Argues that schoolwide interventions can potentially buffer students from violence outside of schools and prevent violence within schools, and examines the Comer School Development Program (CSDP) as an example of a successful schoolwide intervention. It reveals how the CSDP creates a "safe haven" that supports healthy development,…

The School Development Program includes a School Planning and Management Team, a Mental Health Team, and Parents Program. The mental health component involves collaboration of child development and mental health experts and the community in dealing with individual student and global school issues in mental health. (SK)