MEDIA ADVISORY

     (Louisville, KY)  St. Margaret Mary School (7813 Shelbyville Road) will hold a kick-off event launching a new bullying prevention program on Monday, January 8 at 1:15 p.m. in the school gym. 724 students in grades K-8 will attend.

     St. Margaret Mary will be the first archdiocesan school to pilot the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program.  Coordinated through the archdiocesan Catholic Family Center under the direction of Dr. Tom Robbins, Director of Counseling and Safe & Drug-Free Schools, the Olweus Bullying Prevention program is a school-based initiative designed to prevent and/or reduce bullying in elementary, middle and junior high schools. Designed by Dr. Dan Olweus from Norway, this program has been designated as an exemplary program by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration in Rockville, Maryland.

     In addition to reducing bullying and preventing the development of bully/victim problems, the program is shown to achieve improved peer relationships in the school setting. In grades 1-6 more than 3.2 million children are victims of bullying, and 3.7 bully other children. Nearly 60% of boys who researchers classified as bullies in grades 6-9 were convicted of at least one crime by the age of 24. (Source: “Bullying Prevention is Crime Prevention,” a report of Fight Crime: Invest in Kids.)

     The kick-off will feature Roger Burkman, former Chicago Bulls and University of Louisville guard, now athletic director at Spalding University. Current University of Louisville players and coaches also will be present to speak to students about the issue of bullying.

     According to Dr. Tom Robbins, the program will be evaluated during the pilot year, in collaboration with the University of Louisville Department of Education, for broader use in archdiocesan schools.

     St. Margaret Mary is one of 49 Catholic schools in the 24 counties that make up the Archdiocese of Louisville. The Catholic school system of the Archdiocese serves nearly 22,000 students in grades K-12.