CRASH COURSE ABOUT BULLIES EDUCATORS FOCUS ON SCHOOL ISSUE.

Byline: Karen Maeshiro Staff Writer

PALMDALE - With bullying an ongoing problem at many schools, experts in preventing bullying will train local educators on ways to try to stop it.

About 75 school psychologists, principals, directors of special education and program specialists from 10 Antelope Valley school districts will take part next month in the three-hour workshop.

``It isn't a 'fact of school life.' It shouldn't be,'' said Richard Vitolo, administrator for a program that coordinates special education services to children in the Antelope Valley. ``Children need to be safe in school and that's what really every educator's commitment is, to create and maintain a safe environment for children.''

The training will discuss bullying in general, but school officials note that special education students are often the target of school bullying campuses and that bullies sometimes could benefit from special education services.

``Many children who are disabled or have disabilities bear the brunt of bullying and it often can terrorize children, so we wanted to do the first big effort,'' Vitolo said.

Society has become more aware of school bullying as a problem, said Kate Esposito, an assistant professor in the graduate education program at California State University, Dominguez Hills. She will be part of the workshop, along with colleague J. Cynthia McDermott.

``We are more aware of bullying at school. It has received a lot of attention. As a society we have become more aware of it and realize the importance of addressing it,'' said Esposito. ``We know the effects of bullying can be long-term. The bottom line is, we have an obligation to create a safe environment for our students.''

There are no statistics available on the number of incidents of bullying in Antelope Valley schools.

``It's a thing that's constantly with you, and we have to be vigilant as school staff, teachers, administrators and counselors. We've got to be aware that this is going on and elements of this are probably present in many schools,'' Vitolo said. ``A lot of bullying goes unknown. Sometimes it goes on for a while without it being known to authorities. It can get worse quickly.''

Bullying is a nebulous term, school officials admit. But one organization, New Zealand-based No Bully, defines bullying as ``when someone keeps doing or saying things to have power over another person ... calling them names, saying or writing nasty things about them, leaving them out of activities, not talking to them, threatening them, making them feel uncomfortable or scared, taking or damaging their things, hitting or kicking them, or making them do things they don't want to do.''

There have been many theories about why children bully, but the research has not been conclusive, Esposito said.

Sometimes children learn that behavior at home where they are bullied. Some children need power or don't have empathy.

``There's not one specific reason. It depends on the child and the type of bullying,'' Esposito said.

As for whether boys or girls are more prone to bullying, Esposito said bullying can take different forms.

``Some research suggests that boys tend to be more physical, and girls tend to perhaps ignore, and bullying can occur at all ages,'' Esposito said. ``It can occur in adulthood in the workplace, at home, teachers can bully children. We don't look at it in terms of just children. Bullying can occur at all ages and can occur in different environments.''

Esposito added that some research suggests that middle school may be a more difficult time for children in terms of bullying.

Prevention techniques would include first how to identify bullying and give educators some strategies to create a safe school where they don't have tolerance for bullying, Esposito said.

``On the simplest level, you would want to let students know that adults care about their safety. We would want to encourage children to talk to someone about it if bullying is going on,'' Esposito said.

Karen Maeshiro, [phone]

karen.maeshiro(at)dailynews.com