Keeping children safe focus of Dayton workshop about bullies

Middle school can be a difficult time for most students.

Dayton Intermediate School counselor Cindy Owings described them as being at an age where they want to be independent yet often lack the skills to solve the social problems confronting them.

"Almost every student will admit to either having been a bully or having been bullied," she said. "It is a problem where most students believe there is no end in sight."

The school has taken an aggressive approach to dealing with bullying and will invite parents to become involved during a workshop this evening.

The Parent Outreach Program, sponsored by the Healthy Communities Coalition and the middle school's Parent Faculty Club, will help parents recognize bullying and teach them how to combat it.

"We can start parents and children to have an open and honest conversation to make sure these incidences don't happen," said Christy McGill, director of the Healthy Communities Coalition.

University of Nevada, Reno professor Dr. Christian Conte will be the featured speaker, answering the question, "What can the community and parents do to decrease child and adolescent victimization and bullying behavior?"

The workshop is just one element, Owings said, to the school's approach to stop bullying.

"At Dayton Intermediate School we work every day to encourage an attitude of cooperation and acceptance between our students," she said. "As a school, we are actively involved in teaching our students a better way to resolve conflicts as they arise."

The school started a curriculum three years ago to show students the relationship between bullies, victims and bystanders and teach them how to stand up to bully behavior they witness.

To help ease concerns regarding how their peers will see them if they take a stand against bullying, the school hosts a series of assemblies and lessons to address the issue.