Middle Way House's Elementary Prevention Program FAQs

Below are the most frequently asked questions we receive.
What is EPP?

The Elementary Prevention Program (EPP) is an interactive, evidence informed curriculum designed by Middle Way House to teach the social and emotional skills that prevent domestic violence, dating violence, and sexual violence. Educators tailor the presentations to fit the time frames and meet the needs of each audience. This program is offered to grades 3-5 in after school programs and in other youth serving organizations, such as summer break programs.

EPP consists of seven 45 60-minute lessons. The lessons introduce key concepts and skills related to violence prevention and allow participants to practice enacting the skills. The program is appropriate both as a supplement to existing social emotional learning that students receive in school and as a stand alone program. As a whole, the curriculum meets standards and recommendations for sexual and dating violence prevention as identified by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning, Indiana Department of Education Health & Wellness Standards, Indiana School Counseling competencies for social emotional learning for grades K-5, and Indiana Senate Bill 355.

Where does EPP take place and how can I bring EPP to my school or program?

EPP has been offered in elementary schools, afterschool programs, summer camps, and childcare programs, including at The Project School, Harmony School, Summit Elementary (afterschool), Marlin Elementary (afterschool), Templeton Elementary (afterschool), Arlington Elementary (afterschool), Girls Inc, The Rise, and the Boys and Girls Club (Crestmont, Lincoln St., and Ellettsville).

Generally, EPP takes place over 6-8 45-minute sessions, with 6-30 students. To schedule EPP, email prevention@middlewayhouse.net.

What are the topics covered in EPP?

EPP covers similarities and differences; stereotypes; being true to yourself, acceptance, and friendship; empathy and compassion; responding to differences; boundaries; and self-care. Depending on the length of a particular program, some topics might be combined or spaced out over several lessons.

What are the learning goals in EPP?

Exploring Similarities and Differences

  • Students will discover and appreciate their similarities and differences
  • Students will recognize benefits of diverse friendships
  • Students will discover and embrace something that is unique to them

Stereotypes

  • Students will define “gender norm” and “stereotype”.
  • Students will recognize harm caused when stereotypes are acted on.
  • Students will reflect on how they conform to and veer from stereotypes about themselves.

Being True to Yourself, Acceptance, and Friendship

  • Students will identify personal strengths and talents
  • Students will recognize negative consequences of people being forced to be something they are not
  • Students will identify friendships and qualities of healthy friendships

Empathy and Compassion

  • Students will define “empathy” and “compassion”
  • Students will apply empathy and compassion to practice scenarios

Responding to Differences

  • Students will recognize differences between passive, aggressive, and assertive behaviors
  • Students will demonstrate using “I” statements in practice scenarios

Boundaries

  • Students will identify different categories of people in their lives with whom they can safely and appropriately share touch and conversation
  • tudents will identify unsafe touch and verbal exchange
  • Students will identify safe, trusted adults in their lives

Self-Care

  • Students will identify situations in their lives that are difficult or bring up strong emotions for them
  • Students will understand how sensations in their bodies relate to emotions
  • Students will identify and practice coping skills
What evidence informs EPP?

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention identifies sexual violence as a serious problem that can have lasting, harmful effects on survivors and those around them. The CDC uses the acronym “STOP SV” to explain its research-based recommendation for preventing sexual violence. The CDC strategy is as follows:

  • Promote social norms that protect against violence
  • Teach skills to prevent sexual violence
  • Provide opportunities to empower and support girls and women
  • Create protective environments
  • Support victims/survivors to lessen harms

The EPP curriculum focuses on the first two strategies--promoting social norms that protect against violence and teaching skills to prevent sexual violence. In regards to these two strategies, the CDC specifically recommends

  • Teaching bystander approaches (covered in EPP Lesson 4: Empathy and Compassion and Lesson 5: Responding to Differences)
  • Social-emotional learning (covered throughout all EPP lessons)
  • Empowerment-based training (covered in Lesson 2: Stereotypes and Lesson 5: Responding to Differences)

Additionally, the EPP curriculum supports CDC’s remaining three strategies. The curriculum explores gender in Lesson 2: Stereotypes, therefore strengthening norms around leadership and other opportunities for girls and women. The structure of the curriculum and its facilitation promotes the fourth CDC recommendation, to create protective environments, by establishing consistent expectations of participants and addressing harmful behavior as it arises. Finally, during Lesson 1, participants are first introduced to MWH services for survivors, which familiarizes participants with survivor-centered services to lessen the impact of harm.

