Attorney General Ken Salazar will discuss bullying prevention and setting personal goals with the students at Kunsmiller Middle School at 10:15 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 6.

About 580 seventh and eighth graders and their teachers will attend the assembly, where Salazar will commend them for addressing the issue of bullying. He will show a short video on bullying prevention and answer questions.

Kunsmiller has adopted the Bullying Prevention Program, which has been selected as a Blueprint Program based on its proven effectiveness as a deterrent to violent behavior. The Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence at the University of Colorado initiated the Blueprint Program and developed stringent scientific standards for evaluating effective violence prevention programs. Only a few, select programs have met the criteria to be named a Blueprint Program.

The Bullying Prevention Program has school-wide, classroom and individual components. These components include assessing the nature and prevalence of bullying through a student questionnaire; forming a Coordinating Committee; establishing and enforcing classroom rules; meeting with parents to foster involvement; and developing interventions with bullies and their victims.

Bullying is a nationwide problem. There are 1.6 million students in grades 6-10 bullied at least weekly, according to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.

Kunsmiller Middle School is located at 2250 S. Quitman Way. The phone number is 303-934-5476.

For more information, contact the Public Information Office at 720-423-3414.