John Vandenburgh created the PLUS Program -- Peer Leaders Uniting Students -- at Bear River School in 1999, as a new approach for schools to utilize Youth Development components in the establishment of a safe school environment. The PLUS program is a tool to address the racism, gangs and violence that go on in school communities. One of the objectives of the program is to develop a positive sense of belonging and group identity for individuals within a school setting. The identity to the group is invested in a purpose to implement positive actions that stimulate and build communication, connections, and community throughout a campus.

One of the many goals of the presentation is for participants to develop a strong understanding of the impact group identity has on individual adolescent behavior, particularly with gangs, violence, and bullying. Educators must understand the importance of developing programs that foster relationships among youth and developing a sense of belonging for youth to a group. Our youth are simply growing up in a violent culture that invests itself in a code of silence. As educators we must counter this and develop a culture of communication, where students feel connected to one another and responsible for the outcomes of their campus culture.

For more information on the PLUS Program model, please click here. 

Residence: Murrieta, California

Education: Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology - Cal State San Bernardino; Master of Arts in Education - Azusa Pacific University

Achievements:

• 1999 - Authored a safe schools approach for school districts called the PLUS Program (Peer Leaders Uniting Students).

• 2002 - Honored as the California League of High Schools Educator of the Year for Region 10.

• 2006/2007 - Served on the California Department of Education's Gang Task Force where he helped develop the Getting Results Update on Gang Violence for schools in the state of California

• 2007- Received the Amanda Guruge Lifetime Commitment Award, presented by Stop the Violence, Increase the Peace Foundation in Los Angeles, CA

• He is an Executive Board Member in the California School Resource Officers Association and an active member of the Southern California Regional Violence Prevention Coalition.

• Recent Speaking Engagements:
- Search Institute - Healthy Communities * Healthy Youth (Minneapolis, Minnesota)
- EduAlliance Annual Conference - (Hollywood, California)
- Inland Empire Violence Prevention Conference - (Riverside, California)
- National At-Risk Youth Annual - (Savannah, Georgia)
- California School Resource Officers Association Annual Conference (San Diego, California)
- California Gang Summit - Attorney General's Office (Riverside, California)