World News
School principals called key to stopping bullies
Published: April 14, 2004
BOSTON (CNS) -- When the seats were filled at an April 13 workshop on dealing with bullies, Catholic educators lined the walls, sat on the floor and gathered just outside the doorway of the meeting room. During the workshop, which was part of the April 13-16 National Catholic Educational Association convention in Boston, participants learned that there was no simple program to weed out students who are bullies, but that school principals were key to making sure that kind of behavior was not tolerated. To stop students from bullying one another, principals must take a stand against it, said Deborah A. Schwope, assistant principal at Resurrection Catholic School in Lakeland, Fla. "Don't just sign up for a program," she urged. "It's a day-to-day, hands-on initiative and it takes a lot of time, but it's worth it." By day-to-day, she meant literally keeping a close eye on how students relate to each other, particularly outside the classroom, in the hallways, in the cafeteria and during after-school programs.
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