By MEREDITH MANDELL
HERALD NEWS

PASSAIC -- Jayliza Pacheco often wound up in the principal's office after confrontations with other girls in the hallways.

Two weeks ago, when three girls approached her in the hallway, she simply walked away with an air of confidence.

"They weren't worth my time or me getting in trouble," she said.

For many teenage girls, verbal jousting is a rite of passage. Guidance counselors grapple with how to prevent teen bullying, which so often, they say, results in broken self-esteem and alienation and later, the more serious problems of dropping out of school and drug and alcohol abuse. A twice-weekly program at Lincoln Middle School aims to teach girls how to channel the anger into their fists -- the right way.

The girls learn to box. The program is run by L.J. Croix and India Acevedo, both graduates of the Joe Grier Boxing Academy in Paterson. The two developed "Beyond the Bully," an after-school counseling and boxing program for troubled teenage girls.

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