The Olweus Bullying Prevention Program in Oakland County- A Look at the Results

The Olweus Bullying Prevention Program in Oakland County- A Look at the Results

By Oakland Mediation Center

2 to 3 children in every classroom spend their day afraid because they are being bullied. Bullying is a problem and Oakland Mediation Center is on a mission to help solve it.

Oakland Mediation Center offers the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program, which has been used by thousands of schools worldwide and has been proven to reduce bullying up to 70%. The program is designed for students in elementary, middle and high schools. It is implemented at the school-wide, classroom, individual, and community levels and includes tools to reach out to parents for involvement and support. All school personnel and students are involved in learning about bullying, identifying roles people play in bullying situations, and prevention and intervention strategies to create a safe and welcoming school climate. Individual attention is given to students who are bullying others, those who are being bullied, or both. Parents and guardians are involved throughout the program. OBPP is designed to create positive changes in students’ behavior and in the school climate so students feel safe, are ready to learn and can achieve academic success.

A report prepared by Oakland Mediation Center in consultation with Dr. Sue Limber from Clemson University shows the impact that the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program had in four schools in Oakland County and here’s a look at the results.

  • After implementing the program, bullying decreased by 33.6% in high schools and 17.1% in middle schools.
  • The percentage of students who bullied others decreased by 75.6% in middle schools and 48.3 in the high schools.
  • Significant decreases were also seen in the amount of students who would help join a person in bullying someone and the amount of students who would just watch bullying take place without intervening.

“10 years ago we didn’t know what to do about bullying.  Now we do and it works right here in Oakland County,” said Bonnie Hanes, OMC Executive Director. This study on the findings on the implementation of OBPP in Oakland County, Michigan are promising indications that skills are being taught, learned, and utilized that both prevent and intervene in school bullying so that all students are provided a safe and supportive environment for effective teaching and learning to take place. Continuing new efforts and maintaining current initiatives will play an important role in providing a healthy future for the youth of Michigan.

For more information about the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program, please contact Kenzi Bisbing at kbisbing@mediation-omc.org.

Do you think funding should be available to schools to provide programs proven to address bullying?