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Open House For Nationally Recognized Anti-Bullying Program At Wyncote Academy

By Brad Segall

WYNCOTE, Pa. (CBS) - A private school in Montgomery County is opening its doors Friday and Saturday to give area educators and parents a firsthand look at its nationally recognized program to prevent bullying and foster a safe haven for its students to learn.

It is a multi-pronged approach at Wyncote Academy. Teachers, parents and administrators all work together to look for the signs showing a student is being bullied.

The school's anti-bullying program was catapulted into the national spotlight last month in Washington when Head of School Kirk Hittinger and student Nadin Khoury were invited to speak about the school's successful program. (see article)

They are hosting open houses this weekend to show parents and other area educators how well the program is working. Hittinger concedes it is easier at a smaller school but public school leaders can still take something away from it.

"The large public schools are really stuck behind the eight ball but they need to find ways to reach out to their students and have more personnel available and create an atmosphere where the kids feel they can trust their teachers," Hittinger said. "A lot of public schools have seen this: attendance drops, standardized test scores fall. These are the big issues. Kids are not learning if they don't feel that they're going to a place that they feel safe and they can trust."

Hittinger says Khoury is now thriving at Wyncote after he was bullied at another school and his attackers posted it on YouTube. He says attendance and test scores drop when kids do not feel safe at school.

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