Youth and Schools

The persistence of prejudice and violence within Montana schools negatively impacts students' mental health, self-esteem, and academic performance. Bullied youth suffer from increased risk factors, including suicide and drug and alcohol abuse. In response, NCBI develops young leaders who can support their peers and their educators in building safe, empowering, and inclusive learning communities.  

• Respect Club: NCBI created this after-school leadership development program for middle school youth. "Respect Club" is currently offered in all Missoula District 1 middle schools through a partnership with the Flagship Program.
• Youth Violence Prevention: NCBI provides age-appropriate prejudice reduction and violence prevention workshops for k-12th grade. Each summer, NCBI facilitates a Training of Trainers for high school students; these students go on to lead prevention work in the schools and community.
• Professional Development: NCBI trainers travel across the state facilitating workshops for youth and educators on prejudice reduction, violence prevention, and leadership development. These participatory sessions leave participants with concrete tools that can be applied every day.

NCBI has worked with schools throughout Montana, including Corvallis, Lame Deer, Ronan, St. Ignatius, Helena, Browning, Missoula, Bozeman, Noxon, Kalispell, Laurel, and Hamilton. NCBI workshops don't shy away from important issues - we tackle them in a non-blaming, uplifting, and even fun way. Most of our workshops are provided on a fee-for-service basis. Feel free to contact heidi@ncbimissoula.org for information about availability and costs.

Program Effectiveness

NCBI programs have been evaluated locally and nationally as highly successful: 

• After a year of record-level violence at Missoula's Big Sky High School, in fall of 2007, NCBI launched a comprehensive violence prevention initiative, training teachers and students to lead prevention work within the school. Those trainers led workshops for the entire freshman class, and violence was reduced by half that year.
• An evaluation conducted by the U.S. Department of Education through the Safe and Drug Free Schools Program concluded that NCBI was an exemplary program, saying it “builds an internal campus capacity for moving beyond ‘quick-fix’ responses to racial/gender tensions and instead fosters a school-wide climate that welcomes diversity.”
• Written and oral reports from student participants in NCBI programs indicate that participation allowed them to build relationships with members of other racial, class and gender groups, thereby strengthening the entire school community. Participant evaluations said NCBI activities deepened students’ understanding of mistreatment and prejudice, broadened their experiences, developed their commitment to justice and community, and taught them skills in violence prevention and intervention.
• One hundred percent of youth involved in Respect Club in 2007-2008 academic year reported they felt more able to reduce violence in their school as a result of the training.