What is WITS?

The WITS Programs bring together schools, families and communities to create responsive environments that help elementary school children deal with bullying and peer victimization. The links on this page provide everything you need to get started with the WITS Programs.

The WITS Programs were collaboratively created and are jointly owned by the Rock Solid Foundation under the direction of Tom Woods, MBA, and the University of Victoria with the leadership of Bonnie Leadbeater, PhD. The WITS acronym was created at Lampson Street Elementary School in 1993 when Principal Judi Stevenson began teaching students four simple conflict resolution strategies: Walk away, Ignore, Talk it out and Seek help.

These were eagerly adopted by teachers, counselors and administrators and soon, "using your WITS" was a common phrase at the Esquimalt, BC school. After seeing WITS at work, school police liaison Tom Woods sought to broaden its reach. In 1997, he launched the Rock Solid Foundation with a group of local athletes and law enforcement officials.

Its mission? Provide violence prevention programs to children and youth.

Wanting the WITS acronym as part of Rock Solid’s efforts, Woods partnered with Principal Stevenson to develop a WITS Program. It was a community-based approach. School District 61 teachers and counselors provided input, and University of Victoria psychology professor Dr. Bonnie Leadbeater and her research team signed on in 1998 to contribute to the development, implementation and evaluation. The simple acronym evolved into the WITS Primary Program – the only peer victimization prevention program that reaches beyond the classroom to involve families and communities.

WITS website​​