The majority of youth in our communities are on a path to a safe and productive role in the community. For these youth, communities are challenged through their prevention efforts to address issues that are reducing their chances for success. Successful violence prevention strategies are ones that address the issue of violence as a community wide issue. Not any one entity within the community has the tools or the ability to successfully address issues of violence prevention on their own. The most effective prevention strategies are comprehensive in nature and engage families, schools, communities, and peers in a collective effort to address factors affecting issues of violence in the community.
Schools play a fundamental role in the communities' response to violence prevention.
Not only because of the role schools can play in the lives of children and families, but also because it is one of the places that children can be victimized. Children come to school in a wide variety of states and at different levels of preparedness. We know that children at risk of future violent behavior are also at risk of school failure. Generally many of these youth are characterized by a lack of commitment to school, have friends who engage in problem behaviors, are academically behind, and have low neighborhood attachment. In order to address these issues, schools need to think in broader terms about their role in the community and about how they address the individual needs of children in the school environment.