Apollo-Ridge Middle School Olweus Bullying Prevention Program

 

The Apollo-Ridge Middle School provides a school-wide bullying prevention program aimed at creating a safe and positive school climate for all students.  During the 2013-2014 school year, the entire Middle School staff (including custodians, maintenance workers, cafeteria workers, teachers, paraprofessionals, administrators, etc.) was thoroughly trained on how to implement the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program.  The Olweus Program (pronounced Ol-VAY-us) is a comprehensive approach that includes school-wide, classroom, individual, and community components.  The program is focused on long-term change that creates a safe and positive school climate.  It is designed and evaluated for use in elementary, middle school, and high schools.  The program’s goals are to reduce and prevent bullying problems among schoolchildren and to improve peer relations at school. The program has been found to reduce bullying among students, improve the social climate of classrooms, and reduce related antisocial behaviors, such as vandalism and truancy.  The Olweus Program has been implemented in more than a dozen countries around the world, and in thousands of schools in the United States.