How can we create a culture of care and with less harm?
For more than a decade, we have researched problems and developed programs to benefit schools. As a result, we now know how to develop leaders who promote care and prevent harm to change culture.
Promoting care is aspirational — increasing kindness, creating psychological safety, and enhancing well-being. Preventing harm is stopping problems or mitigating harmful outcomes. Put together, the goals and strategies are to "Promote Care & Prevent Harm". This integrative approach is reflected by the “&” in our new logo.
We can prevent harm: the spread of the coronavirus, mental illness,
violence, and loneliness. We can also promote care: health, mental wellness, peace, and connection.
About
Our journey began with Virginia Tech students after the April 16, 2007 school shooting. Our story is not defined by this traumatic event, but rather by the moments of resilience that followed and the commitment of student leaders to build a better culture.
Our youth-led movement has evolved from care during community recovery into a non-profit organization, which focuses on translating research into programs for youth to build safer, healthier, and more connected school communities.
Our Story
After the 2007 Virginia Tech shooting, we began a search for
the answers to the most challenging questions…
Why did a shooter take the lives of 32 Hokies?
Numerous factors led to the tragic shooting on April 16th, 2007. In a review of school shootings, it’s well documented that various risk factors, from relational conflict and bullying to mental illness, contribute to violence in schools and on college campuses.
Countless opportunities for prevention were missed across entities, including schools, criminal justice, and health care.
Does promoting goodness prevent a person from a pathway of violence?
We still don’t know, but we know promotion matters for developing empathic and caring people. We gave out 2,000+ “actively caring” wristbands when we saw kindness from students & staff on campus.
Promoting the positive can be an effective prevention technique.
Does promoting care prevent aggression and bullying among elementary students?
In 2009, we developed and implemented a kindness-promotion program in an elementary school where students looked for helpful actions from their peers and were affirmed by teachers for their caring (McCarty, Teie, McCutchen, & Geller, 2016).
A union of promoting care and preventing harm can occur with the right strategy.
Does a strengths-focused program develop character for middle school students?
In 2010, we adapted our kindness-promotion program for middle schools and focused on building character strengths, such as recognition, gratitude, and courage.
More evidence supports our approach of promotion/prevention.
Can college students lead compassionate change in schools?
In 2011, we trained 40+ college students in the science of peace promotion and violence prevention based on a student-centric pedagogy and grounded in developmental science. These college students taught 2,000+ students in four local middle schools.
Prevention efforts benefit from student leaders.
How can students promote resilience after a shooting?
In 2012, we trained 80+ Chardon High School students to engage in prosocial behavior that provides social support for their peers, teachers, and community (McCarty, Pacque, Gatto, Hill, & Charak, 2021).
Resilience promotion can support recovery after a potentially traumatic event.
How can we empower youth-led change before a shooting ?
In 2013, we developed a youth-led approach for students to develop their own school safety initiatives along with kindness and mental wellness campaigns to improve the school culture.
Prevention must be local to the needs and cultural context of the community.
Can we empower students at schools and colleges?
In 2014, we adapted our kindness-promotion program for middle schools and focused on building character strengths, such as recognition, gratitude, and courage.
Effective prevention should be universal to benefit all, rather than a few.
How can adults support
student-led change in schools?
In 2015, we started to conduct research on school climate, consult with school administrators, and train after-school club advisors.
Peer role models can mentor and support student-led, preventive interventions.
How can we address the school-to-prison pipeline, build trust between SROs and youth, and collaboratively create change with students?
In 2016, we co-developed Preventing Problems by Promoting Positive Practices with Xero Associates and trained three school districts in Maryland, including Baltimore City School police.
Effective prevention involves all stakeholders.
How can we support a team of youth leaders to solve any school or community problem?
In 2017, we developed the COR4 program strategy for youth development programming to enhance actions, consciousness, solutions, and analytics to foster caring, leadership, and youth-centered, school-wide change.
Effective prevention is adaptive to the community.
How can we create communication and collaboration in primary care?
In 2018, our Executive Director moved to South Texas to consult with the Family Medicine Department at UTRGV and develop a team-based training on communication styles for mental health providers and primary care physicians.
Effective prevention is possible with shared goals and improved communication.
How can we collaborate for change?
In 2019, we partnered with the Josh Anderson Foundation to research, support development and evaluate their Our Minds Matter, a mental health promotion and suicide prevention program, in the Fairfax County high schools. We partnered with other non-profit organizations and colleges to begin the process of scaling promotion/prevention programs to more schools.
Effective prevention is possible with the right partners.
How can we address COVID-19?
In March 2020, we partnered with a group of organizers to launch “Contain the Contagion”. We made 25,000+ phone calls and texts across South Texas to inform residents about the risks of COVID-19. In June 2020, we launched the COVID-19 Safety Corps for youth to develop their own social media campaigns to promote mental wellness and safe behaviors for their peers.
Effective prevention is delivered by community organizers.
How can we enhance collaboration?
In 2021, we revised our upstanding for promotion-prevention (UPP) program, youth-led resilience promotion (YLRP) program, and youth-led promotion & prevention (YL2P) program based on new research across various fields. We’ve been writing articles and published on the science behind our programs.
Integrative promotion-prevention approaches are rooted in the psychology of promotion and prevention science.
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What are the roles of bystanders?
In 2022, we examined the role of bystanders, expanding the paradigm from an exclusive focus on prevention-oriented upstanding toward a focus on promotion-oriented upstanding. We wrote two preprints (on a conceptual model and the design of bystander programs) and published a manuscript evaluating the upstanding for promotion-prevention (UPP) program.
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Does structural thinking matter?
In 2023, we published a manuscript on how to facilitate a moral reckoning on structural racism. We explain how two forms of structural thinking — structural competency and critical consciousness — could contribute to efforts that address the sociostructural determinants of health and racism.
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Do mindsets matter?
In 2024, we are examining the way promotion and prevention mindsets influence prosocial goals and mental health promotion and mental distress prevention strategies among high school and college students.
