Acknowledgments

This study represents a collaborative effort among participating schools; staff from RTI International; our colleagues at Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation (PIRE); researchers at Tanglewood Research, Inc.; and the program developers for Responding in Peaceful and Positive Ways (RiPP), Wendy Bauers Northup and Aleta Meyer, and the program developer for Best Behavior at the University of Oregon, Jeff Sprague. We are especially grateful to the school principals, faculty, and students of the participating schools for their dedication to implementing the programs and for graciously participating in all data collection.

At Tanglewood Research, Bill Hansen and Linda Dusenbury and a group of dedicated site liaisons supported, coached, and monitored teachers and faculty during the implementation of the programs; they also coordinated training and technical assistance for large numbers of staff. The program developers were true partners in this effort and were extremely flexible and cooperative with the needs of the study as we worked to implement an intervention formed from the two programs.

At RTI, the evaluation was supported by a team of devoted school recruiters, site coordinators, and site visitors, including Becky Durocher, Linda Bailey-Stone, Betty Burton, Terri Dempsey, Connie Hobbs, Farley Bernholz, Kimrey Millar, Lisa McCaskill, Elizabeth Parish, and Linda Pucci. The team oversaw locally based field data collectors who worked tirelessly to coordinate evaluation activities and achieve high response rates for the student survey. Data collection logistics and training were ably supported by Margaret Searle and Lori Hill, under the leadership of Lisa McCaskill and Linda Bailey-Stone. Jon Blitstein led the analyses; Jason Williams, Gordon Brown, and Kelly Close provided additional support. Terri Dempsey conducted qualitative analyses of interview data.

The study's Technical Working Group provided helpful advice and guidance on the second-year and third-year analyses. We appreciate the contributions of Thomas Cook, David Cordray, Daniel Flannery, Jeffrey Smith, and Pamela Orpinas.