Attorney General Ken Salazar said that a survey by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed that 10,000 children stay home from school at least once per month because of fear of bullying, and 50 percent of children have reported experiencing some kind of bullying once a week. Officials at Gilpin Elementary School in Denver told 7NEWS that they are already seeing the results from their anti-bullying program. It has improved behavior in classrooms and sent fewer students to the principal's office, administrators said. Disclaimer Along with reading, writing and arithmetic, students at Gilpin learn lessons on how to stand up for themselves. Students learn through skits how to express themselves when they get into arguments, and how to get involved so they won't be victims.
Teachers are ecstatic over the changes.
Principal Jan Box said that in every school there are bullies, victims and kids on the fence. Student gunmen Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, incensed by being bullied at Columbine, killed 12 classmates and a teacher before committing suicide at the school on April 20, 1999. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.