The intended audience for this handbook is teachers, administrators and school counselors who would like to approach school populations with a more positive, solution-focused approach. The ideas developed are based on the principles of solution-focused brief therapy (SFBT) and other competency-based models that address solutions rather than problems. Chapter 1 describes the major guidelines and philosophies of SFBT and adapts them to a school setting. Chapter 2 utilizes the power of language in making problems more solvable. Chapter 3 describes the basic process of helping students, teachers, and parents identify "exceptions" to the problems which intrude in their lives. The fourth chapter outlines an actual school program resulting from an application of SFBT to the school setting. Next, ideas and suggestions for recognizing and developing small group dynamics within the school setting are presented. Chapter 6 offers suggestions for dealing with students in difficult situations such as loss and death, divorce, suicidal ideation, depression, violence in school situations, physical abuse and sexual abuse. The seventh chapter gives suggestions for classroom guidance of children and adolescents. Chapter 8 helps those administrators and teachers within the school setting to set the stage for competence, beginning with discipline. Finally, chapter 9 seeks to offer ways of empowering the population of school staff members. An appendix contains cartoons, quotations, and ideas suitable for classroom bulletin boards, certificates for success, and note-writing examples for teachers, students, and parents. Contains 26 references. (TS)