What learning standards does EPP cover?
The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL), an organization focusing on the implementation of strategies to improve social and emotional competencies, has developed a framework that identifies five competency clusters as critical for young people’s success. These competency clusters and their corresponding EPP lessons are listed below:

Self-awareness - the ability to understand one’s emotions and how they influence behavior

  • EPP Lesson 3: Being True to Yourself, Acceptance, and Friendship
  • EPP Lesson 4: Empathy and Compassion
  • EPP Lesson 7: Self-Care

Self-management - the ability to calm one’s self down when upset, to set goals and work toward them, and to manage and control emotions

  • EPP Lesson 5: Responding to Difference
  • EPP Lesson 7: Self-Care

Social awareness - the ability to recognize what is appropriate in certain settings and empathize with others

  • EPP Lesson 2: Stereotypes
  • EPP Lesson 4: Empathy and Compassion
  • EPP Lesson 6: Boundaries

Responsible decision making - the ability to make decisions that take into account social standards, consequences, and context

  • EPP Lesson 1: Exploring Similarities and Differences
  • EPP Lesson 5: Responding to Differences

Relationship skills - the ability to communicate well, to listen and respond appropriately, and to negotiate conflict

  • EPP Lesson 4: Empathy and Compassion
  • EPP Lesson 5: Responding to Differences
The Indiana Department of Education Health and Wellness identifies eight standards for kindergarten through grade 12, with specific learning objectives, academic expectations, and skills that students should acquire by the end of specific grade levels. The eight competencies are
  • Standard 1: Students will comprehend concepts related to health promotion and disease prevention to enhance health.
  • Standard 2: Students will analyze the influence of family, peers, culture, media, technology, and other factors on health behaviors.
  • Standard 3: Students will demonstrate the ability to access valid information, products, and services to enhance health.
  • Standard 4: Students will demonstrate the ability to use interpersonal communication skills to enhance health and avoid or reduce health
  • risks.
  • Standard 5: Students will demonstrate the ability to use decision-making skills to enhance health.
  • Standard 6: Students will demonstrate the ability to use goal-setting skills to enhance health.
  • Standard 7: Students will demonstrate the ability to practice strategies and skills to enhance personal health and reduce health risks.
  • Standard 8: Students will demonstrate the ability to advocate for personal, family, and community health.

The EPP Curriculum covers several aspects of standards 1, 2, 4, 5, and 7 for grades 3-5, as outlined below:

1.2 Identify examples of emotional, intellectual, physical, and social health

  • EPP Lesson 7: Self-Care

1.5 Recognize when it is important to seek health care

  • EPP Lesson 6: Boundaries

2.4 Recognize how peers can influence healthy and unhealthy behaviors

  • EPP Lesson 3: Being True to Yourself, Acceptance, Friendship
  • EPP Lesson 5: Responding to Differences

4.1 Formulate effective (assertive) verbal and nonverbal communication strategies

  • EPP Lesson 4: Empathy and Compassion
  • EPP Lesson 5: Responding to Differences

4.2 Demonstrate the ability to actively listen to enhance health

  • EPP Lesson 4: Empathy and Compassion
  • EPP Lesson 5: Responding to Differences

4.3 Explain healthy ways to express needs, wants and feelings

  • EPP Lesson 5: Responding to Differences
  • EPP Lesson 7: Self-Care

4.4 Determine ways to communicate kindness and respect for others

  • EPP Lesson 2: Stereotypes
  • EPP Lesson 4: Empathy and Compassion
  • EPP Lesson 5: Responding to Differences

4.7 Analyze strategies to prevent and manage conflict

  • EPP Lesson 5: Responding to Differences

5.2 Locate and use information to enhance health

  • EPP Lesson 1: Similarities and Differences (introductory information about MWH services, including the 24/7 help line)

7.1 Explain character traits and behaviors of a healthy and safe person

  • EPP Lesson 6: Boundaries
  • EPP Lesson 7: Self-Care

7.2 Identify specific ways to avoid or reduce health and safety risks

  • EPP Lesson 6: Boundaries
  • EPP Lesson 7: Self-Care
The Indiana Department of Education identifies three Indiana School Counseling Competencies for social-emotional learning for students in grades K-5. As discussed above, the CDC identifies social-emotional learning as a research-based strategy for sexual violence prevention.

