|
Take Action Now
*According to the National Education Association every hour of every school day, 2,000 students are physically attacked on school grounds
*One in five students regularly carries a weapon to school
(one in 20 carries a gun)
*160,000 students skip class each day because they fear physical harm
If you feel your child is exhibiting symptoms of being bullied and/or is afraid to communicate something, contact the school psychologist or your own mental health provider for assistance.
If your child is being bullied, don’t blame the child!
*NOTE-There are State Boards of Education that do not require school nurses to document and file any visits. Consequently, reasons for injuries that may be related to bullying behaviors may go unrecognized. It is suggested that you notify the school nurse and request that you be contacted any time your child visits.
School is a legal obligation. If your child cannot cope and is not able to go to school, take him/her to the doctor so that the problem can be officially recorded. Your childs pediatrician is well aware of the serious health concerns associated with school bullying and should be willing to assist you in forwarding those concerns to the appropriate administrative authorities within your childs school system.
Call the Principal immediately. Voice your concern and request a meeting with the teacher at the closest level that the bullying is occurring. Many times things can be resolved with just one meeting.
Prepare a dated letter (including any dated pictures of injuries) for the teacher explaining in detail the reason for the meeting. At the meeting, express the situation and ask the teacher to please make appropriate accommodations, monitor the situation and keep you informed. Request that the letter you have prepared be put in your childs school records. (keep a copy for yourself) *Note-Connecticut local and regional school administrators must investigate all parent written complaints of suspected bullying-go to "The Law" link on this site. PUT IT IN WRITING!
When you get home write a dated letter to the Principal (mailed certified/signature required) stating the minutes of the meeting (including your request of the teacher to make appropriate accommodations, monitor the situation and keep you informed ). Request in writing that you want this letter along with the letter to the teacher to go into your childs school records.(keep copies for yourself)
If the situation is not resolved, than it will be necessary to meet with the Principal, Superintendent, local Board of Education, State Board of Education-Dr. William Howe william.howe@po.state.ct.us 860-713-6542, CT Director Safe & Drug Free Schools Scott Newgass 860-807-2044, law enforcement -as high as you need to go to get the bullying to cease. Most importantly, be sure to get any plan of resolution in writing at any/all of these meetings and request that it be put into your childs school records. Don't forget to ask for your copy.
* It is always a good idea to bring a spouse, friend or relative with you to any meeting concerning your child and/or openly tape the meeting. If you need a child advocate to mediate for/with you on the behalf of your child, call your state child advocate agency.
*If there is any involvement with law enforcement, be sure to have copies of all documentation, charges, etc. put in your childs school records. (get your copies)
It is CRITICAL that parents who have a child that is being bullied keep a journal of dates, times, places and detailed accounts of bullying incidents, including the names of any witnesses present and any comprehensive medical reports. Also, if necessary, date/label photographs of any physical injuries. Document all phone calls, and/or meetings with content description and people involved. (If writing is too time consuming or overwhelming consider journal audio-taping).
Documented proof of bullying is extremely vital in achieving positive results for your child.
KNOW IT.
Request a copy of the schools bullying policy as well as an explanation as to exactly how it is enforced on a comprehensive level; schoolwide, classroom, individual. If you don’t have one already, request a copy of the school handbook. *CT schools must have an anti -bullying policy in place by 2/1/03
You may want to start asking questions of other parents. Your child may not be the only bullying target and you may find other parents are keen to back you up in your complaint.
If you have exhausted all authorities at the local level, you may request an investigation of the school by your State Board of Education and the Department of Child and Family Services. In CT be sure to contact the Office of the Child Advocate 1-800-994-0939 for aid as well as informing them of exactly what agencies, municipalities, authority figures you have already requested assistance from. Again, be sure to document these calls; who you spoke with, time, content description, etc.
Blockages of accountability have cost the lives of many children.
KNOW IT.
Also, do not hesitate in seeking assistance from your legislators , state attorney , US Department of Education -Civil Rights 617-289-0111 and/or US Department of Education Safe & Drug Free Schools CT Representative Pat Rattler 202-260-1942
If the nature and severity of bullying has produced significant emotional and physical harm, and if you feel negligence on the part of the school system has been involved, consider legal counsel to determine if there is a legitimate case for damages. It is important that negligence be clearly established.
Did the school actually know about the bullying?
Were they aware of it?
Did they see it and were they deliberately indifferent to it?
If so, did that indifference lead to your child being harmed?
Your documented journal, photographs, witnesses, etc., will be extremely helpful when trying to clearly establish answers to the above questions in a court of law.
Obviously, it is in the best interest of your child and the school to work the situation out without having to take drastic measures. However, if school authorities continue to allow victimization, you will have no choice. Period.
Keep in mind that it is unacceptable for school authorities to further victimize your child by taking away his/her civic rights of full school parcipitation in order to eliminate the abuse. This is common practice.
KNOW IT.
*NOTE-If your child has a disability, victimization may exaccerbate the social difficulties already inherent to him or her. Children with disabilities are vulnerable and and need to be monitored closely, as they are much more prone than their peers to becoming a target. Take appropriate formal measures with school staff before the school year starts to ensure your child’s physical and psychological safety. Know your rights ! Click on disabilities for resource links.
*21-3211Use of force in defense of a person; A person is justified in the use of force against an aggressor when and to the extent it appears to him/her and he/she reasonably believes that such conduct is necessary to defend himself/herself or another against such aggressor's imminent use of unlawful force.
**A schools failure to respond to threats by one student to another may result in serious personal liability charges if the student against whom the threat is made receives bodily harm.
Cyberbullying -If your child is being bullied over the internet through instant messaging, emails or websites- Internet providers retain instant messaging conversations and have legal right to provide this information to law enforcement in cases of criminal harassment. Check the user agreement with your internet provider. Defaming, slandering, harassing or threatening someone on a posted website/page is illegal. Children need to be educated as to the serious ramifications of cyberbullying just the same as verbal and physical bullying. As with any other form of bullying, most parents don't know it's happening. Go to www.cyberbullying.ca for an in depth look at how to capture on-screen conversations and track user names to their subscribed internet provider for identity. Also get to know the Instant Message acronyms used to chat and text messages. http://www.captiveimage.us/PlainsNews/Tech/Messaging.html
*A school that fails to provide a safe school can result in Civil Rights violations for titles 6,7, and 9 of the 1964 Civil Rights Act:
* Discrimination because of religion, because of sexual harassment (including being called gay, fag, les, etc.) or because you belong to a minority which includes being a special education student is against the law.
