practices, and Programs
• Targeted Supports: Intensive Supports for At-Risk Youth

Peer victimization, or bullying, occurs anywhere youth are—schools, neighborhoods, online—and can be physical or verbal, or through social exclusion from groups. Bullying affects the general sense of safety at school, instilling a sense of vulnerability, isolation, and fear in its victims. It also reduces victims’ ability to organize their mental and emotional resources, negatively affecting student outcomes.

To combat bullying, schools must provide resources for all students, including the victims, aggressors, and bystanders. This What Works Brief focuses on how schools can best prevent and intervene in cases of bullying, including:

• How to be prepared when bullying happens
• Ways of taking action
• 10 best practices for bullying prevention and intervention

Developed through the California Safe and Supportive Schools (S3) Grant, What Works Briefs summarize best practices, strategies, and programs for improving school climate. Based on research and grounded in experience, each brief provides practical recommendations for school staff, families, and community members. They are organized into three sections:

• Quick Wins: What Teachers and Adults Can Do Right Now
• Universal Supports: Schoolwide Policies, Practices, and Programs
• Targeted Supports: Intensive Supports for At-Risk Youth

Many schools have instituted various safety practices that research has shown to be ineffective or even harmful. Effective evidence-based strategies that reduce rates of physical and emotional violence all have a common denominator that includes non-punitive, restorative prevention and intervention practices. This What Works Brief provides evidence-based strategies that educators, families, and community members can use to:

• Implement positive and restorative behavior policies and practices
• Provide clear, consistent, and culturally relevant expectations
• Reflect on existing discipline procedures

Developed through the California Safe and Supportive Schools (S3) Grant, What Works Briefs summarize best practices, strategies, and programs for improving school climate. Based on research and grounded in experience, each brief provides practical recommendations for school staff, families, and community members. They are organized into three sections:

• Quick Wins: What Teachers and Adults Can Do Right Now
• Universal Supports: Schoolwide Policies, Practices, and Programs
• Targeted Supports: Intensive Supports for At-Risk Youth