This evaluation report presents findings and insights regarding Oakland’s school violence intervention and prevention (VIP) program. Each school VIP team consists of one life coach, one violence interrupter, and one gender-based violence specialist. Though still in its first few years of implementation, the school VIP program shows promise in its work to meet the safety and security needs of Oakland high school students.

What We Found

During our evaluation period from July 2022 to December 2024, more than 600 students across seven Oakland high schools received VIP services. Drawing on staff interviews and analyses of school VIP activities, the report documents a high rate of life goal completion, increases in students’ knowledge of how they can access help, student engagement with school VIP resources, and strong bonds formed between students and their VIP service providers. Analyses of student outcomes compared with a matched comparison group did not reveal a significant impact on students’ absences or suspensions. This analysis is limited by a small sample size and the recent implementation of school VIP teams.