As a parent there are certain legal acts of recourse that you may want to explore outside the scope of any consequences issued by the school. You may have the right to initiate both civil and criminal charges for this act. Consult an attorney with legal questions. YOU must call the police and file an official police report as a result of the incident. A brief summary of crime classifications are as follows: disorderly conduct, reckless endagerment, extortion, breach of peace, assault, aggrevated assault, threatening, battery, criminal restraint, theft, burglary, harassment, hazing, civil liberties, intimidation based on bigotry or bias, ridicule on account of race, creed or color, cruelty to persons, risk of injury to or impairing morals of children.
Online Anonymous Reporting For Ct Students Who Are Being Bullied or Know Of A Student Who Is Being Bullied
If your child is attending a CT school and does not have an anonymous reporting mechanism in place he or she can use the anonymous reporting form on this site. We'll be sure to get the form to the Principal of the school within 24 hours.
State Statutes
CT Civil Law Attorney Listing
Attorney Agranoff in CT
National Center For Victims Of Crimes
Media Contacts National & CT
National & Local Newspapers
*Students may not be removed from the classroom more than 6 times per year and no more than 2 times per week. When a student is removed from the class the principal must be notified.
*Short term suspension involves suspensions of 10 days or less as defined by the U.S. Supreme Court in the landmark Goss v. Lopez case. Students facing short-term school suspension must be provided a fair and impartial hearing. They also must be informed of the charges brought against them and given the opportunity to respond to these charges.
*Students have a property interest in attending public schools. The school district may not withdraw this right to attend on grounds of misconduct absent fundamentally fair procedures to determine if misconduct occurred.
*A violation of either substantive or procedural due process will result in a violation of students' 14th Amendment rights.
*If a perpetrating students actions create disruption, gross disrespect for authority or threat to safety, then immediate and swift disciplinary action is warranted by school officials. School officials have a moral and legal duty to preserve the safety and well being of all students.
*Students rights must be protected (Supreme Court's Tinker vs. Des Moines)
(Nathan L. Essex Professor of Educational Law, Educational Leadership & Dean of College Education @ the University of Memphis, Memphis, Tenn. )
If Your Child is Being Bullied
Ways to Help Your Child
Encourage your child to share his/her problems with you. Ensure him or her that this is not tattling. Know that your child may be embarrassed, ashamed, and fearful. Listen attentively and reassure him/her that he/she will not have to face the problem alone.
Praise and encourage your child. Help him/her take pride in his/her accomplishments and differences. A confident child is less likely to be bullied.
Search for talents and positive attributes that can be developed in your child. This may help a child to assert him or herself. A teacher(s) can be very helpful in rewarding your child for some of their special attributes in a social context (school peers) that will help build your child’s self-esteem. Ask for assistance.
Help your child develop friendships. Stimulate your child to meet and interact with new peers. A new environment with new peers can provide a new chance for a victimized child.
Encourage your child to make contact with calm and friendly children in his or her class (or other classes). This may require the assistance of the school.
If your childs own behavior (i.e. provocative victim) is contributing to being bullied, try to help your child change his or her behavior without suggesting that he or she is responsible for being victimized. Try to improve your childs social skills. The school psychologist should be able to assist you and your child in this area.
Motivate your child to participate in physical activity or sports. Physical exercise can result in better physical coordination and less “body-anxiety”. This, in turn, can increase your child’s self esteem and improve peer relations. The physical education teacher may assist you and your child with this.
Community/school mentoring programs can offer additional one on one assistance (be sure to inquire about any programs screening process of volunteers and employees, as many can become havens for child molesters and the like).
www.mentoring.org www.bigbrothersbigsisters.org
Seek help from the school psychologist or your own mental health provider
High vs. Pasco School District-Expert testimony concludes suicide is indeed a forseeable consequence of bullying...
Is your child being bullied by a teacher?
Why schools don't punish Incompetence.
It is almost impossible to fire a public school teacher if he/she has taught more than three years. After about three years the teacher has tenure, which means that she/he has job security for life, regardless of the quality of his/her work. A tenured teacher's job is protected by layers of laws and labor union support. To fire an incompetent teacher requires specific, hard evidence; it requires a lot of time to get through grievence processes and through the courts of law; and it requires lots of money. It would cost a school district at least $50,000 , perhaps as much as $300,000 to get rid of an incompetent teacher. Smaller school districts may find this too great a hardship. In school districts of any size , it is not surprising how rarely a teacher is fired. In a year, the chances of a teacher being fired for incompetence are about 1 in 10,000. The most informed estimates are that 5 to 15 % of teachers are incompetent. That means that for every 10,000 teachers 500 to 1500 are incompetent, but only one will be fired for incompetence, and the other 499 to 1,499 will continue to remain in the classroom. So the American classroom becomes a permanent haven for the terminally incompetent. Even the gorilla needs a home. But pity the poor children who have to share their classrooms daily with the gorillas. Children know nothing of tenure, or lawyers, or indifferent bureaucracies. All they want is a sympathetic adult who can channel their natural love of learning and sense of wonder. What they get is a jaded, aging timeserver with no hope of advancement and no fear of review, who is inspired only by the distant prospect of retirement. It's not a fair situation, and it is perpetuated only because the children lack a voice in their own behalf.(Guy Strickland Author; Bad Teachers)
Be their voice and document what your child is telling you very well. Ask to sit in on the class. Talk to other parents of children in the same class. Talk to parents of children who have had the teacher in previous years. Remember, you'll need specific, hard evidence to prove incompetence.
If Your Child is a Bully
Ways to Help Your Child
Make clear to your child that you take the bullying seriously and will not tolerate such behavior in the future.
Develop a consistent family rules system. Use praise and reinforcement for rule-following behavior. Use consistent, non-hostile, negative consequences for rule violation. Set a good example for your child by following these rules for yourself. If your child observes aggressive behavior by you, he or she is more likely to act aggressively towards peers.
Spend more time with your child. Monitor and supervise your child’s activities. Know your childs friends, where they spend their free time, and what they do with that free time.
