Reducing Racism and Discrimination in Schools: Comprehensive Prevention Services

Project Rationale Data from public Middle Schools indicate increasing rates of unsafe, disruptive, and event violent behaviors across the US. These incidents may also include peer victimization. Racially and ethnically minoritized youth are disproportionately affected by these incidents and occurrences of racial bias in school. The purpose of the Comprehensive Prevention Strategies (CPS) intervention is to preventatively promote youth safety and belonging across individual, school, and community settings by intervening at multiple entry points. The primary components include: (1) an adapted version of Coping Power and (2) extended PBIS strategies called "ReACT" (Racial equity through Assessing data for vulnerable decision points, culturally responsive behavior strategies, and Teaching about implicit bias and how to neutralize it) is for teachers. This project leverages the evidence-based Coping Power student and parent interventions and Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) approaches to include much-needed adaptations to address this critical issue. This project has the potential for important public health outcomes: (a) reducing youth violence, (b) improving school climate and (c) improving teacher practices regarding discipline, disproportionate discipline, and bias in public schools.

Project Aims The primary purpose of this project is to test a comprehensive, two-part intervention with ReACT and a recently adapted, Coping Power+ Program. ReACT and PBIS are school-wide universal interventions. Coping Power and Coping Power+ are targeted preventive interventions designed to assist at-risk 7th grade students to improve their coping with interpersonal stressors during middle school. This project will evaluate the effects of the program on teacher, student and parent perceptions of school climate, student behavior, social-emotional competence, disciplinary infractions, and identity for 7th grade students in Coping Power or Coping Power+

Funding This project is funded by a 5-year grant awarded by the National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities.

Sample of Schools A total of 18 middle schools have been recruited for involvement in this project: 11 in Huntsville City Schools and 7 in Jefferson County Public Schools.

Student Participation and Data Collection Students who are identified by teachers and/or school staff as potentially benefiting from Coping Power on the 6-item universal screener completed by 6th grade teachers each project year in the spring, will be contacted by school staff to request active parental consent for participation.