The goal of this project was to enhance the resiliency of our students, school staff members, and school communities. Resiliency has been defined as, “…the capacity to spring back, rebound, successfully adapt in the face of adversity, and develop social, academic, and vocational competence despite exposure to severe stress, or simply to the stress of today’s world.” (Henerson & Milstein, 1996). The schools participating in this project explored ways in which to reduce risk factors in students lives (e.g., unsafe environments, insufficient connections with adults, low motivation) while simultaneously increasing protective factors (e.g., caring environments, sense of personal power, problem solving skills). This project was infused into the classroom and the curriculum with consistent and authentic resiliency-building experiences for students.

With this project, the schools were hoping to move away from viewing resiliency as a program (e.g., a bully-proofing program, or a drug and alcohol education program) to viewing resiliency as a process. That is, we hope to help school community members see that how we do what we do and the interactions that we have with children and youth, are more important than simply what we do. Key components of the project were (a) helping students to develop pro-social skills and behaviors, (b) connecting students to their communities in meaningful ways, (c) providing on-going professional development and support for school staff members.