Video: How to raise a polite child

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BELLEVUE, Wash. – With cheerleader beatings, teacher assaults, and students out of control in class, some wonder what's happening to local schools.

According to one local woman, it all boils down to a lack of manners and respect.

Corinne Gregory started a program to change that.

"There's no respect, there's no boundaries any more," she said.

Gregory started the Bellevue-based program "PoliteChild" to help train teachers and parents how to raise respectful kids.

She worked with child development experts to design the program, which can be taught from pre-school through high-school. It emphasizes respect, responsibility and good old-fashioned manners.She claims schools that use her program see a significant rise in test scores and a significant drop in discipline problems.

"And you'll have happier teachers, happier students, and happier parents," she said.

Gregory says it's never too early to start teaching your children good manners. Babies start modeling grown-ups' behavior practically from birth. By age 2, she says most children have developed the attention span to really start learning good manners.

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Corrine Gregory started the Bellevue-based program "PoliteChild" to help train teachers and parents how to raise respectful kids.

The program goes beyond anti-bullying and focuses on prevention by teaching kids to treat all people with respect.  

"Yes, table manners, yes meeting and greeting," Gregory said. "But also the big things you do with people."

The "PoliteChild" program is currently in schools in California, Oregon, Arkansas, Georgia and New Jersey. Gregory hopes to also bring it to schools in Western Washington.