Too Good for Violence

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Designated
SELect
Indicates that a program demonstrates evidence of effectiveness at improving student outcomes at the highest level, supports students’ social and emotional growth through all five competencies, and offers multi-year programming. For a full list of SELect student outcomes see SELect designation.
Program description

Too Good for Violence, offered by the Mendez Foundation, provides a lesson-based approach to SEL. It includes programming for grades K-8 and demonstrates evidence of effectiveness in grade 3. Translated materials for Too Good for Violence are available in Spanish.

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      • SEL lessons
      • Community partnerships
      • Activities and Resources for Home
    • Onsite in-person training
    • Virtual training
    • Offsite training
    • Train the trainer model
    • Administrator support
    • Coaching
    • Technical assistance
    • Professional Learning Communities (PLCs)
    • Online resource library
    • Self-report tools for monitoring implementation
    • Observational tools
    • Tools for measuring student success

Evidence of effectiveness

Results from a randomized controlled trial published in 2005 supported the effectiveness of Too Good for Violence for elementary school students. This evaluation included 999 students in ten schools who were in grade 3 (44% white, 36% Latinx, 13% Black/African American; 54% of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch (FRPL)) in an urban area in the Southeast. This evaluation found that students who participated in the program demonstrated increased prosocial behavior (teacher-reported) when compared to students in the comparison group (outcomes reported approximately seven weeks after baseline while controlling for outcome pretest). In addition, students who participated in the program also self-reported increased social and emotional competencies, and increased personal and social skills as reported by teachers. At follow-up (20 weeks after post-test, controlling for previous scores on outcome measures), students who participated in the program were more likely to have engaged in prosocial behavior (teacher-reported), more likely to have self-reported increased social and emotional competencies, and increased personal and social skills as reported by teachers.

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  • Evidence shown in grades
    3
    School characteristics
      • Urban
      • Southeast
    Student characteristics
    • Black / African American
    • Hispanic / Latinx
    • White
    • Low income
    Percentage Low Income
    • Eligible for FRPL: 54%
    Study design type
    • RCT
    Greater than 350 students included in study design type
    • Yes
    Multiple school districts included at study design type
    • Yes
    • Improved academic performance
    • Reduced emotional distress
    • Improved identity development and agency
    • Reduced problem behaviors
    • Improved school climate
    • Improved school connectedness
    • Improved social behaviors
    • Improved teaching practices
    • Improved other SEL skills and attitudes

How does Too Good for Violence support SEL implementation across multiple settings?

“TGFV promotes SEL in the classroom by fostering pro-social norms and building community through collaborative activities. Each lesson is accompanied by a “Home Workout” activity to introduce and reinforce lesson objectives at home with families. The curriculum also includes a letter to parents, inviting them to participate in their child's SEL journey. ”

Get info and pricing on the provider’s website

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References

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