It’s that time of year, when high school students are eagerly awaiting acceptance to the school of their choice.  But for many student athletes the decision was made months ago and they even have scholarships in hand.

How do some student go from scholar athlete to scholarship athlete?  What kind of recruiting tactics are colleges using?  And is it a good idea for students to make verbal commitments to colleges as early as their sophmore year?

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The No Bully Zone

Tewksbury, MA

At the John W. Wynn Middle School, the core curriculum includes a comprehensive anti-bullying program called Rachel’s Challenge.

Rachel Scott was the first victim in the 1999 Columbine shootings. She was shot while eating lunch on the lawn with a friend.

Following her death, her family launched Rachel’s Challenge. Based on a school assembly given by members of the Scott family and Columbine survivors, the program promotes five goals:

1. Eliminate prejudice by looking for the best in others
2. Dare to dream. Set goals. Keep a journal.
3. Choose your influences. Input determines output.
4. Kind words, small acts of kindness = Huge impact
5. Start a chain reaction with family and friends.

These goals are at the center of education at the Wynn middle school. Radio Boston’s Meghna Chakrabarti spent a day at the school to get a taste of life in the "no bully zone"…

I thought it would be fulfilling, a job I could handle, a way I could make a difference.  It could have been all those things, but instead it was an eye-opening and frightening experience that sent me fleeing the classroom.

People are more than numbers, but these numbers say a lot: In the 2005-2006 school year, 53% of school violence reports occurred in Massachusetts MIDDLE schools.

We have heard a lot about violence in high schools, but now, the focus is on middle schools. A number of school districts across the state have started middle school violence prevention programs. At-risk youth are being monitored at an ever earlier age. And in the age of the internet, school officials, counselors and administrators say that when the taunts and bullying begin on Myspace or FaceBook, the tensions are eventually brought into the classroom.

This week, we look at violence in middle schools, the programs, resources, and questions.

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Plus, in our web specials: Enter the "no bully zone", experience a day in the life of an almost middle school teacher, and learn more about the Deana’s Educational Theater and the Massachusetts Aggression Reducation Center…