Build on your childs talents and help him or her to develop less aggressive and more appropriate reaction behaviors.
Maintain contact with your childs school. Support the schools efforts to modify your childs behavior. Enlist help from the school to try and modify your child’s behavior.
** By age 24, bullies identified after the age of seven are 6 times more likely than non-bullies to be convicted of a crime; by age 30, they are 4 times more likely to have accrued three criminal convictions.
Community/school mentoring programs can offer additional one on one assistance (be sure to inquire about any programs screening process of volunteers and employees, as many can become havens for child molesters and the like).
www.mentoring.org
www.bigbrothersbigsisters.org
Seek help from the school psychologist or your own mental health provider.
Cyberbullying -If your child bullying over the internet through instant messaging, emails or websites- Internet providers retain instant messaging conversations and have legal right to provide this information to law enforcement in cases of criminal harassment. Check the user agreement with your internet provider. Defaming, slandering, harassing or threatening someone on a posted website/page is illegal. Children need to be educated as to the serious ramifications of cyberbullying just the same as verbal and physical bullying. As with any other form of bullying, most parents don't know it's happening.
* School boards can also consider a behavior contract for students returning to school from suspension.
*Students may not be removed from the classroom more than 6 times per year and no more than 2 times per week. When a student is removed from the class the principal must be notified.
*Short term suspension involves suspensions of 10 days or less as defined by the U.S. Supreme Court in the landmark Goss v. Lopez case. Students facing short-term school suspension must be provided a fair and impartial hearing. They also must be informed of the charges brought against them and given the opportunity to respond to these charges.
*Students have a property interest in attending public schools. The school district may not withdraw this right to attend on grounds of misconduct absent fundamentally fair procedures to determine if misconduct occurred.
*A violation of either substantive or procedural due process will result in a violation of students' 14th Amendment rights.
*Student's rights must be protected (Supreme Court's Tinker vs. Des Moines)
(Nathan L. Essex Professor of Educational Law, Educational Leadership & Dean of College Education @ University of Memphis, Memphis, Tenn. )
Talk to your children about bullying, explain the dynamics, and tell them to tell you as soon as it starts. Be sure to frequently remind them of the serious consequences of bullying. This reminder will help them make the right choice in a society that unfortunately models bullying so well.
Schooling Alternatives
Home Schooling
Nationwide, 1.7 million American children are being taught at home and that number grows by as much as 15% a year. Colleges have already noticed that home-schooled students score much higher on entrance exam. Home -schooled children have organized social gatherings and athletic games to promote healthy social interaction. Home schooling parents pool their money to hire experts and guest lectures. If they do not feel qualified to teach a certain subject- say biology- they can find a professional who will teach their child everything they need to know about that specific topic.
www.americanhomeschoolassociation.org
www.cthomeschoolnetwork.org
Lists Colleges That Accept Home Schoolers
www.learninfreedom.org
Home Education Magazine
www.home-ed-magazine.com
National Home Education Research Institute
www.nheri.org
Home School Legal Defense Association
www.hslda.org
IndependentStudy
Independent Program For Students Of All Ages
www.chrysalis-school.com
A Private On-line Preparatory School
www.cyberhigh.org
Independent Schools
Rich in variety, independent schools do have characteristics in common. They are free from dependence on government support and from all but a minimum of government control. A board of trustees oversees each school. Strong school heads and equally strong schoolteachers run things. And each school is racially and culturally inclusive; this helps every child learn how to understand, respect and work with others in the complex real world they’ll inherit- and to approach management and leadership of that world with hope and skill. Independent schools value individuality, education in the broadest terms, athletic and non-athletic extracurricular programs and expect more than “good behavior”- active, responsible citizenship, a readiness to serve others and to stand firm for what is good. Such qualities will become values driving tomorrow’s best leaders.
*75% of children attending public schools report knowledge of occurrences of bullying, physical attack, or robbery, compared to 45% of private school students.
National Association of Independent Schools
www.nais.org
Need an Educational Consultant?
www.educationalconsulting.org
Online Boarding School Directory
www.schools.com
Is School Size Really important?
After what happens in their homes, the biggest immediate influences on adolescents are their peer groups and the schools they attend. One often overlooked feature of schools that contributes to the difficulties parents face in raising teenagers today is the size of those schools, most notably high schools. Put simply, big schools promote spectatorship and a 'herd feeling" rather than participation, and they exclude all but a small proportion of their student body from leadership roles and other developmentally enhancing activities. As a result they leave the majority of students at loose ends, and the most vulnerable are ripe for the destructive pressure of the socially toxic environment. By contrast, small schools enhance affirmation and identity because they draw kids into participation and leadership, which in turn offers challenges that stimulate the development of competence-and crucially, give adults the opportunity to monitor behavior more effectively. All these effects are strongest for the students most at risk for alienation and dropping out, (just a quick note-27% of America's homeless are children and teens) the "academically marginal students". Parents who are coping with such a child at home have a natural ally in the small school, and a natural enemy in the large school. Much of the important research on high school size was conducted in the 1950's and 1960's by psychologists Roger Barker and Paul Gump and their colleagues in Kansas. They documented the superiority of small schools in providing a positive environment for teenagers. Students reported greater satisfaction around the development of responsibility, competence, challenge and a sense of identity. They were drawn into positions of responsibility and activity on behalf of pro-social goals: putting on concerts, organizing meetings, and practicing and working in teams. The research demonstrated that although the large school provides more settings in which students can act, there are proportionately more kids to fill those settings. Small high schools, in contrast, have more settings than they have kids to fill them. For example, although the large school may have both a chorus and a glee club, together these two settings can accommodate only a very small proportion of the student body, so it is still hard for any given student (particularly one with little talent) to get into either activity. A small high school probably has just one vocal group, but it is apt to be so hungry for voices that any student willing to make the effort to participate will be welcomed. Ironically, just as this evidence for the social and psychological superiority of small schools was becoming available, social forces and deliberate policy were operating to close and consolidate these schools in favor of big ones. This may have been the most unfortunate trend in education of the last half of the twentieth century. Large schools tend to discourage meaningful participation in the social and extracurricular activities of the school, which in turn diminishes students' sense of personal ownership for what happens in the school and thus their sense of responsibility. Now, the need for high- risk kids to attend a school that compensates with intact adult authority is dramatically greater. In large high schools the at -risk kids are superfluous; in the small schools they are needed. it is a matter of social context, a manifestation of the social systems of the school. "The principle of progressive conformity"-the fact that people become what their environment elicits and rewards. The big school elicits and rewards passivity and marginal involvement among most students, and leadership and activity only among the elite. The small school elicits and rewards participation and responsibility among the whole student body as a matter of necessity. What is big? High schools exceeding a population of 500 quickly takes on the dynamics of bigness. Take a walk into most large high schools and you will feel the factory and/ or prison like environment. Even when elaborate security systems are in place to to try and keep track of bodies, they leak students all day long. Look through the yearbooks and see how little participation there is for most students. Then look at the data on dropping out and delinquency among the high -risk students. In contrast, visit a small school. No look of war-zone. No security guards. No students unaccounted for. All this despite the presence of at- risk youth and marginalized students.
