In 1999, a small Brooklyn middle school in a high-crime neighborhood created the Brownsville Youth for Peace (BYFP) school safety project. The school’s students have low test scores, and parents are generally not involved in school activities. BYFP coordinators (school staff, teachers, and students) assessed the nature of the school’s safety problems, then developed nine small projects for reducing bullying. Researchers examined project records and interviewed participating teachers, students, staff, the principal, a consultant, and the BYFP’s liaison at the New York City Department of Education. Overall, although coordinators thoroughly reviewed the school’s safety problems, they were unsure of how to address many of the problems identified, particularly those related to factors outside of school, such as family relationships and neighborhood gangs, which contributed to incidents at school. While the BYFP was initially able to recruit students, teachers, parents, and police officers, it could notmaintain the involvement of parents and police because of turnover among people responsible for recruiting participants. Therefore, the project was run primarily by a small, committed group of students and teachers that created the nine safety projects, participated in them, and benefited most from the BYFP. Students who did not work on the project but participated in individual events benefited less. (SM)
