Program Description

The Safe School Ambassadors® Program (SSA) is an evidence-based program that trains and mobilizes “socially influential” students (the students who shape the school’s norms) from diverse groups and cliques on campus to become agents of change – Ambassadors – and moves them from being “bystanders” to “upstanders” who are willing and able to stand up against mistreatment. This SEL student-centered model uses an "inside-out" approach that has been approved by many school districts as meeting their required SEL criteria.

Cost

The program costs $7,500. This includes virtual and in-person training, technical assistance and program implementation support, program guides, online tools, and resources for year-round implementation.

Intended Population

• Core

Grade

• Middle School
• High School

Intended Group Size

• School

ELL/DLL

• Unspecified

Multisensory Applications

• Unspecified

Computer-Based Delivery

• Partial

Scripted

• Instructor Scripted

Comprehensive or Skill Specific

• Comprehensive

Placement Tests

• No

Accelerated Learning

• No

Assessment to Monitor Skills Mastery

• Yes

Error Correction Built In

• Unspecified

Fidelity Measures Provided by Publisher

• Yes

Research Summary

A literature review indicated mixed results. In one comparison study, suspension rates and other types of discipline in schools implementing the Safe School Ambassador program decreased significantly compared to control schools. In one randomized control study, self-survey measures indicated mixed findings in student fidelity of mistreatment intervention overtime. Anecdotally, students and adults reported seeing growth in student confidence, leadership, communication, empathy, and willingness to intervene when they noticed maltreatment, all resulting in a decrease in bullying at their schools.

Study Citations

Lewis, A. K., Nguyen, C., Freshour, C., Hoover, S., Bohnenkamp, J., Schaeffer, C., & Slade, E. (2019). Promoting School Safety: A Comprehensive Emotional and Behavioral Health Model. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5b7ea2794cde7a79e7c00582/t/637637b3271fd25596ed1c70/1668691891638/promoting+school.pdf

Pack, C., White, A., Raczynski, K., & Wang, A. (2011). Evaluation of the Safe School Ambassadors Program: A Student-led Approach to Reducing Mistreatment and Bullying in Schools. The Clearing House: A Journal of Educational Strategies, Issues and Ideas, 84(4), 127–133. https://doi.org/10.1080/00098655.2011.564974

Evidence-Based Practice (EBP)

• Insufficient evidence

Additional Reviews

• https://www.edutopia.org/safe-schools-ambassadors-peers-antibullying