The initiative was established in 2012 in answer to a series of public conversations across Chicago about the increasing problem of violence in our community and schools. Originally established as a component of the Governor's Neighborhood Recovery Initiative, the Consortium now serves as a primary point of contact for anyone interested in stemming community and school violence. In just a few years, the Consortium has gained community prominence from its comprehensive research and innovative program support.

The Consortium’s efforts are directed at providing:

 

• Information and materials concerning the prevention of violence so that problems can be better identified and solutions can be developed;

 

• Program development and implementation expertise and technical support to schools, law enforcement agencies, and community organizations so that programs have excellent chances of success;

 

• Research and evaluation of school violence prevention programs so that schools and communities are better able to address their specific needs in effective action.

 

The Consortium's vision is that

"every student will live in a community and attend a school that is safe and secure, one that is free of fear and conducive to learning."

 

Domains of school violence prevention. In addition to specifying primary prevention levels, we argue that school violence-prevention frameworks should be based on common domains of program content that are considered to have the greatest potential impact. Once the desired targets of intervention are selected, it will be helpful to address these questions: What domain of intervention is thought to be necessary to reduce the risk of violence at the school? Should multiple domains be addressed?

 

Depending on the interests and needs of each school, it is possible to conceptualize school violence-prevention efforts within at least eight domains or activities, which include (a) security, (b) screening and assessment of aggressive behavior, (c) relationship building and bonding, (d) individual student skill development, (e) developing nonviolent campus norms, (f) schooling process and structure, (g) school discipline and positive support, and (h) enhancing school climate. Crossing prevention targets by prevention domains produces a conceptual map of school violence-prevention activities that can be used for strategic planning, as shown in Table 1. Although most violence prevention programs do not fit neatly into this structure, it does provide a useful heuristic with which to evaluate program purposes and content.