Byron-Bergen Elementary School held a bullying prevention assembly for the school district’s Olweus Bullying Prevention Program, which was implemented for the first time this school year and will continue to phase in throughout the district during the next three years as part of the district’s Strategic Plan.
Lyndonville Primary, Elementary and Intermediate School’s Patrick Whipple, principal, and Christine Goodwin, prevention/mental health counselor and Byron-Bergen graduate, motivated students and staff as they led the assembly using their knowledge and experience with the program. Lyndonville CSD implemented Olweus last school year.
Elementary Principal Keith Wing said Byron-Bergen is committed to having a school culture where bullying is not acceptable. “Through trainings like this one we are able to teach our children what bullying truly is, and give them the tools and resources for how to deal with situations appropriately,” said Wing.
The Olweus program is a whole-school program aimed at preventing or reducing bullying – for person to person bullying and cyber bullying – throughout a school setting, and is designed to improve peer relations and make schools safer, more positive places for students to learn and develop.
Goals of the program include reducing existing bullying problems among students, preventing new bullying problems, and achieving better peer relations at school. Although the incidence of actual bullying at Byron-Bergen Elementary School is low according to School Counselor Sean Madden, the school strives to provide prevention resources in the earlier grade levels first using the Skillstreaming curriculum, a research-based prosocial skills training program developed by Dr. Arnold P. Goldstein and Dr. Ellen McGinnis, before implementing the Olweus program.
“All of our students receive the Skillstreaming curriculum in kindergarten, which focuses on skills such as brave talk, reading others, dealing with anger, and dealing with fear,” said Madden.
Olweus and Skillstreaming are compatible systems. After Skillstreaming is taught in the earlier grades, Madden said the Olweus program becomes instrumental by the time children reach third or fourth grade.
“We’re using Olweus to enforce the fact that bullying can only exist in an environment that allows it,” said Madden. “So, we allow all of our students to advocate for victims. Any child here can speak up, and any child can go to any adult.”
