HARRISBURG -- Two bullying prevention programs are paying off for Pennsylvania children who were repeatedly teased and harassed at school, according to a study expected to be released in Pittsburgh in November.

Reports of bullying are decreasing at the 700 schools participating in the PA CARES and Healthy High 5 HALT! programs, according to the Highmark Foundation, which supplied a three-year, $2.3 million grant for bullying prevention.

Raw data -- which came from surveys of children, parents, teachers and other school staff members -- isn't yet available, said Matthew Masiello, a physician and director of the Center for Health Promotion & Disease Prevention at Winder Research Institute, which conducted the study.

He was able to say that at any given school about one in four students report they've been a victim of bullying, but those numbers decrease significantly after children participate in bullying prevention programs.

"We in Pennsylvania have been able to determine this approach works," Dr. Masiello said.

His study is the most comprehensive of its kind, said Michael G. Warfel, vice president of government affairs at Highmark.

Details of the study are expected to be released during the International Bullying Prevention Association's annual conference Nov. 17 and 18 at the Omni William Penn Hotel in Pittsburgh.

Seven school districts in Allegheny County and two in Westmoreland are among those participating in Highmark Healthy High 5 HALT! Participating districts in PA CARES include nine in Allegheny, two in Beaver, five in Fayette, four in Washington and five in Westmoreland County.