Students are dying from gun violence.
Why isn’t it in the Health Curriculum?
ceasefire northwest is working to put a focus on gun violence prevention and education in schools.
Our Research on Firearm Injury Prevention Education
At Ceasefire Northwest, we believe that preventing firearm injuries starts with understanding what works in real classrooms. That’s why we are collaborating with the University of Washington FIRE (Firearm Injury Reduction Education) program to study the impact of high school firearm injury prevention education.
What We’re Studying:
Our research focuses on two main groups: students and teachers. For students, we ask:
Do they learn the key lessons about firearm safety and injury prevention?
How do their attitudes toward firearms and safety change after receiving the education?
For teachers, we examine:
How they experience implementing the curriculum in their classrooms
Whether they find the education appropriate, high-quality, and necessary
What challenges or opportunities arise when teaching this material
Groundbreaking Work:
Over the past year and a half, we have collected detailed data in Washington State classrooms. Our study includes 755 students who received the curriculum, compared to 153 students in a control group across five schools. To our knowledge, this is the first study in the United States to systematically measure the effectiveness of high school firearm injury prevention education in this way.
Why This Research Matters:
This work is about more than just counting lessons learned. It helps us:
Understand the true impact of firearm injury prevention education on students
Identify areas where the curriculum can be improved
Provide teachers with evidence-based tools that are practical, safe, and effective
Guide policymakers and educators on best practices for school-based prevention
By documenting both student outcomes and teacher experience, we gain a comprehensive view of how education can prevent injuries, change attitudes, and empower students to make safer choices.
Building Evidence for the Future:
Our research is part of a larger effort to bring evidence-based solutions to schools nationwide. By studying what works—and what could work better—we aim to expand programs that truly make a difference.
This research reinforces our mission: ensuring that firearm injury prevention education is grounded in evidence, responsive to students and teachers, and impactful in real classrooms.
What is Ceasefire Northwest?
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Ceasefire Northwest is an education-focused initiative that grew out of Washington Ceasefire. Our mission is to reduce firearm injury and death through evidence-based, nonpartisan education grounded in public health. We focus first on high school students, while working to expand prevention education across the lifespan.
Washington Ceasefire was founded over 40 years ago as the state’s first community-based firearm injury prevention organization. It no longer exists, but its legacy forms the foundation for Ceasefire Northwest, which was established in 2025 by some of the same leaders to address a critical gap: the near absence of firearm injury prevention education in schools and communities. While building on that legacy, Ceasefire Northwest focuses specifically on education, research, and culture change rather than legislation.
How is Ceasefire Northwest different from Washington Ceasefire?
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No. Our work is nonpartisan and educational. We approach firearm injury as a public health issue, not a political identity. Our programs focus on risk, prevention, and safety—not advocacy for or against gun ownership.