Delaware School and Government Officials Learn Effective Bullying Prevention and Intervention Strategies

Santa Barbara, CA, March 27, 2008 --(PR.com)-- Bullying in public schools, in all its forms, must be stopped. That was the message sent when Delaware enacted one of the nation’s toughest anti-bullying laws this year. Finding effective solutions to bullying has been a challenge, but Utica National Insurance Co. provided Delaware school districts with a solution. It hosted a training session presented by McGrath Training Systems that addressed all the mandates of the Delaware law. Attending the Feb. 20 training were 147 Delaware school district administrators, principals and counselors, as well as representatives from the Delaware Department of Education and Attorney Generals’ Office.

"After the training, an official from the Delaware Department of Education told me that the McGrath program is exactly what districts need to help them comply with the new state law,” commented McGrath Chief Operating Officer Maureen Charles.

Utica National Insurance Co., a provider of property and liability insurance to educational organizations, is taking the lead to provide the best anti-bullying training to school officials in Delaware. Utica National selected McGrath Training Systems, Santa Barbara, CA, to conduct the training because of its national reputation as the premier provider of legally fit and educationally sound compliance training for schools. McGrath Training Systems unites everyday human dynamics with the law to enable school administrators to protect children from harm and their districts from liability.

Through the McGrath Training, Delaware educators learned:
A five-point criterion for identifying incidents of bullying, ridicule and harassment;
The difference between bullying and conflict;
Who bullies and why;
About cyberbullying and preventing it;
Warning signs that covert bullying may be occurring; and
Proactive and reactive solutions to bullying, including how to process and investigate bullying complaints.

“We are pleased to sponsor the McGrath Training Systems’ program that provides educators with a systematic and sound approach to addressing bullying and harassment among K-12 students,” said Matt Lupino, regional underwriting manager for Utica National Insurance Co. “This program focuses on the adult response to bullying, which truly does make the difference in schools.”

Mary Jo McGrath, nationally recognized expert on school district law and McGrath Training Systems’ CEO, said most programs wrongly treat bullying as a conflict between co-equal students.

“In fact, bullying is not a conflict,” she asserts. “It is a form of illegal harassment and an abuse of power.”

The McGrath program provides a structure for action. It outlines a method for documentation, intervention, complaint intake and investigation that leads to appropriate disciplinary action against bullies and protects victims, just as the Delaware law requires.

“We are very pleased that the state of Delaware and Utica National Insurance Company are stepping forward on this vital issue. Other states now need to put the structure and training in place to provide a safe environment for learning, and for ‘just being kids’,” McGrath said.

Other states that have enacted anti-bullying legislation include:

- Arkansas
- Arizona
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Georgia
- Iowa
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Kansas
- Louisiana
- Maryland
- Maine
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Nebraska
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New York
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- South Carolina
- Rhode Island
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Virginia
- Vermont
- Washington
- West Virginia

Utica National Insurance Company, headquartered in Utica, NY, insures 1,600 educational institutions in the United States. It frequently hosts McGrath Training Systems educational programs for school districts in Delaware, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. For more information, go to www.uticanational.com.

McGrath Training Systems, Santa Barbara, CA, offers risk control and compliance training designed for K-12 school systems and governmental agencies. For more information, go to www.mcgrathinc.com.

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