A School-Based Community of Hope, Not At-Risk: An Evaluation of a District-wide Resiliency Program

Abstract In Maricopa County, Arizona, one school district was interested in developing a culture of resilience within and among all its schools. In 2006, the district implemented a resilience training program for all its faculty and staff. It was expected that the program would have positive effects on the students; in short, youth who are provided with critical aspects of a resilient culture will do better in school and be more successful. The results of the evaluation of this effort showed that the school youth had resilience factors strengthened by the end of three years of implementation but older students need constant encouragement to progress in their academics and ability to connect with their schools and teachers. This paper is an examination of student attitudes and behaviors from 2007 through 2009