Two junior high schools in Pekin are making bullying prevention a year-long effort. The Tazewell County Health Department is spearheading the education and prevention program with the help of two 25-thousand dollars grants. The goal is to prevent and reduce bullying.
Kerri Viets is the Health Educator at the health department. She says students at Broadmoor and Edison Junior High Schools participate in weekly discussions on bullying.
“What’s going on in their school, what they see, how they feel about it, if things are happening, if things aren’t happening and then just different activities. So it’s very hands-on. It’s very discussion-based. It’s not just sitting there listening to a teach talk,” said Viets.
Viets says teachers, staff and administrators are also trained and responsible for implementing the program.