James Garberino, Ph.D. and Ellen deLara, Ph. D.Authors;And Words Can Hurt Forever
BE AN ACTIVE ADVOCATE FOR SMALL SCHOOLS / SMALL CLASS SIZE AND THE "SCHOOL WITHIN A SCHOOL" CONCEPT
PUT YOUR TAX DOLLARS TOWARD SCHOOLS THAT CAN SUCCESSFULLY MODEL COMMUNITY, RATHER THAN MORE PRISONS AND THE NEEDS OF SOCIAL SERVICES
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation~Transforming High Schools
"Rigor, Relevance & Relationships" (Bill Gates on the three R's of high schools)
Understand...
The system is greater than the sum of its parts
In a system, all people and all parts of the system are interconnected
The system will always work towards maintaining itself
The system will discourage change
Interactions between people are circular, not simply a series of causes and effects
What Can You Do?
Accept the fact that there is at least some degree of bullying, harassment, and emotional violence in your child's school
Come together with your parenting partner
Sit down and talk to your child
Form a community team with other parents and youth
Make sure your team is really a team
With your team in place talk to your school administrators
Find out about programs in depth
Know the law
Exercise your right to contact your school board president and members of the board
Regroup with your team to share information
Formulate a plan
Insist that adults take responsibility
Challenge the myths of school safety when you hear them
Insist on in-service training for school personnel on verbal abuse and the consequences of bullying, harassment, and emotional violence
Find out your schools policies on bullying and lockdowns in depth
Offer to volunteer your time at school in NEW ways
VOTE
Start teaching your child tolerance at an early age
Know where your child fits in
Ask school administrators to hold school meetings with parents to talk about THE SOCIAL STRUCTURE of the school
Ask what the school is doing to promote social integration across groups
Offer acceptance at home
Help kids have power at school
Help kids to know each other
Consider uniforms
Support character education combined with a comprehensive anti- bullying program
Be clear in your own mind about the answer to the question, "What is bullying?"
Be willing to see bullying behaviors in your child
Take responsibility as an adult if your child is being bullied
Have a discussion with your partner about bullying
Help your child distinguish among types of bullying
Decide to be a child advocate
Remember to look at your school as a system
Listen to your kids
Talk to your kids and the adults at your school about the system warning signs
Know your child
Meet with your group of concerned parents and other citizens in the community to discuss these concepts and how a "broken system" is playing a part
Discuss the concepts of "Who's in charge?"
Call in an outside evaluator
Improve the social climate
Teach assertiveness
Promote friends as supports
Help increase your child's ability for distinguishing cues
Use peer predictability
Understand that discernment is part of being able to "take it"
Talk about specific situations and specific people
Be aware that kids are anxious
Talk to school administrators
Insist on adequate supervision as kids define it
Volunteer to supervise some area of your child's school
Give alot of thought and attention to bus safety
Be an active advocate for small schools and small class size
Advocate the "school within a school" concept
Just as there are community standards for decency, there must be community standards for safety
Ask yourself, "What does this community do to teach tolerance and encourage diversity awareness?"
Insist on evaluation
Ask your child's teacher to seriously consider these suggestions;
Strengthen supervision at your school
Develop a caring community in a caring climate
Recognize that most students want adults to intervene
Challenge old beliefs about what appropriate supervision really is
Encourage a discussion about alternative ideas of teacher professionalism, and extend the discussion to include other adults in the building
Volunteer at your school
Insist on educating the WHOLE child
Get administration talking to ALL kids
James Garbarino, Ph.D. & Ellen deLara, Ph.D Author; And Words Can Hurt Forever
"In a school with a strong sense of community, students are more likely to feel valued and less likely to fall through the cracks". L. K.
VIOLENCE PREVENTION
High school seniors worry most frequently about violence over drug abuse, economic problems, poverty, race relations, or nuclear war.
MOST of the violence prevention programs currently being employed in our schools, conflict resolution, peer mediation, individual counseling, metal detectors, locker searches and sweeps have either not been evaluated or the evaluations have failed to establish any significant, sustained deterrent effects.
MOST violence prevention programs fail to address the underlying causes of violence and focus only on the individual dispositions and fail to address the reinforcements for violence in the social contexts where youth live, with the result that positive changes in the individual’s behavior achieved in the treatment setting are quickly lost when the youth returns home to his or her family, neighborhood, and old friends.
MOST of our resources committed to the prevention and control of youth violence nationally and locally have been invested in untested programs. (No respectable business or corporation would invest millions of dollars in an enterprise without checking to see if it is profitable. No reputable physician would subject a patient to a medical treatment for which there was no evidence of its effectiveness).
As a matter of fact some of the most popular programs have actually demonstrated in careful scientific studies to be ineffective and can even make matters worse.
Many program developers believe they know intuitively that their programs work and do not think that a rigorous evaluation is required to demonstrate this. Unfortunately, this view and policy is very shortsighted considering the negative affects it may have on individual lives and eventually society.
Between 1984-1994 juvenile homicide and arrests for serious crimes have increased 50%.
The standard for the claims of program effectiveness is very low and building a national violence prevention initiative on these claims would be risky.
Nationally, we are investing far more resources in building and maintaining prisons than in primary prevention programs and the evaluations needed to gain tangible evidence that can justify our expenditures on them.
