ABSTRACT
Bully-Proofi ng Your School (BPYS) was developed in the early 1990s as a comprehensive prevention program designed to reduce bullying and improve overall climate in elementary schools. Th e authors of the program, most of whom were school-based practitioners, recognized that pull-out groups for bullies and victims were not eff ective and began to research what was known about eff ective intervention with bullying in schools. Building on the pioneering ideas of Olweus (1991) in Norway and Sharp and Smith (1991) in England, a school-wide, systemic bullying intervention with teacher training and a student curriculum was created. BPYS, the fi rst bullying prevention program developed in the United States, was originally published in 1994 and has been updated in two revisions (in 2000 and 2004; Garrity, Jens, Porter, Sager, & Short-Camilli. 1994, 2004). Consistent across these revisions, the focus of BPYS has continued to be on developing a safe, caring school climate that does not condone aggression and bullying behavior but rather promotes kindness and caring. Th is desired environment must be created, nurtured and sustained by students, parents, teachers, and staff .
