Prevent School Violence Create a Climate of Respect Celebrate Diversity

The "Days of Respect" is a step by step process on how a school, with the guidance of committed faculty members, can organize a small group of students, faculty, and parents to plan and implement a program to address issues of respect in their school community.

The program particularly deals with issues of diversity and relationships between races, gender, age and lifestyle to prevent violence. It guides the key coordinator through steps that organize a steering committee to assess the needs of the school and then put together a plan that addresses those needs.

It uses peer education, drama presentations, community participation, while demanding a minimum of funds and low time investment of the faculty.

There is no 'silver bullet' to improving the school climate and preventing violence on campus. The "Days of Respect" program does create working situations where students can have structured time to build relationships with each other which will go a long way to them gaining appreciation of differences and make for a more harmonious atmosphere on campus. A manual called Days of Respect: An organizer's manual, was published by Hunter House Press.

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Email: rcantor@acoe.org