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Nov 4, 2009 11:02 pm US/Central
More Schools Using New Program To Stop Bullying
LINO LAKES, Minn. (WCCO) ―
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At Lino Lakes Elementary, Mrs. Jakubiec's sixth graders take a break from math and geography for a lesson in bullying.
CBS
In a recent survey, 30 percent of sixth graders in Minnesota said they
have been bullied. Now, more Minnesota elementary schools are getting in on a new
bullying prevention program designed to help kids speak up.
At Lino Lakes Elementary, Mrs. Jakubiec's sixth graders take a break from math and geography for a lesson in bullying. Beyond their half-hour class each week, the school is covered in posters that tell students to speak up when they see other kids being pushed around.
Sixth grader Tririna Vue knows what bullying is and now she is learning how to stop it.
"We've learned not to call names and not to pick on others because you don't want others to pick on you," she said.
Justin Grant knows what not to do.
"If you don't do anything, you're just as bad as the bully," he said.
It is not just kids. Teachers, bus drivers, and custodians are trained on how to spot and stop bullying.
The learning model, called the Olweus program, is already in about 10 percent of Minnesota's elementary schools. In a few years, it will be in at least half. Its success is due to a partnership between the Elementary School Principals' Association and the Hazelden Foundation.
"So much of changing the culture of school has to do with how adults, parents, teachers and children all view bullying," said Fred Storti, the executive director of the Minnesota Elementary School Education Program.
A big part of the program deals with cyber bullying. If kids say damaging things about other students on Facebook or in an e-mail and the school finds out, they face consequences at school.
Teachers believe that it is important to start young because a lot of kids might not know what bullying even is.
Students, like Tririna, believe the program working.
"I think in our school it's gone down because of all the programs and all the posters we put up and all the classroom meetings we've been having," she said.
Since the Forest Lake School District started the program, it has seen a 25 percent drop in students who say they have been bullied in the district and a 10 percent drop in the number of kids who admit to being the bully.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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