Prevention program seeks to reduce bullying in schools

This week, a bullying prevention initiative was launched by several nonprofit organizations in the Northeast.

According to experts, bullying can affect students' health and academic achievement, in addition to negatively impacting the school climate.

The Olweus Bullying Prevention Program was created to prevent or reduce this issue in an educational environment. The initiative will target children in the first through eighth grades, and includes methods to involve parents and community members in the effort to eliminate bullying.

Some schools have seen as much as a 50 percent reduction in bullying incidents after raising the awareness of students, parents, teachers and administrators. By improving peer relations, education officials hope to make schools safer and more positive places for students to learn and develop.

The program will target a variety of violence issues in addition to bullying. Educators hope that, by teaching young students how to interact with one another and promoting tolerance, the rate of these troubling issues will decline.

Experts say that principals and teachers "play a vital role in creating a positive school culture" and will help "bring much needed bullying prevention programming" to institutions across the country.