Blueprints for Violence Prevention
In 1996 the Center for the Study and prevention of Violence at the University of Colorado at Boulder, working with William Woodward, Director of the Colorado Division of Criminal Justice, who played the primary role in securing funding from the Colorado Division of Criminal Justice, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency, initiated a project to identify violence prevention programs that meet a very high scientific standard of program effectiveness-programs that could provide an initial nucleus for a national violence prevention initiative.
The objective: to identify truly outstanding programs, and to describe these interventions in a series of “Blueprints”.
Given the high standards set for program selection, the burden for communities mounting an expensive outcome evaluation to demonstrate their effectiveness is removed (approx. one million dollars); this claim is made as long as the program is implemented well.
To date more than 600 delinquency, drug, and violence programs have been reviewed.
Eleven programs have been selected thus far based upon a review and recommendation of the Advisory Board. (Delbert Elliot, Ph.D., Chairman, Tom D.Cook , Ph.D., Denise Gottfredson, Ph.D. ,Peter W. Greenwood, Ph.D. , Hope Hill, Ph.D., Mark Lipsey, Ph.D., Pat Tolan, Ph.D., and Bill Woodward )
Blueprint Selection Criteria:
Strong Research Design
Evidence of Significant Deterrence Effects
Multiple Site Replication
Sustained Effects
Other Criteria:
evidence that change in the targeted risk or protective factors(s) mediated the change in violent behavior
cost data and
the programs willingness to work with the Centers rigorous review components.
(Delbert S. Elliot)
What can schools do about bullying?
After gaining insight on this issue we are sure educators and parents can agree that bully-proofing our schools means changing the very social fabric and overall climate of the school. It deals with supporting and protecting the bullied victims, helping the bullies to change in a pro-social manner and changing the silent majority who are the bystanders into a caring majority by rewarding positive behaviors, kindness and inclusion.
How willing is our society to change this reality, so painful for so many students, in a more positive direction?
There must be no complacency. The ultimate goal must be to eliminate bullying at school.
Without (anonymous) student bully/victim questionnaires, a school staff cannot know the extent of the bully/victim problems in their school. Staff perspective and student perspective are usually at odds. Questionnaires should have third party evaluation and the results should be made public so parents can not only become aware of their childs school climate, they can help the school to change it.
WHAT ARE YOUR SCHOOLS DOING ABOUT BULLYING?
Impression management or serious long-term commitment?
Bullying Prevention Program
A Blueprint Program-An Historical Sketch
Though many are acquainted with “bully/victim problems,” it was not until recently- in the early 1970’s-that efforts were made to study it systematically. For a number of years these attempts were largely confined to Scandinavia. More recently, however, bullying at school has received considerable public and research attention throughout the world.In late 1982, a newspaper reported that three 10-14 year old boys from the northern part of Norway had committed suicide, in all probability as a consequence of severe bullying by peers. This event generated considerable uneasiness in the mass media and general public, and eventually it triggered a chain of reactions which ultimately resulted in a nationwide campaign against bully/victim problems in Norwegian primary and junior high schools, launched by the Ministry of Education in the fall of 1983.
The Bullying Prevention Program was developed, refined, and systematically evaluated by Dan Olweus, Professor of Psychology at the University of Bergen, Norway who is acknowledged as a leading world authority on problems of bullying and victimization. Bullying Prevention Program Evidence Of Effectiveness
Substantial reductions, by 50% or more, in the frequency with which students report being bullied and bullying others; roughly similar results have been obtained with peer and teacher ratings of bully/victim problems
Significant reductions in students’ reports of general anti-social behavior such as vandalism, fighting, theft and truancy: and
Significant improvements in the “social climate” of the class, as reflected in the students’ reports of improved order and discipline, more positive attitude toward schoolwork and school Costs
In addition to costs associated with compensating an on-site coordinator for the project and a one to two day training session, the costs (which will vary with the size of the site) for program expenses consist of approx. $200.00 per school to purchase the Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire and computer program to assess bullying at the school, plus approx. $65.00 per teacher to cover costs of classroom materials Program As Designed And Implemented Goals And Measurable Objectives
The Bullying prevention Program is a multilevel, multi-component program designed to reduce and prevent bully/victim problems. The main arena of the program is the school, and the school staff is primarily responsible for introducing and implementing the program. However, involving students and parents as much as possible in certain program components is also very important.
The main goals of the program are:
To reduce, if not eliminate, existing bully/victim problems in and outside of the school setting
To prevent the development of new bully/victim problems; and
To achieve better peer relations at school and create conditions which allow in particular, victims and bullies to get along and function better in and out side of the school setting.
The goals generalized:
“The school should be a safe and positive learning environment” Targeted Risk Factors And Population Targeted Risk Factors
Antisocial behavior in children and youth is the result of a dynamic interaction between the individual and his or her social ecology-family, peers, school, community. Some of the risk factors, such as children’s personality characteristics (e.g. impulsiveness, low frustration tolerance) or positive attitudes toward violence, are more proximally related to being at risk for bully/victim problems, while others, such as parenting patterns, are more indirectly (distally) related. Targeted Population
The program has both primary prevention (targeted to all students in the school) and secondary prevention (targeted to students at risk or identified as bullies or victims) components. Many of the interventions of the program are directed at the total population of students in a school or particular classroom, not only at targeted, deviant, or at-risk children. As a result, this universal orientation largely avoids problems of selecting students to participate in the program, as well as the possible stigmatization such involvement might cause. The program is designed not only to reduce and prevent undesirable behaviors and attitudes, but also to improve social relationships and enhance pro-social behavior. These characteristics of the program are not only attractive to staff and parents but also make schools more willing to “take ownership of the problems” and to recognize that it is primarily their responsibility to do something about them.
The program is both individual- and environment-or systems-oriented by restructuring the social environment. The program has been implemented in a variety of cultures as well as in metropolitan communities, smaller cities, and rural environments that serve children from a variety of ethnic groups and socioeconomic backgrounds. If implemented properly, the program will likely be effective with other populations, as well. Because the program addresses a problem that seems to be ubiquitous, because its goal is to make the school “a safer and nicer place”, and because the orientation of the program is universally-aimed at the entire population of students in a school or particular classroom- the program is applicable to a wide variety of settings. Program as Designed Core Program Elements
General Prerequisites:
Awareness and Involvement
Two general conditions are crucial in realizing the goals of the program:
(1) that the adults at school, and to some degree, at home become aware of the extent of bully/victim problems in their own school; and
(2) that the adults engage themselves, with some degree of seriousness, in changing the situation.
