Bullying Prevention

  • District 65 adopted the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program (OBPP) to address past bullying incidents and to prevent future incidents from occurring. In this program, we were able to define bullying and to speak on different ways to address bullying behaviors. Bullying must have all three characteristics to be considered bullying according to the OBPP:

    • An intentional negative act,
    • repeated behavior,
    • and a power imbalance.

    The Olweus Bullying Prevention Program is the most researched and best-known bullying prevention program available today. With over thirty-five years of research and successful implementation all over the world, OBPP is a whole-school program that has been proven to prevent or reduce bullying throughout a school setting. OBPP is used at school, classroom, and individual levels and includes methods to reach out to parents and the community for involvement and support. School administrators, teachers, and other staff are primarily responsible for introducing and implementing the program. These efforts are designed to improve peer relations and make the school a safer and more positive place for students to learn and develop.