Local Pediatric Dentist Stands Up Against Bullying Through Unique School Outreach Program

Oct. 28, 2015 - PRLog -- Dr. Robert Camps and his team at Dr. Camps Pediatric Dental Center (http://www.funsmiles.com/) are speaking out against bullying and raising awareness through a unique school outreach program.

Statistics show that 90% of elementary students have been bullied by their peers and 50% of high school students bullied someone in the past year. Each day, more than 160,000 students stay home from school because they are afraid to attend.

The pediatric dental practice sees patients from age one to seventeen and has seen first-hand some of the effects of bullying.

“The effect that bullying has on young kids is heart-breaking.  We firmly believe that if kids and schools had the right resources, we can drastically reduce the occurrence of bullying and protect our youth from the damaging effects,” says Mandy Buchanan, Practice Manager of Dr. Camps Pediatric Dental Center.

Dr. Camps has teamed up with a well-known organization based out of California called Community Matters (http://www.community-matters.org/) to implement a Safe School Ambassador program in local schools.

This unique program uses an “inside-out” approach that harnesses the power of students to prevent and stop bullying and violence. After all, students are usually at the scene of an incident before adults and can intervene in ways that adults cannot. By using socially influential students, the organization aims to improve school climate and positively impact the crisis of bullying in schools.

Approximately 40 students at each school are carefully identified and selected as Safe School Ambassadors based on specific criteria including influence in their peer groups, communication skills and history of standing up for friends, among others. The students and several adults are then trained to be able to identify and resolve conflicts, defuse incidents and support isolated students.  The Safe School Ambassadors meet every few weeks to discuss the school climate, any incidences and identify possible interventions.

This year, the Dr. Camps’ dental practice will be fully funding the Safe School Ambassadors program for Briggs Chaney Middle School in December.

However, this is not the only Anti-bullying effort Dr. Camps is pursuing. During the 2014-2015 school year, the practice hosted an anti-bullying contest for patients. Dr. Camps and his team are happy to announce the kick-off of their 2^nd annual Anti-Bullying contest. This year, any child in the community can participate. For more information, please visit the practice website at www.funsmiles.com.

If you know a school in Silver Spring or the surrounding area that may benefit from the Safe School Ambassador Program, please contact Sarah Lyles at (301) 989-8994 or sarah@funsmiles.com.

ABOUT DR. CAMPS PEDIATRIC DENTAL CENTER

Dr. Camps Pediatric Dental Center is committed to educating both parents and patients in dental hygiene.  The doctors and staff at Dr. Camps Pediatric Dental Center offer the most up-to-date services for children’s dental needs and strive to treat each patient and parent as family members.  For more information about Dr. Camps Pediatric Dental Center, please call the office at (301) 989-8994 or visit www.funsmiles.com.

ABOUT COMMUNITY MATTERS

Safe School Ambassadors is a program of Community Matters, a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization that specializes in: youth violence prevention, youth development, and sustainable school and community partnerships. Headquartered in Sebastopol, California, Community Matters has been in operation since 1995 and has implemented its program in over 1,500 schools in 32 states, 2 Canadian provinces, Guam, and Puerto Rico. For more information, visit www.community-matters.org.