Competency 1: Students will acquire and further develop the knowledge, attitudes and interpersonal skills to help them understand and respect self and others. The student

  • identifies emotions within varying contexts;
  • describes an array of feelings;
  • describes empathy;
  • describes diversity in people in our world;
  • identifies differences in perspective;
  • identifies respectful behavior towards self and others;
  • describes ways in which students can support those who are bullied or experiencing personal challenges, including reporting mechanisms.
Each of the seven EPP lessons outlined in this curriculum guide contribute to participant mastery of competency 1.
Competency 2: Students develop personal management and collaborative skills needed to become successful learners, responsible citizens, and productive workers. The student
  • displays peer helping skills
  • identifies problem solving skills and can use words to discuss possible solutions;
  • identifies situations that cause anger and strategies to channel such anger into socially responsible choices;
  • identifies situations that cause stress and strategies to reduce stress;
  • describes consequences for actions;
  • identifies qualities of a good listener;
  • identifies actions to meet goals.
The following EPP lessons cover competency 2: Lesson 4: Empathy and Compassion, Lesson 5: Responding to Differences, and Lesson 7: Self-Care.
Competency 3: Students will understand personal safety skills.
  • identifies resources when help is needed;
  • demonstrates positive interpersonal skills;
  • describes conflict management strategies;
  • utilizes stress management strategies to regulate emotions;
  • identifies self-advocacy skills.
The following EPP lessons cover competency 3: Lesson 5: Responding to Differences, Lesson 6: Boundaries, Lesson 7: Self-Care.
Finally, Indiana Senate Bill 355 mandates that all public, charter, and accredited nonpublic schools provide research and evidence-based age-appropriate instruction on child abuse and child sexual abuse to students in kindergarten through grade 12. The Elementary Prevention Program is presented in afterschool and school break settings, therefore in addition to the mandated instruction that participants receive in school. EPP reinforces healthy boundaries and limits to safe and appropriate touch (Lesson 6) and strengthens participants’ connection to Middle Way House as a potential service provider or outlet through which to report child abuse and child sexual abuse.
What is the history of EPP?

Since the 1990s, MWH has offered its Building Healthy Relationships (BHR) curriculum to students in middle school and high school, and in 2018, the program reached over 2,300 students in Monroe county schools and youth programs. BHR uses evidence-based primary prevention strategies to reduce the likelihood of sexual and dating violence perpetration and increase the number of youth survivors seeking resources.

For many years, MWH had identified a need to expand its prevention programming to elementary aged children. By the time students encounter BHR in seventh grade, many have already experienced child sexual abuse or have been exposed to intimate partner violence. In fact, 1 in 5 girls and 1 in 20 boys is a victim of child sexual abuse, and these numbers are likely underreported. children are most vulnerable to child sexual abuse between the ages of 7 and 13.

In response to this identified need Middle Way House began to develop its Elementary Prevention Program in early 2018. The curriculum is evidence informed and incorporates identified needs with research based prevention strategies identified by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention as well as the collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning. The curriculum aligns with the Indiana Department of Education Health & Wellness Standards and the Indiana School counseling competencies.

In the 2018 2019 academic year, through founding from the community Foundation of Bloomington and Monroe county, the MWH prevention team offered EPP at six sites in the fall and four in the spring, for 6 9 sessions each. During this initial trial pilot phase of the program, facilitators fine tuned lessons to suit participant interest and program impact. Pre and post tests given during each lesson indicate significant improvement in participants' understanding of assertive behavior, empathy, compassion, healthy boundaries, stereotypes, and responding to differences which ultimately lessens the likelihood that these participants will perpetrate sexual and domestic violence.

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