INDIANAPOLIS -
In school districts across the area, teachers are keeping their eye out for bullying and coming up with ways to stop bad behavior. But one group of students on the west side has stepped up with a program of their own.
Students at IPS School 96 on the west side are looking to drive home a message to put an end to bad behavior.
"A lot of our students in our classroom had been getting bullied and we needed to stop bullying in our school," said sixth grader Stephanique Seymour.
What resulted is a program called SMART, which stands for "Student Movement Against Rude Treatment."
"This is 100 percent student-driven. They came up with the ideas," said Principal Mary Siefert.
Teachers say they're impressed with how students stepped up with a solution to bullying incidents. Sixth grader Devonte Swift says he expected resistance from fellow classmates.
"I thought people was gonna be, like, they would not really even care. I thought people would be, like, 'Would you just stop talking to us and get out?'," Swift said. "But everybody was so excited about it."
"Peer pressure is a positive thing, whether it's positive or negative peer pressure," said Siefert. "And when children see other children doing the right thing, they're more apt to follow."
The SMART program started in November and has since taken off. There are now posters throughout School 96 and the effort has earned a $500 mini-grant from the Indiana School Social Work Association.
"We are purchasing the t-shirts with that grant money and turning them around and selling them to students, at a reduced rate for students," said teacher Deidre Knop.
There are also pencil sales and other student ideas to advance the message.
"I would like to see a lot of people just stop bullying, period, because some of them forget to stop name calling and just to handle situations better," said Seymour.
"The fact that they have continued to talk to classrooms, continued to live smart and wanting to grow this into something big that's getting out into the community is just beyond my wildest dreams," Knop said.
Students are now sharing their ideas with IMPD and other school districts.
