The League of Iowa Human & Civil Rights Agencies

Most everybody knows a story about a bully at school, and most everybody knows that most schools don’t do enough to address the problem. A conversation at http://www.storiesfromschool.org/ between an elementary school teacher and a state legislator in Washington is revealing about how to approach the problem. http://www.storiesfromschool.org/2009/12/joint-blog-legislator-sfs-blogger-discuss-school-bullying-harrassment.html#more

The teacher, named Tom, discusses how his school set up the Olweus Bullying Prevention program that was developed in Norway but now operated from Clemson University in South Carolina. The Olweus Program (pronounced Ol-VEY-us; the E sounds like a long A) is a school-wide program designed for elementary and middle/junior high schools and involve level schools that is comprehensive and involves every single person in the school. It is considered in the education world to be as effective a program to reduce bullying as exists.

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