A Safe School Starts with Safe Classrooms
As a teacher or staff member with day-to-day contact with students, it's important for you to be trained and ready to address school bullying behaviors whenever you see it. Recognizing that bullying is peer abuse that can happen anywhere and at any anytime, you can be prepared to handle a wide range of school bullying situations. 
School bullying takes on many forms, and it is done by both girls and boys. A nationally representative U.S. study shows that 17 percent of all students reported having been bullied "sometimes" or more often within a school term. This amounts to almost one in five students. And, for every case reported to school officials, there are many more school bullying situations in which bullied students suffer in silence.1
Students need to know that teachers and other staff have control over school environments and that they care when mistreatment happens. When school bullying, harassment, or emotional abuse is ignored or improperly managed, it can affect school settings with:
- lost classroom learning time
- poor learning and academic performance
- students who dislike school and are afraid to attend
- more health problems among students
- a fearful and disrespectful environment
- a perception that teachers and staff have little control, don't care, and more
To effectively address school bullying, all teachers and staff members need to participate in bullying prevention efforts. The overall objective is to create an atmosphere that is safe, secure, and conducive to student learning.
Find out more about creating safe classrooms.
View Olweus Bullying Prevention Program FAQs.
