by Mark Wiggins
WACO - It's an issue that's captivated parents of schoolchildren nationwide: What to do about the potentially deadly school bullying?
For Central Texans, the solution may be closer to home than you think.
Matthew Stratmann, director of Waco High School's Safe School Ambassadors program, says that whether it's a punch or a mean name, sometimes it can hurt the same amount. It's the job of WHS ambassadors to prevent hurtful behavior before it begins.
"I've had tons of people I've actually helped out this year and last year; that worked pretty good for me," says second-year ambassador Devin Scott, who adds that the program is making a big impact on students at WHS. "They say thank you, and that I saved them, because they didn't really know who to go to."
Scott and other veterans spent Friday training with the year's incoming crop of new ambassadors on how to spot--and neutralize--instances of bullying.
Safe School Ambassadors a national program founded by Community Matters and adopted last year at Waco High School. Part of the program's appeal is empowering students to look out for one another.
"I think it's important because most students don't feel like going to a teacher to talk about their problems when they can come to another student, another classmate that's the same age with them and they'll probably know what they're talking about," says Scott.
Stratmann, who pulls double duty as a chemistry teacher at WHS, says he understands why students may feel more comfortable going to a trusted peer--rather than staff--for help.
"The largest problem is we sit behind a desk, and it's a deep, dark void to most of these kids. They don't feel like they can approach us, they don't feel like we understand their problems and there's really no point in talking to us if they feel that way," says Stratmann, who adds that the program is also designed to bridge that void. "For this program, the idea is we actually sit down with them and we try to relate to them on a little bit of a deeper level."
Waco High School principal Clarence Simmons says the results speak for themselves--and so far, they've been spectacular.
"We've seen an 88 percent decrease in the number of major offenses with our student code of conduct since we've put this program in place last year," says Simmons, who credits the ambassadors with playing a major role in that decrease.
For new ambassador Omar Rocha, the program is an opportunity for change. He says some ambassadors have been victims of bullying themselves, and all share the same desire to make a difference.
"I don't want this to happen any more to any other kids, and that's why I got in it," says Rocha, "to help out to stop it."
