At our elementary school had Mark Wade, a ventroliquist, come to the shcool and the kids really enjoyed it. He has a no bullying assembly. The cost is approx. $235 for each session we had to have 2. In the Ohio area some of the fundraising companies pick up the cost for the assembly as part of the benefit package.
Middle School can be brutal. Your school deserves credit for recognizing and addressing the issues. I think it's an unusual school that can manage constant adult supervision in every nook and cranny of a school building and its grounds. Many other schools have found success in reducing the number of bullying/teasing incidents through programming for both students and staff, supported by parents and community.
One school I work with (I am an educational consultant for the Civil Rights Team Project, through our State's Office of the Attorney General) decided to try a peer approach, with middle schoolers ,mostly 5th and 6th graders, being trained to deliver a curriculum called "Quit It!" to children in grades 1 and 3. Students on the High School Civil Rights Team were trained to deliver another curriculum, "Bullyproof" to students in grade 5. These curricula are available from the Stone Center at Wellesley College. Not only does having older students doing the teaching help the younger students (kids seem to learn paritularly well from each other!) it helps the students doing the teaching! The principal reports that she has had far fewer referrals for discipline due to bullying this year. She credits these programs, as well as the other work the CRT's are doing to raise awareness and acceptance of differences. These programs will be ongoing projects for those teams and are now written in to the health curriculum plan for those grade levels. I'd be happy to share more info. about the CRT's - we have over 200 active teams in our State, but you might like to contact the director: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
There are many other well-researched programs out there and tons of stuff to read. Several websites deal with the issue. I have found splcenter.org, tolerance.org and adl.org especially helpful.
We do not have a bully problem in our district. I'd like to say we have a magic solution, but it is just plain, old fashioned, adults providing constant supervision.
The reason I posted was because the question took me for a trip down memory lane. When my oldest son was 3, he was enrolled in a daycare back east in Georgia, LaPetite Academy. They had a policy that was pretty rough, but worked better than just about any program I've seen. A child caught hitting another child (and they caught them believe you me...lol...) got to take a shot at the bullying child. My son got hit by some kid and got to take a swing back. They squared them off and Josh took his shot. No child ever hit my kid again. The moral of the story? Be careful, you never know who you are picking on.
I wouldn't suggest this be utilized today, but it definately shows how 'we used to do it'. Funny, we let our kids defend themselves back then, and while they might have come home once in a while with a black eye or a bruised shoulder, none of them ever carried a weapon... Something to think about...
Dr. Phil Macgraw and his son have anti-bullying contracts for teachers, parents, and students. They have challenged every school in the nation to sign these contracts. You may find them at www.drphil.com.
We also have a Character Counts program that is funded by our County Extension Office. It is a nationally recognized program, you may want to check with you agent and there is also alot of info about it on the web.
Our grades 3-5 school previously had a big anti-bully program, which was funded by a grant. Unfortunately the grant is over, so although they kept some aspects of the program, they couldn't keep it all. They educated teachers, bus drivers, etc., on how to spot bullying and how to report it. There was someone hired (kids called her the "bully lady") who was available to any child who wanted to come and talk about being bullied. The school really promoted this- each class was visited by the "bully lady" who talked about how they can keep themselves safe. Most fun for the kids was an assembly put on by the staff where the teachers acted out bully situations and solutions for the kids.
