Too Good for Violence K-5 is a universal, violence prevention and character education program that teaches character-based skills, attitudes, and behaviors to help elementary students: differentiate between feelings and actions, encourage respect between peers, and celebrate diversity. Program lessons and activities help kids realize that as individuals and as a group, they are too good for bullying and violence.
Too Good for Violence teaches the following social and emotional learning skills, which research has linked with healthy development and academic success:
Too Good for Violence promotes character development by strengthening eight key character traits:
Too Good offers developmentally appropriate curricula for each grade level in kindergarten through grade 5. Each grade level builds on previous levels, developing the skills sequentially with engaging, age-appropriate lessons and activities.
Too Good focuses on the risk factors that can be positively affected in the classroom: favorable attitudes toward drugs, violence, and other problem behaviors; and friends who engage in problem behavior.
Too Good builds protection within the student by:
The Mendez Foundation developed Logic Models for Too Good to map out the Theory of Change and demonstrate graphically the assumptions that drive Too Good. The logic model communicates an "if-then" message of what changes the program intends to produce. It helps to make the connections among the target group, goals, strategies, objectives and planned program results and lays out what the program is expected to achieve and how it is expected to work.
Each of the Too Good evaluation studies were conducted by third-party researchers and used randomized treatment-control group designs (pre-test/post-test, 20-week post-test, or one-year follow-up). The Researchers examined pre-test equivalence between treatment and control groups; potential bias of loss of student data over time; quality of program implementation; and estimates of reliability and validity of assessment tools.
The award-winning Too Good programs have undergone rigorous, independent evaluation studies to measure their effects on students' skills, attitudes, intentions, and behaviors. Studies have been published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at national evaluation conferences. These studies demonstrate the effectiveness of Too Good.
2001 Summary 2001 Full Report 2003 Summary 2003 Full Report 2005 Summary 2005 Full Report
| Organization/Agency | TGFD K-8 | TGFV K-8 | TGFD&V High School |
|---|---|---|---|
| What Works Clearinghouse: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Science | Positive effects on behavior View Report | Positive effect on behavior & knowledge, attitudes & values View Report | Positive effect on behavior & knowledge, attitudes & values View Report |
| CASEL: Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning | Not Yet Rated | Elementary SELect Program View Report | Not Yet Rated |
| NREPP: National Registry of Evidence-Based Programs & Practices | Reviewed evaluation View Report | Reviewed evaluation View Report | Reviewed evaluation View Report |
| CEBC: California Evidence Based Clearinghouse for Child Welfare | TGFD Grade 6 Scientific Rating 2 - Supported by Evidence View Report | Not Yet Rated | Not Yet Rated |
| OJJDP: Office of Juvenile Justice & Delinquency Prevention | Promising program View Report | Exemplary program View Report | Exemplary program View Report |
| Promising Practices Network: Programs that Work | Screened program View Report | Screened program View Report | Screened program View Report |
| SAMHSA: Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration | Model program | Model program | Model program |
Too Good programs have earned recognition and acclaim for their impact in promoting safer and healthy youth and communities.
Recognition for Too Good for Drugs™ in Drug Strategies "Making the Grade": "Some very strong elements in this very detailed, 10 session per year curriculum. Provides developmentally appropriate information about alcohol, tobacco and marijuana. Normative education activities creative and compelling, new ideas for games. Includes no-use pledge."
Recognition for Too Good for Violence in Drug Strategies "Safe Schools, Safe Students": "A delightful package of materials (that) complements this highly interactive 4-9 session program. Strongly focused on critical skill areas. Extremely detailed instructions for teachers. Very complete."