Wisconsin School Breaks Up Lunchtime Cliques With Assigned Seating

Often social programs at schools fail because they are not implemented fully or over a long enough period. One school in Philadelphia attributes their success in decreasing violence to having a long-term principal, a stable teaching force, and formal training in anti-violence programs.

Rates of problem behaviors and emotional issues among students are high - over 3 million elementary and secondary school students are suspended a year. To remedy the problem, a new program for educators delivers lessons on how to help students navigate their emotional lives.

A school in New Zealand took the rules out of recess. They found that when the kids were mentally engaged during play time activities they were less likely to have problems, such as bullying within the classroom.

Some colleges think students are overwhelmed by the number of options they have to choose from—countless classes and extracurriculars are available on many campuses. Schools across the United States are experimenting with new approaches, ranging from choosing courseloads for freshmen to assigning counselors to meet regularly with students.

At Capital City Public Charter School, students are graded based not only on academic skills but also social and emotional skills. The Washington D.C. school has a high graduation rate and college enrollment rate.

In the six years after California prisons became the first in the nation to offer college classes in nearly every prison, thousands of incarcerated people have enrolled in classes and have outperformed free-world students in grades and passing rates. While such programs have been shown to reduce crimes committed by those released from prison, the ultimate goal of California’s program is to see the benefits ripple through communities that the formerly incarcerated go home to.

The University of Chicago and Eureka College are teaming up to bring together college students from urban and rural Illinois to discuss political differences. As part of Bridging the Divide, community leaders from both settings have led tours of homeless shelters, job training sites, and immigration centers.

For students who are people of color, the first to attend college in their families, and from low-income families, the likelihood of finishing a four-year college degree is 12 percent. Wallin Education Partners pairs scholars, most of whom fall into at least one of these categories, in Minnesota with families who offer funding and mentoring support throughout students' entire college experience. For the 4500 students who earn scholarships through Wallin, the four-year completion rate is 92 percent.

Using play-based learning and positive communication lessons, an organization called Right to Play helps school children in Pakistan act less violently toward their peers. The program, which is now replicated in 18 countries around the world, aims to reduce gender-based violence and stereotyping in the classroom.

In Colorado voters approved spending money from marijuana tax sales on education. As much as $2 million is distributed to Colorado schools to spend on evidence-based anti-bullying programs. “Usually it means getting students, teachers and parents and the community involved.” The effort is working, “the percentage of students that reported being bullied dropped from 59 percent to 25 percent last school year, and the state was ranked third in the country for best bullying practices.