Milwaukee school declared Bully-Free zone: "There are ways to solve problems without violence"

MILWAUKEE (WITI) --Turning schools into bully-free zones to ultimately make neighborhoods safer. That's what Mayor Barrett and other local organizations are looking to do as they make a stop at one Milwaukee school.

Kids at Benjamin Franklin School are learning important life lessons.

"There are ways to solve problems without violence. That is our big goal," said 2nd and 3rd grade teacher Glenda Stacker.

Mayor Barrett, as well as Children's Hospital of Wisconsin staff, and attorneys at Quarles & Brady spread the anti-bullying message.

It's all to support a nationwide effort called the Bully Project's Mayor's Campaign to End Bullying.

Kids learn to recognize bullying and how to prevent it.

"People keep calling my sister ugly and I just say back off and tell a teacher," said 3rd grader Andrea Sanders.

Most of the time bullying doesn`t happen in the classroom. It happens in places like the playground. And when kids see it or experience it, they`re taught to tell a teacher.

"We want them to come to school and feel safe," said Stacker.

Bullying is sometimes seen as the gateway to more violent acts, like shootings, stabbings and assaults. That's why health care workers say preventing it at a young age is so important.

"Bullying is not tolerated not only in the school, but in the city," said Anna Feeley, volunteering for the day on behalf of Children's Hospital.

But the lessons go beyond the classroom.

"Students see the importance of just saying no to crime, and drugs, and bullying, and anything that can cause a negative disruption in your life," said Stacker.

October is National Bullying Prevention Month but teachers at Benjamin Franklin say they focus on anti-bullying all year.