The Palm Beach County school district in West Palm Beach, Florida, is implementing Aggressors, Victims, and Bystanders: Thinking and Acting to Prevent Violence (AVB), a 12-session program designed for use with students in grades 6 through 9. The Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools has recognized AVB as a promising program.

AVB aims to prevent or reduce violence by altering patterns of thought and action that lead individuals to become involved in violence as either aggressors, victims, or bystanders. The program encourages young people to examine their roles as aggressors, victims, and bystanders and helps them develop problem-solving skills and new ways of responding to conflict.

Developed by Dr. Ron Slaby, the program uses the four-step Think-First model of conflict resolution. Students are taught to:

• keep cool,
• size up the situation,
• think it through, and
• do the right thing.

This model provides students with a framework for changing the habits of thought that can result in violence.

One unique aspect of the Palm Beach County program is the use of police officers as teachers for the program. The district conducts a training program periodically, teaching officers how to conduct each lesson and manage a classroom. Supplemental training continues throughout the year.

According to Sandy Cunningham, coordinator of Palm Beach County's AVB program, the school district is experiencing great success with the program: “The officers have different relationships with the students than they ever had before. Now, kids will approach officers on the street and tell them about an issue or conflict they need help with. The students see the officers as people who care.” The district currently implements AVB in the 6th grade
in almost all of its 28 middle schools. To reinforce the learning, a supplemental 7th grade curriculum and a new CD-ROM entitled “Bullying: Bystanders Can Make a Difference” also have been developed.

“This program works,” says Cunningham. “We observe the students using the Think-First model in the classroom and in their daily lives. They've changed their approach to conflict.”

For more information about the Aggressors, Victims, and Bystanders program, see p.7.

For information about violence prevention efforts in Palm Beach County, contact Sandy Cunningham or Chief James P. Kelly at
(561) 434-8435, or visit the following Web sites:

• www.palmbeach.k12.fl.us/schoolpolice
• www.palmbeach.k12.fl.us/SafeSchools/ indexexpl.htm