August 12, 2005
More than 15,000 bullying incidents occurred in the 2003-2004 school year. Now several state educators are taking an active stand against bullying in schools.
Twenty-two representatives from Virginia, Washington, D.C. and Alaska took part in the three-day Olweus program training.
The international anti-bullying program was developed by a professor from Norway and has shown successful results. Representatives learned ways to reduced bullying opportunities and rewards for bullying.
"What we're looking to do is to create an environment where kids will stand up and say 'Hey, wait a minute, you're bullying her, you're bullying him. You need to stop. I don't appreciate that,'" said Dr. Catherine Moffett of the anti-bullying training program.
The training was sponsored by the Virginia Commonwealth University's School of Education and the Virginia Department of Education.
For free information on anti-bullying, visit www.modelprograms.samhsa.gov or call 1-800-789-2647.