Unless the principal and a substantial portion of the staff feel some degree of involvement and commitment to the program, relatively little change is likely to occur for the school as a whole, even if the program is “formally implemented”. Since a major goal of the program is to restructure the social environment of the school, half-hearted initiatives should be avoided, both for the school’s sake and to avoid discrediting the program with a lack of noticeable results.
The component measures to combat bullying are implemented at the school, the classroom, and the individual levels. School Level Bullying Prevention Coordinating Committee
The committee must examine all elements of the school’s violence prevention efforts to ensure that they are not at variance with the general philosophy and the underlying principles of the program. Moreover, it must monitor all violence prevention initiatives to ensure that they are being carried out in a manner which complements the activities of the program. The committee should consist of a school administrator, a teacher representative from each grade, a guidance counselor, a school based mental health professional, a parent, a student and a representative from the group of non teaching staff at the school. Furthermore, one of the committee member’s, should be appointed to serve a s a n on-site coordinator and liaison with the program consultant(s). This committee will provide continuity and persistence. Notably, strong support by the principal will considerably increase the chance of the programs success. Anonymous Questionnaire Survey
A simple and effective way of increasing awareness and active involvement on the part of the adults at school is to conduct an anonymous student survey, using the programs questionnaire.
Optimally, it should be administered in late April or May, prior to the launching of program the following fall.A great deal of information will be available when the students’ responses have been processed:
Number and percentage of students who report being bullied, and the frequency of the occurrences
Number and percentages of students who report bullying other students, and the frequency of the occurrences
Forms of bullying that occur
Locations in which bullying occurs
Some characteristics of the perpetrators, including their gender, grade, and number (i.e., whether they act alone or in groups)
Frequency with which teachers and parents have been made aware of the bullying
Frequency with which teachers, peers, and parents have tried to stop the bullying
Schools interested in purchasing the questionnaire:
Requests and payment for the questionnaire and PC program have to be sent directly to:
Dan Olweus, Ph.D.
Research Professor of Psychology
Vognstolbakken 16, N-5096
Bergen, Norway
Tel:(+47) 55 21 23 27; (+47) 55 29 36 12 email: Olweus@online.no
School Conference Day
The school Conference day training should be led by a project consultant.
When the responses to the questionnaire have been processed, the findings should be presented at a school conference in the beginning of the school year. (no less than half-day) All school personnel, including non-teaching staff and the parent on the committee .In addition to raising awareness and creating involvement, an important objective of the school conference day is to create a long-term plan for the school’s implementation and realization of the program. To make this plan concrete and detailed, planners should allow plenty of time for discussion. In sum, the overall aims of the school conference are to provide knowledge and raise awareness about bully/victim problem’s (especially at one’s own school), and to generate enthusiasm, collective commitment, and responsibility for the program. Improving Supervision and Outdoor Environment
Schools must create a well coordinated and effective plan for all non-academic periods which should include a system of exchange of information about bullying episodes and similar events occurring during these times. (i.e.: a common logbook) The mere presence of teachers and other adults is not enough. They must also be prepared to intervene quickly and decidedly in bullying situations, as well as situations where there is only a suspicion that bullying is taking place. Determined and consistent intervention by adults makes clear the attitude: “ We don’t accept bullying in our school,” and sends strong signals to both bullies and other students who might become involved in such activities. In addition, adult intervention helps protect victims. An additional way to counteract bullying is to keep students from becoming bored during their break periods. This is because some youth use bullying as a means of making school life more exciting. Thus, school staff should make a detailed evaluation of the physical characteristics of the environment and if it is attractive and effectively equipped to positively engage the various (sex, age, etc.) children present.
Meetings With Parents
A parent information pamphlet about bullying and the program can be mailed to parents prior to the meeting. When conducting meetings with the parents, the on-site coordinator and/ or members of coordinating committee should present at least the main findings from the bully/victim questionnaire survey. In addition, an overview of the program and results from earlier evaluations should be discussed.. The participants in the meeting should be invited to discuss the school’s plan of action, as well as how parents can help support the program, both in school and at home. Minutes of the meeting and information about the school’s plan of action should be mailed to ALL parents of students.
Classroom Level
Although there may already exist some general school rules or behavioral guidelines, it is of great importance to create a set of both direct and indirect rules, aimed specifically at bullying. By getting students involved in a discussion about the classroom rules, they are more likely to experience greater personal responsibility for conforming to the rules, as well as holding others responsible to them. Rules that are agreed upon by the class should be firmly and clearly stated and posted.
Classroom rules;
We will not bully other students .
We will try to help students who are bullied .
We will make it a point to include ALL students who are easily left out .
When we know somebody is being bullied, we will tell a teacher and an adult at home. (It is important to emphasize that this rule applies also to victims of bullying)
Classroom meetings using various mediums (role playing, essay’s, observations, video’s, literary descriptions, everyday experiences) that clarify the kinds of behavior the rules refer to are effective.
Teachers must convey that telling an adult is not “tattling” and that students are showing compassion by taking the side of the weaker party in an unbalanced power relationship.
Positive and Negative Consequences
Consistency is key. It is important for teachers to establish a positive, friendly, and trusting relationship with the class and its individual students. Teachers should also be aware of their own behaviors relating to the class and its students. In many ways and for many students, the teacher serves as a role model whom they respect and try to emulate. Likewise, the students will not be loyal to the teacher or the classroom rules against bullying if the teacher is sarcastic, unfair, or abusive when interacting with individuals. Verbal praise and friendly attention from teachers are important “social re-inforcers,” and they can, if used systematically and appropriately, exert considerable positive influence on student’s behavior. If a student feels appreciated and relatively well liked it is easier for them to accept criticism of undesirable behavior and attempt to change it. The teacher can reward students for positive rule following behavior such as:
Intervening when one or more students try to bully another
Speaking out against malicious verbal harassment
Calling the teacher’s attention to an acute bullying situation
Telling the teacher or a parent that the student himself or herself or another student is being bullied
Initiating or participating in activities that involve all students without excluding anyone
Taking initiative to include isolated students in common activities;
And showing helpful and friendly behavior in general.
