Program decreases bullying in schools

Some kids don't realize the consequences of bullying.
HARRISBURG (AP) -- During Mary Glaesser's first year as principal of Valley Elementary School, she had to suspend 30 students, many of them for bullying behaviors like pushing others around or making prejudicial remarks.
For Glaesser, that was far too many. She was eager to reject assumptions that bullying was a fact of life and implement a new anti-bullying program being used by other schools in Bensalem Township, just outside Philadelphia.
To her delight, the number of suspensions dropped to 17 during the 2002-03 school year. This year, fewer than 10 students have been suspended.
"I've had teachers say to me, 'We're not policemen anymore.' That says a lot," said Glaesser, who joined the district in 2001.
Program catches on
State Rep. Gene DiGirolamo, a Republican from Bensalem, was so impressed by the program that he drafted legislation to encourage all Pennsylvania schools to institute policies to prevent harassment, bullying and intimidation. The bill passed the House unanimously on May 26 and is awaiting action in the Senate.
"Some kids might think there's nothing wrong with bullying, but they don't realize the consequences of it," DiGirolamo said.
It's unclear how many school districts have formal bullying-prevention programs; neither the state Education Department nor the Pennsylvania School Boards Association keeps statistics on them.
Several state legislatures have taken up the issue in recent years, many of them through laws mandating bullying-prevention, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
At least 17 states currently have anti-bullying legislation in place. All but two have passed measures since 1999, the year of the Columbine High School massacre, when two Colorado students killed 13 people and wounded 23 others before killing themselves.
Jerome Ehrlich, a school law attorney in Garden City, N.Y., said he is pleased that state legislatures have taken an interest in bullying and harassment, and believes they have an obligation to do so since they are responsible for setting school policy.
"Kids have to understand that bullying is not a game," Ehrlich said. "Part of public education is to develop these youngsters into good citizens."
But national school safety consultant Ken Trump questions whether state laws are really necessary, considering that many schools have enacted bullying-prevention policies voluntarily. And in cases where programs have been mandated, states have provided no funding, he added.
"It's ironic that all of these legislatures are jumping on the bullying bandwagon at the same time that school safety funds are being cut at the federal, state and local level," Trump said. "Most of the legislation that's being proposed is either an unfunded mandate or is encouraging schools to adopt policies that they already have in place."
DiGirolamo's bill authorizes Pennsylvania's Office of Safe Schools to provide bullying-prevention grants to school districts, but does not specify how much money should be set aside for this purpose.
Kevin Donnelly, who coordinates Bensalem's program through a community organization called Building a Better Bensalem ... Today, said the district was able to pay for its program through a grant from the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency.
The initiative includes activities such as taking anonymous student surveys to assess the prevalence of bullying and weekly classroom meetings for teachers to discuss with their students how to interact peacefully with each other, Donnelly said.
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