You'd have to see it — 600 Cambridge Springs Elementary students all wearing lime green iSTAND (against bullying) T-shirts, dedicating themselves to bullying prevention.
"Our program began with a common definition of bullying," says Principal Patti Fiely. "We have rules — we will not bully others. We will include others. When somebody is being bullied, we will tell adults in the school and at home."
With school bullying an epidemic — nationwide, a child is bullied every seven minutes, and 160,000 children miss school daily because they fear bullying — the Highmark Healthy High 5 HALT! program brought the internationally renowned Olweus bullying prevention practices into schools such as Cambridge Springs.
The program includes bully logs, on-the-spot interventions and sessions with guidance counselors.
"We spend a lot of time talking through scenarios," Fiely says. "We have seen a significant reduction in the number of bully logs. Last April, we had 25. In November, we had two."
Bully Prevention Coordinator Pamela Dailey says, "The Olweus program helps children enjoy school — and learn better. We've tracked the results academically. In 2008, after the program was initiated, we saw a 7 percent increase in reading and a 5.5 percent increase in math in standardized testing."
"Kids now stand up for other students," adds HALT! trainer Michelee Curtze. "To have kids learn bullying prevention, and demonstrate it, that's as good as it gets for the students and the adults who work with them."
Learn how to recognize and prevent bullying by reading our Bullying Prevention pages.
Learn more about Highmark Healthy High 5 HALT! — a bullying prevention program.
This story was originally published in an April 5, 2009, advertising supplement for Highmark Healthy High 5.