Promising Practices

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Community / Crime & Crime Prevention, Teens

Goal: The goal of this program is to prevent violence among middle school students.

Impact: Rates of violence-related violations among 6th graders were 2.2 times lower in classrooms using RiPP than in non-participating classrooms. In-school suspension rates among 6th graders were also 5.0 times higher in the non-participating classrooms.

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Children's Health, Children, Adults, Families, Urban

Goal: The mission of Safety Stop is to increase the number of children who are properly secured in safety seats during trips made in a vehicle by educating parents and caregivers participating in Safety Stop car seat fittings and consultations.

Impact: Safety Stop increased mean scores on child safety seat knowledge by 5% (p < 0.01) among participating parents and caregivers.

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Adolescent Health, Children, Teens

Goal: The goals of Say It Straight (SIS) training are prevention of risky or destructive behaviors, such as alcohol, tobacco, other drug (ATOD) use, violence, school drop-out, teen pregnancy, behaviors leading to HIV/AIDS; and promotion of wellness, personal and social responsibility, positive self-esteem and positive relationships.

Impact: SIS training results in statistically significant reductions in alcohol/drug related school suspensions. Juvenile criminal police offenses such as assaults, vandalism, burglary, etc. were also lower among trained students.

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Children's Health, Children

Goal: The Second Step program is designed to increase students’ school success and decrease problem behaviors by promoting social-emotional competence and self-regulation.

Impact: A number of evaluations of the Second Step program have been conducted. Evaluations have found reductions in fighting and physical aggression, gains in pro-social skills and behavior, increased social competence, and increased knowledge of social skills.

Filed under Effective Practice, Education / Student Performance K-12, Children, Teens, Urban

Goal: Spark's mission is to provide life-changing apprenticeships to youth in underserved communities across the United States.

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Education / Student Performance K-12, Children

Goal: The goal of this program is to help all students achieve academic success at the highest levels.

Impact: Results suggest that students in the Success for All schools were achieving at significantly higher levels on three of the four reading outcomes as measured by the Woodcock Reading Mastery Test Revised (WRMT-R).

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Children's Health, Children, Urban

Goal: The primary goal of the ‘Switch-Play’ promising practice was to develop and test three approaches towards the achievement of healthy weight maintenance among 10-year-old children: (1) through reducing the time spent in sedentary behaviors (e.g. TV viewing, playing electronic games and recreational computer use); (2) through increasing skills and enjoyment of physical activity; or (3) through a combination of these two strategies.

Impact: Children participating in the behavioral modification and motor skills development components of Switch-Play had improved BMI.

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Community / Social Environment, Children, Adults, Families

Goal: The goal of this program is to provide parents with the necessary skills to improve their parent/child communication and overall family functioning.

Impact: STEP has been implemented in more than 1,000 schools, agencies, churches, and mental health treatment facilities since 1976, reaching more than 4 million parents. Outside the US, STEP has been implemented in Australia, Canada, Germany, Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand, the Philippines, Romania, and South Korea.

Filed under Evidence-Based Practice, Health / Adolescent Health, Teens

Goal: The program aims to develop healthy behaviors, life skills, and a sense of purpose in order to prevent problem behaviors.

Impact: Studies have shown that adolescents in the Teen Outreach Program are at 52% lower risk of school suspension, 60% lower risk of course failure, and 53% lower risk of teenage pregnancy.

Filed under Effective Practice, Education / Educational Attainment

Goal: The goal of this program is to recognize and reward outstanding public service, academic excellence, and community service.