Charter school fights bullying

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Peaceful Schools pulls no punches

Bailey Horgan shows what to do when a bully approaches. He stands up straight, wiggles his toes, puffs out his cheeks, chews on his tongue and folds his arms.

And if all else fails, the fifth-grader said, "I'll yell."

Bailey was at the Central Park School for Children this week testing out lessons the rest of his classmates will soon learn when they head back to school Monday.

Students say they need a law to stop the bullies

Students and administrators might as well be living on different planets when it comes to school bullying.

Students say it is common for bullies to taunt and hit them or their classmates, and for teachers to do little to stop it. Superintendents and principals say that bullying is a small problem and that policies to discourage it work well.

Into the divide comes a bill that awaits Gov. Beverly Perdue's signature to make it law. The bill is meant to protect students who are harassed for reasons such as race, religion or disabilities. It also would protect students from being tormented because of their real or perceived sexual orientation.

Belleville anti-bullying program draws parents, locals after bus incident

BELLEVILLE -- An anti-bullying program Tuesday night at Belleville West High School drew parents from outside the district who joined local residents in voicing concerns about bullying in schools and suggested approaches toward solutions.

Tuesday night marked the first parent meeting of Belleville West's Students and Teachers Offering Protection (STOP) program.

"They (students) are counting on us and we cannot bury our heads in the sand about this," said Laura Amenn, of O'Fallon.

House votes to protect gay kids

The N.C. House passed legislation Monday night that would add North Carolina to a handful of states with anti-bullying laws that include specific protections for students tormented because of their real or perceived sexual orientation.

Lawmakers approved the bill in a 59 to 57 preliminary vote after 90 minutes of contentious debate packed with testimonials of discrimination, warnings about child suicide and countering claims of placing a political agenda ahead of children's safety.

The House will hold a final vote today on Senate bill 526, before it goes to Gov. Beverly Perdue for her consideration.

Adding tolerance to the law

Recently I went to the General Assembly to attend a press conference. The issue of the day was the School Violence Prevention Act, an anti-bullying bill that has been caught up in the culture war during the last two sessions of the legislature. I was there along with several other religious leaders to lend moral support for a bill that would seem like a no-brainer.

To be honest, my expectations for the event were low. I knew there would be several politicians making speeches, and even though I was likely to agree with what was being said, I figured it would all be predictable and rote. Boy, was I wrong.

The first speaker was Rep. Rick Glazier, the chief sponsor of the bill in the House of Representatives. He spoke with passion and eloquence about a subject he clearly cares about.