Contributed

As part of Community in School’s  mission to “surround students with a community of support, empowering them to stay in school and achieve in life,” CIS of Troup County makes a conscious effort to assist not only those students who are bullied, but those that may be labeled as bullies.

CIS teaches students how to overcome bullying, by providing guidance through conflict resolution, self-esteem building and positive communication skills. Now that the internet and  social media are a normal way of communication, it is another avenue for bullying or cyberbullying as it is called, which can cause even more harm than young people realize because these negative messages and interactions are forwarded and shared, thereby allowed to reach a larger audience.

CIS reaches out to the students to teach them that physical attacks, spoken and cyber comments have a lasting effect on the recipient and negative consequences for those engaging in such activities; therefore it is important to  interact with people with respect and understanding, and being aware of the harmful impact of bullying.

Ninty percent of students in fourth through eighth grade report being bullied in some form. Each year over 160,000 teens skip school daily because of bullying, and one in 10 students will drop out of school due to repeated bullying.

Two of  the Communities In Schools five basic principles are ensuring that students “have a safe place to grow and learn” and that they ” have a healthy start and a healthy future.” Intervening and preventing bullying  is a big part of helping  the students in both of these areas.

“We not only have to teach our youth to love and respect themselves, but to love and respect others,” said Tabitha Lewis-Coverson, the executive director at CIS Georgia in Troup County. “Communities In Schools is always available to help students through difficult situations and celebrate their successes. We have access to the resources for the students and families to cope with and overcome bullying and other barriers that interfere with their academic success. And I welcome members of the community to join in our efforts to be a part of what we do to nurture the success of our future generations. I truly believe it will always take a village.”

For more information or to get involved, contact Communities In Schools of Troup County at 706-298-7121 or tcoverson@cisgeorgia.org. Also Like us and see the CIS students anti-bullying video on our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/cistroup or Twitter @cistroupcounty