Vestal, NY (WBNG Binghamton) Bullying in a Vestal School has dropped significantly after a no-tolerance program is implemented.
Vestal Middle School is beginning its second year of the Olweus Bullying Prevention Training Program.
We showed you the training program in action in the UE district Tuesday.
Vestal surveyed its middle school students twice last year on bullying in its school.
It found the biggest issues were pushing between students and making nasty comments about others.
Cyberbullying and texting were also problems.
Students are now disciplined for the very first offense.
The school says the majority of bullying starts in the middle school years because of increased free time.
"Every 42 minutes they have the chance to get out in the hallways and have 3 minutes of unsupervised time and they are not supervised as much in the cafeteria. There's more opportunities for middle schoolers to get engaged in this behavior," said Ann Loose, Vestal Middle School Principal.
The school found the biggest occurences for bullying were in the hallways and on the buses.
10 other area schools in the region participating in the Olweus program.
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