CHICAGO, April 19 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The week of May 3, 2010, over 400 high school students will be equipped, engaged, and empowered to use nonviolent communication skills to prevent and stop bullying and violence among their peers.

The following fourteen Chicago Public Schools in Area 23 will be the first schools in Chicago to adopt Community Matters' violence-prevention program, Safe School Ambassadors®  (SSA), launching the program during twelve, two-day trainings.

May 4-5th, 2010

1. Gage Park High School

2. Richards Career High School

3. B.E.S.T. Academy

4. Harlan Community High School

5. School of the Arts

6. New Millennium High School

May 6-7th, 2010

1. Tilden High School and Tilden Career Academy

2. Paul Robeson High School and Paul Robeson Achievement Academy

3. George Washington High School

4. Corliss High School

5. Hirsch Metro High School

6. Bogan Tech High School

Bullying today has been getting younger, meaner, and more difficult to identify due to access to technology such as MySpace, Facebook, cell phones, and YouTube.  Perhaps most disturbing is that bullying, cyberbullying, and harassment are also becoming more acceptable among young people.  

Research shows that 70-85 percent of students have been passive bystanders to peer mistreatment. The SSA program differs from many violence-prevention approaches in that it mobilizes these student bystanders to prevent, de-escalate and stop bullying and violence.

"Students see, hear, and know what adults don't. They can intervene in ways adults can't, but usually students don't intervene," said Rick Phillips, founder and Executive Director of Community Matters and co-creator of the Safe School Ambassadors program.

Students report that the primary reasons they don't intervene are fear of retaliation and not knowing what to do.  The SSA program addresses the first obstacle, by very carefully identifying and enrolling socially-influential "opinion leaders" from the diverse cliques and groups at school.  These students' social status within their peer groups allows them to intervene without fear of retaliation.

To address the second obstacle, not knowing what to do, the program trains these students in nonviolent intervention and communication skills such as "directing" their friend to think before sending a harassing text or "reasoning" with them to avoid a fight.  The SSA program inspires courage in these students and gives them the competence to make their schools and neighborhoods safer.

The Safe School Ambassadors® (SSA) program is a program of Community Matters.

SOURCE Community Matters

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http://www.community-matters.org/