• REDUCE, IF NOT ELIMINATE, EXISTING BULLY PROBLEMS among students in and outside of the school setting. The school should be a safe and positive learning environment for ALL students.
  
  
• PREVENT the development of new bully problems.
  
  
• ACHIEVE BETTER PEER RELATIONS AT SCHOOL. Create conditions that specifically foster more constructive interactions between victims and bullies. This will allow them to get along and function better in and outside of the school setting.

SCHOOL-LEVEL INTERVENTIONS

• ESTABLISH A BULLYING PREVENTION COORDINATING COMMITTEE. This committee will coordinate all aspects of a school's violence prevention efforts, including anti-bullying efforts.
  
  
• ADMINISTER AN ANONYMOUS QUESTIONNAIRE SURVEY. A student questionnaire can determine the nature and extent of bully problems in the school.
  
  
• HOLD A SCHOOL CONFERENCE DAY. Raise school and community awareness and involvement by creating a long-term anti-bullying plan. In addition to school personnel, selected students and parents should participate.
  
  
• IMPROVE SUPERVISION AND OUTDOOR ENVIRONMENT. Provide adequate number of adults ("teacher density") during lunch, recess, and breaks in an effort to intervene quickly in student conflicts.
  
  
• INVOLVE PARENTS. Conduct meetings with and disseminate information to parents at the school to make them aware of the school's anti-bullying plan of action.

CLASSROOM-LEVEL INTERVENTIONS

• ESTABLISH CLASSROOM RULES AGAINST BULLYING. Involve students in creating rules against bullying in order to develop a student's personal responsibility for conforming to those rules.
  
  
• LISTEN RESPECTFULLY to bullying concerns raised by students, parents, and school staff.
  
  
• CREATE POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES OF BULLYING. Establish social reinforcement (i.e., praise, friendly attention) for positive behavior and nonphysical sanctions for undesirable behavior. Negative consequences should be appropriate and related to the behavior. Extra assignments, such as homework or copying from a dictionary, should not be used.
  
  
• HOLD REGULAR CLASSROOM MEETINGS. Provide a forum for students and teachers to develop, clarify, and evaluate rules for anti-bullying behavior.
  
  
• ENLIST CLASSMATES TO HELP alleviate the plight of victims. Use co-operative learning groups to include less popular, more timid students in small, positive and accepting social groups.
  
  
• MEET WITH PARENTS. Hold general classroom or grade-level meetings with parents to improve school-family communication and keep parents informed about anti-bullying efforts.
  
  
• DEVELOP A CURRICULUM that promotes communication, friendship, and assertiveness skills.

INDIVIDUAL-LEVEL INTERVENTIONS

• HAVE A SERIOUS TALK WITH THE BULLY, this should happen immediately.
  
  
  • DOCUMENT INVOLVEMENT and participation in bullying.
    
    
  • Send a clear, strong message that BULLYING IS NOT ACCEPTABLE.
    
    
  • Expect that the bully will try to minimize and deny their actions and responsibility. REFER TO SCHOOL AND CLASS CODES OF CONDUCT in telling the bully why their behavior was unacceptable.
    
    
  • Advise the bully that future BEHAVIOR WILL BE CLOSELY MONITORED.
    
    
  • Warn the bully that additional NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES WILL BE ADMINISTERED if bullying behavior does not stop.
  
  
• HAVE A SERIOUS TALK WITH THE VICTIM. Talks with the victim and their parents should occur AS SOON AS POSSIBLE after a bullying incident and should happen SEPARATELY FROM THE BULLY.
  
  
  • DOCUMENT specific bullying episodes. Include how the bullying started, what happened, how it ended, who participated, and who witnessed it.
    
    
  • PROVIDE THE VICTIM WITH INFORMATION about the teacher's plan of action in dealing with the bully. Reassure them that all possible steps will be taken to prevent a recurrence.
    
    
  • Attempt to PERSUADE THE VICTIM TO IMMEDIATELY REPORT ANY NEW BULLYING EPISODES to the teacher.
  
  
• MONITOR THE BEHAVIOR OF THE BULLY and the safety of the victim on a school-wide basis.
  
  
• INVOLVE THE PARENTS. When a bullying situation is discovered, the teacher should contact the parents concerned. Depending on the situation, meetings can be held together with the parents of both the bully and the victim; or to minimize tension meetings can be held with each family separately. A teacher might want to invite the school psychologist, guidance counselor, or principal to attend.
  
  
• FOLLOW UP IN COMMUNICATING with parents and with other teachers and administrators about the situation, until it is clearly resolved. Send copies of all reports to parents of the students involved and place them in the students' files.
  
  
• CHANGE OF CLASS OR SCHOOL. If anti-bullying measures are in place and the problem persists despite these measures, moving the aggressive student can bring about change. If possible, the aggressive student should be moved before considering moving the victim. This solution should not be taken lightly, and all concerned parents and teachers should plan and consult with each other.

CONSEQUENCES OF BULLYING BEHAVIOR
Establishing rules against bullying necessitates creating positive or negative consequences for following or violating rules. The best results are obtained through a combination of generous verbal praise or other social reinforcements for positive activities and consistent negative consequences for aggressive, rule-violating behavior. Teachers should establish a positive, friendly, and trusting relationship with the class and each individual student. This is especially true for aggressive, acting-out students who may have had negative experiences with adults. It is easier for a student to accept criticism if he/she feels appreciated and liked. Teachers should also be aware of their own behavior. Teachers often serve as "models" for students who respect them and may wish to emulate them. Likewise, students will not respect the teacher or classroom rules against bullying if the teacher is sarcastic, unfair, or abusive.