Bullying is Widespread

An important issue that affects learning

According to experts, bullying is one of the most important issues facing schools today:

• Bully, victim or both: New research shows poor problem-solving increases risk for all
  Medical News Today
  July 13, 2010
  Children and adolescents who lack social problem-solving skills are more at risk of becoming bullies, victims or both than those who don't have these difficulties, says new research published by the American Psychological Association. But those who are also having academic troubles are even likelier to become bullies.

• Every day, 160,000 children miss school because of a fear of being bullied. (U. S. Department of Justice, National Association of School Psychologists)
• When there is a school-wide commitment to end bullying, it can be reduced by up to 50 percent. (Olweus, D., Limber, S., & Mihalic, S., 1999)
• Half of all students report being bullied at some time and 15 percent of students are bullied on a daily basis. (freefrombullies.com, 2005)
• 1 in 3 teenagers are involved in bullying, either as a bully or as a victim.

U.S. Department of Justice Statistics

• Every seven minutes a schoolchild is bullied. Adults intervened in 4 percent of those situations, and peers intervened 11 percent of the time, leaving 85 percent of incidents with no intervention at all.
• 30 percent of U.S. students in grades six through 10 are involved in moderate or frequent bullying, as bullies, as victims or both.
• 77 percent of students are bullied mentally, verbally and physically.
• 8 percent of students miss one day of class per month for fear of bullies