While teachers are preparing to discuss negative sanctions of students, he or she may want to consider the following:
The negative consequence should cause some discomfort without being perceived as hostile, malicious, or unfair.
The teacher should use negative consequences that are easy to administer.
The choice of a negative consequence must to some extent be adapted to the age, sex, and personality of the student; what constitutes a disagreeable experience for one student might not be unpleasant for another
The teacher should search for appropriate “natural” consequences to the rule-violating behavior
As much as possible, a distinction should be made between the person and the behavior; the negative consequence should be directed against the unacceptable behavior, not the person. In addition, the teacher should clearly state in words what he or she is reacting to.
Extra assignments such as homework should not be used as a negative consequence
Classroom Meetings
The issue of adherence to the agreed-upon rules against bullying and students’ satisfaction with school life must be discussed regularly. Classroom meetings can provide a natural forum for teachers and students to develop and clarify rules against bullying and negative consequences for rule violations. The contents and structure of such meetings are somewhat dependent on the age and maturity of the students. However, much of the time in these meetings can be devoted to improving the social relations within the class and the school, including the interaction among students, as well as between students and adults. To promote increased intimacy as well as eye contact, among the members of the group, the chairs should be arranged in a circle or semi-circle. The meeting should be held once a week at the end of the week (not at the last hour) to discuss the weeks events and possible plans for the following week. The classroom meetings can become an important instrument for the uncovering, monitoring, and regulation of the “inner life” of the class.
Classroom-Level Meetings with Parents
Teachers should make parents aware that classroom discussions with their children will be kept fairly general, with no personal identification of bullies or victims. The Bullying video can be shown as a starting point. Key questions that can be discussed include the ways in which schools and parents, separately and in combination, can reduce and prevent the development of bully/victim problems. It is important that the parents concerns are not dismissed by the teacher.
Individual Level
Serious Talks With The Bully or Bullies.
If the teacher strongly suspects that there is a bully/victim problem in the class, he or she should not delay in taking action. It is important to quickly initiate talks with both parties, with the principal present.
In addition to being fairly tough and self confident, many bullies are adept at talking themselves out of tricky situations. To avoid being taken in by such strategies, the teacher should have collected reliable information from several sources about the bullies’ activities. The talks with the bullies should include the following key elements;
We know that you have participated in the bullying of x and this can be documented
A very clear and strong message: “We don’t accept bullying in our school/class and we will see to it that it comes to an end”.
The future behavior of the bully/bullies will be closely monitored
(additional) negative consequences will be imposed if the bullying does not stop
The bullies should be informed that their parents will be contacted
Talks With The Victims
It is extremely important for the victimized student to experience adults who are both willing and able to give him or her any needed help. Talks with the victim, and usually with his or her parents, may serve several functions: First they provide detailed information about individual bullying episodes and various aspects of the bullying. These detailed reports, perhaps supplemented by observations from classmates, can serve as important background material for future work with the problem. A second function of talks with the victim is to provide the victim with detailed information about the teachers plan of action.
Dan Olweus: Author, Bullying At School
Find an Olweus Bullying Prevention Program Trainer In Your State Or Nearby State
US & NEW ZEALAND TRAINERS
BE AWARE !!!!
In a school community, emphasizing the necessity of adult participation in combating bullying is not meant to deny that student participation is also crucial. However bully/victim problems may be both complex and difficult to remedy, and accordingly, they require adult participation, leadership and guidance. To leave it to students to handle bullying problems alone, for example peer mediation or conflict resolution techniques, is definitely not advisable. Such an approach may in fact, represent a disclaimer of adult responsibility and may give school staff the (falsely) reassuring feeling that the problem is being taken care of. It may be added that there is (at least to date) very little research evidence that peer mediation or conflict resolution programs have the intended effects. Even worse, such programs may actually lead to undesirable results. Portraying bully/victim problems as “conflicts,” for example, is inappropriate, in that a conflict usually implies roughly equal “negotiation power” of the parties, that both are partly right and partly wrong, that both must adjust their positions, that a mediator should be impartial and not take sides with any of the parties, and so on. In actuality, bullying represents an abuse and violation of another person’s rights, not a conflict. If mediation were to be used to solve a bully/victim problem, victims may be further humiliated and victimized. In addition, it may trivialize and distort how students, teachers, and parents perceive the problem (conflicts are ubiquitous and part of every day life). Thus, it is critical to avoid using strategies to try to solve bully/victim problems that are at odds with the general philosophy and principles underlying the Bullying Prevention Program. These arguments emphasize the fact that knowledge of appropriate countermeasures, (i.e.., enhanced teacher and, to some extent, parent competence) is of major importance in obtaining good intervention results, as is adult awareness and involvement. These points are further underscored by the fact that there are a number of incorrect myths regarding the causes and solutions to bully/victim problems. Dan Olweus Author; Bullying At School
NO SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT CAN BE REGARDED AS "BULLY PROOF." ANYTIME SEVERAL STUDENTS ARE TOGETHER, ESPECIALLY WHEN THEY CANNOT CHOOSE THE MEMBERS OF THE GROUP THEMSELVES AND WHEN NO ADULT IS PRESENT, TENDENCIES TOWARD BULLYING MAY ARISE. THIS IS A REASONABLE GENERAL ASSUMPTION.
Dan Olweus Author;Bullying At School
Harborside Elementary in Chula Vista California taking proven pro-active measures...click here then type "Teaming Up Against Bullies" in the Search Box to see the i-video
COLUMBINE: UNDERSTANDING "WHY?"
Dylan Klebold's mother, Susan, says "Dylan did not do this because of the way he was raised, he did it in contradiction to the way he was raised." (NYT 5/15/04)
This documentary is a MUST SEE for parents (and educators) !
To order this video call: 1-888-423-1212
(item #AAE-18475)
School Cop
The School Crime Operations Package (School COP) is a free software application for entering, analyzing and mapping incidents (hot spots) that occur in and around schools. Let your school administration know about it!!
www.schoolcopsoftware.com
"9th Annual Statewide Conference For All Connecticut Police Agencies"
Sponsored by the
Connecticut Juvenile Justice AdvisoryCommittee
November 25th, 2003
Presenting Keynote Speaker Randy Wiler, a 25 year law enforcement veteran and expert in identifying and recognizing bullying behaviors.
