The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration offers a series of training packages for a Mental Health Friendly Classroom.

Assuming that bullying is part of growing up, some educators look the other way – which only leads to more of the same behavior, researchers from the Center for Health and Health Care in Schools say. More effective intervention is needed, including clear rules and strong social norms against the bullying to create a safer school environment. These approaches are common in countries such as England and Norway, but are less frequently implemented in the United States.

A National Institutes of Health panel reports that punitive "get tough" approaches that try to scare young offenders away from violent behavior - boot camps, group detention centers, or putting young people in adult jails - may actually worsen the problem.

The Center for Effective Discipline lists the largest school districts in the nation that forbid and that allow corporal punishment. The site also offers tools for adults to learn more and take action.

Parents and the public say they're concerned about discipline in the schools, but zero tolerance policies that suspend or expel youth can be counterproductive and perpetuate achievement gaps. Instead, Northern Elementary School used old-fashioned disciplinary techniques, core values, committed teachers and leaders, and child and family support programs to dramatically raise achievement levels and reduce suspensions. During the 1999-2000 school year, only 15 percent of the students were reading at grade level. With school reforms, that number steadily increased to 81 percent in 2003.

A lack of caring adult intervention contributes to school cultures that tolerate violence, bullying and guns. That's the view of journalist Caitlin Kelly, five years after the deadly Columbine High School shootings in Colorado. Kelly looked into youth attitudes towards school violence as part of the research for her new book, Blown Away.

It's no longer just parents and principals who are dealing with school bullies. State lawmakers are squaring off against juvenile behaviors such as taunting, teasing and threats once accepted as simply a part of growing up.

The brief warns that focusing prematurely on inappropriate outcomes or short-term results may be counterproductive, giving a skewed picture of what works and what doesn't and leading to false conclusions and bad policies.

ACR is a professional organization dedicated to enhancing the practice and public understanding of conflict resolution.

This program is designed to help children set goals for themselves, resist pressures, learn how to resolve conflicts without violence and understand how gangs and youth violence affect the quality of their lives.