On February 14th The Guardian Angels Launch State-Mandated Anti-Bullying Workshop in New Jersey.

Business Editors/Education Writers

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 13, 2003

Curtis Sliwa to Keynote in Courses Designed for Educators; "Teaching

the Teachers" marks Guardian Angels transition from streets to

classroom as Tri-state areas' leading safety educators

This Friday, February 14, 2003, The Guardian Angels, long known for its success in subway and street patrols, moves into the classrooms of the Keyport, Union Beach and Henry Hudson Regional school districts with its Teacher Training: Anti-Bullying Workshop to help New Jersey educators fulfill the bullying education requirement mandated by the State of New Jersey (Law NJ18A;37-13-19), and address the growing form of violence that has now affected 30% of all New Jersey students.

The law, which was passed late last year, requires that all teachers (and those who are studying to be teachers) incorporate an anti-bullying workshop or bullying prevention program within their school curriculum as of Fall 2003. The workshop designed by the educational division of The Guardian Angels runs a full day, with an option for a one-day follow-up session, and helps teachers identify:

-- What constitutes bullying and its impact/warning signs

-- Specific consequences of bullying

-- How staff can act as a team to protect kids, consequences to set for children who bully

-- Strategies for dealing with "at-risk" kids.

Through general assemblies students will come to understand the many forms and consequences of bullying, and:

-- Learn coping skills to counteract the negative effects of

bullying

-- Understand the importance of "sticking up" for each other and

denying bullies an audience

-- Work together in effective groups that help themselves and

their peers.

The assemblies will be followed by break-out groups by grade/classroom and/or small group levels.

In addition, Guardian Angels' Founder and President Curtis Sliwa will address the school staff on the verbal side of bullying, which is often judged to be as harmful as physical bullying.

Says Dr. John S. Dumford, Superintendent of the Keyport School System, "In researching an appropriate group to provide such coursework, we discovered The Guardian Angels' 'Teaching the Teachers' program, which is offered at St. John's University in New York, and provides the classroom management techniques needed at all levels, especially by newer or less experienced teachers. Curtis himself came to work with our teaching staff and upon completion, received one of the highest ratings ever given for a development program in this district. We then learned that The Guardian Angels also offered the anti-bullying workshop and brought them on board. In the future, we hope to have parents participate in their Internet safety program offered through CyberAngels."

The entire "Teaching the Teachers" program, which consists of the Classroom Management Seminar and Anti-Bullying Workshop, has also been endorsed by Timothy P. Nogueira, Superintendent of the Monmouth-Ocean Educational Services Commission. Citing the "high quality of the curriculum and well-based methodology," Nogueira pointed to its emphasis on verbal abuse as central to reducing bullying not only in the school, but outside the school environment. "The workshop succeeds on many levels, from principals to teachers to the students themselves. I have not seen another program that pulled it together as comprehensively. With this type of toolbox of skills, teachers can hopefully reduce the level of stress within the classroom so that real learning takes place."

At St. John's University in New York, The Guardian Angels teach workshops to students and practicing educators to fulfill the state-mandated requirement (Chapter 544 of the 1998 New York State law regarding violence prevention) for safety coursework.

"Bringing safety education into the classroom is part of our evolving mission," says Mary Sliwa, Executive Director, "and a natural extension of our involvement in after-school programs, and our increased emphasis on educating the general public on civic accountabilities and personal safety." Sliwa estimates that when fully-launched, the "Teaching the Teachers" will be as widespread and effective as the now legendary patrol efforts, which developed into neighborhood watches and citizen patrols across America.

Founded in 1979 to provide community safety in the crime ridden Bronx, The Guardian Angels has evolved into a global safety education organization with 5,000 members in 22 chapters worldwide, including eight in Japan. In addition to the original, award-winning Guardian Angels street patrol unit, and the "Teaching the Teachers" initiative, programs include the Junior Guardian Angels, an early prevention program for children from 7 to 11, that teaches values and instills a sense of purpose; Urban Guardian Angels, for teens 12 to 16, that provides an alternative to gangs and drugs through a support club environment dedicated to community service and personal responsibility; and CyberAngels, (winner of the1998 Points of Light Presidential Service Award) is the nation's oldest in online safety education, and teaches children, parents and teachers how to avail themselves of the Internet's vast resources in a safe manner.