His presenation "Strategies for Changing Bullying Behaviors" was exceptional! A must see for parents, educators, law enforcement and any agency working with children!
(Thank you Randy for the Olweus Handbook!...
...Hope you're wearing your AGPCAB INC T-Shirt :) )
To order a copy of the VHS tape or DVD call Connecticut Public Affairs Network @
1-860-240-852
Bullying Intervention by Law Enforcement Officers should include:
*Research into their state laws which are applicable to dealing with bullying behaviors, including theft, assault, battery, extortion, etc.
*Completing the investigation before calling parents
*Considering these factors before making arrests; in bullying situations, not arresting both parties just because it appears they are both fighting-the bullied child is most likely not a willing participant-children who bully may lie and shift the blame
*Considering the effect of the Individual Education Plan (IEP)
*Discouraging mediation of bullying incidents
"Not all learning problems reside within the child".D.E.
"When a student embarrasses, ridicules or scorns another student, it is harassment, bullying, or teasing. When a teacher does it, it is sound pedagogical practice". J.R.E.
"The welfare and safety of both children are of concern in every dispute. All efforts to end hurtful behavior are directed in the best interests of the child who is the victim, as well as the child who is doing the hurting". C.M.
School violence is an important component of the daily lives of our children in schools. It affects where they walk, how they dress, where they go, who their friends are, their educational growth and development. As long as educators treat violence at arms’ length, as something that is someone else’ problem, they will continue to neglect the opportunity to intervene in a crucial aspect of the children’s lives. By ignoring school violence, the name-calling, the shoving, the fighting, the harassment, they are condoning it. Our children see many educators walking by, pretending not to notice, and they learn that the way we treat others, the way we interact on the street or in the playground is nobody’s business or controbut our own. Educators must talk about violence, they must recognize it, examine it, dissect it, and let children see and understand its secrets and its sources. Without this examination it remains an ugly secret that society cannot understand or control.
"I've come to the frightening conclusion that I am the decisive element in the classroom. It is my personal approach that creates the climate. It is my daily mood that makes the weather. As a teacher I possess a tremendous power to make a child's life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration. I can humiliate or honor, hurt or heal. In all situations, it is my response that decides whether a crisis will be escalated or de-escalated and a child humanized or de-humanized".
Haim Ginott Veteran Educator
Social Psychology
One of the most important things we need to know is the enormous power a social situation can exert on individual behavior. It is a truism that humans are social animals- they are all deeply influenced by other people and the ways they treat us, as well as by the general social climate of any situation. We tend to underestimate the degree of influence the situation exerts on other people and to overestimate the impact of their personalities as determinants of their behavior. So whenever we observe someone’s negative or nasty behavior, we are prone to assume that the behavior is caused by the kind of person they are, rather than the kind of situation they are in. The important fact is that in the absence of situational information almost all of us leap to the frequently erroneous conclusion that the behavior is caused entirely by flaws in the person’s character or personality. For prevention, we must not confine ourselves to an analysis of the minds of the bullied. We must take a look at the broader social environment in which they are embedded. Most school administrators may not fully understand the profound effect that a hostile, competitive social environment can have on the development of student groups and their attitude toward each other. Hostility between groups can form and become entrenched very easily. Signs of favoritism toward one group and other types of perceived unfairness can increase inter-group antagonism. If schools want to decrease the animosity among cliques, repressing them is not enough. Schools have to offer students a common goal that they can all work together, within a structure that supports a positive sense of belonging. The atmosphere in most classrooms in this country- separating winners from losers. The winners and those in middle ground try to differentiate themselves from the losers. They don’t associate with them; they taunt them; they want the losers to get lost. But, unless they drop out of school, losers don’t disappear. In most cases, they simply suffer in silence, retreating further and further from the mainstream. The more they are ignored or taunted, the further they drift. It is hard to find a middle or high school that goes out of its way to demonstrate a high value on inclusion and cooperation among all students.
The Jigsaw Classroom
First and foremost it is a remarkably efficient way to learn material. But more important, the process encourages listening, engagement, and empathy, by giving each member of the group an essential part to play in the academic activity. Group members must work together as a team to accomplish a common goal. Each person depends on all the others. No student can achieve his or her individual goal (learning the material, getting a good grade) unless everyone works together as a team. Group goals and individual goals complement and bolster each other: This “cooperation by careful design” facilitates interaction among all students in the class, leading them to value one another as contributors to their common task.
www.jigsaw.org
Elliot Aronson Author ;Nobody Left To Hate
U.S. Frames Bullying As Health Issue in 2003
The federal government is planning a $3.4 million campaign to combat bullying, drawing support from more than 70 education, law enforcement, civic and religious groups. With an expected start next year, the effort will frame bullying as a public health concern, targeting kids and the adults who influence them.
The goal is to create a culture change in which bullying is not seen as cool, parents watch for warning signs, kids stand up for each other and teachers are trained to intervene.
Among the campaign's tools are a Web site, animated Web episodes, commercials and a network of nonprofit groups to help raise awareness and offer tips.
Update...
**This campaign launched on March 1, 2004. The campaign website
www.stopbullyingnow.hrsa.gov offers an informative downloadable anti-bullying resource kit or you may order a hard copy of the resource kit for free by calling 1-888-ASK-HRSA. Please take advantage of this material by disseminating it widely among your family, friends, colleagues, local law enforcement and community organizations.
AGPCAB INC sent each CT Superintendent a resource kit.
Additional School Resources
CT Schools are required by law to ENABLE anonymous reporting.
Ways in which they can do that :
*Disseminate appropriate reporting forms to students and parents
*Provide parents and students easy and inconspicuous access to reporting forms
*Provide a suggestion box or two to be used for dropping reporting forms
*Provide an online reporting form on the school website
_____________________________________________________________________________
Schools can help parents help their child by providing parent workshops and fact sheets to parents about bullying
**If your PTA, employer or group would like to sponsor an Prevention Through Awareness event please email
Text Someone -The Anti-bullying System For Schools From Truancy Call LTD that
enables students to report bullying in confidence 24/7 by text, email or phone. |