Margaret McNamara

“Students Helping Students: Bully Prevention Through Writing” is the winning program developed by McNamara to address the issue of bullying. Bullying impacts students across the country each day and is not easily solved by traditional teaching methods. Through the innovative program, third-grade students at Holy Cross Academy will develop an electronic survey to assess the attitudes about bullying among other students at their school. The survey will ask students questions such what constitutes bullying and if they have been bullied before. After the students collect and plot the data, they will work with the guidance counselor to interpret the survey results and determine what skills and areas should be focused on to benefit the needs of their school community. The next phase of the program will include the students creating project-based learning activities such as PowerPoint presentations, a wiki site, and video skits. All of the material will be posted on the school website and used by the counselor for monthly classes. For the final phase, students will evaluate student attitudes and discuss the effectiveness of the project. McNamara, who lives in Fredericksburg, hopes the program will open doors to foster discussion among students, teachers, and parents about bullying.