CREATING AN EFFECTIVE STRATEGY TO COUNTER BULLYING IN SCHOOLS BULLYING IN SCHOOLS PARENT TRAINING AND INFORMATION Presented By: San Elijo Middle School San Elijo Middle School

 Wide spread and underreported  Impacts Students’ sense of security  Long-lasting harmful effects  Victim – psychological harm  Bully – more likely to develop a criminal record  Two-thirds of recent school shootings, the attacker had previously been bullied

 Repeated harmful acts  An imbalance of power  Repeated verbal, physical, or psychological attacks or intimidation  Victim cannot properly defend him/herself  Size or strength  Outnumbered  Less psychologically resilient

 Assault  Tripping  Intimidation  Rumor-spreading  Isolation  Demands for money  Destruction of property  Destruction of valued possessions

 Destruction of another’s work  Name-calling  Sexual harassment  Ostracism based on perceived sexual orientation or gender-identity  Hazing

 Victim Reasons  Fear retaliation  Shame  Fear not believed  Don’t want to worry parents  Nothing will change  Make problem worse  Tell the bully  Seen as a snitch

 Witness Reasons  Make them a target  Not their responsibility “An essential criterion for well educated students: a sense of responsibility for the well-being of others ” There’s Only One Way to Stop a Bully, The New York Times, July 22, 2010.

 Girls  Tend to bully other girls  Disrupt social relationships  Teasing  Gossiping  Social isolation  Rumor-spreading  Boys  Tend to bully boys and girls  Physical aggression  Name calling  Taunting

 Bullies  Aggressive, dominant  Average popularity  Lack empathy for victims  Remain bullies without intervention  Victims  No friends – more likely to be victimized (51%)  Smaller and weaker  Passive/Don’t defend themselves  25% bullied because of race or religion  61% bullied because of actual or perceived sexual orientation

 Low or absent adult supervision  School yard  Cafeterias  Bathrooms  Hallways  Stairwells  Classrooms

 Embarrassment  Psychological and/or physical distress  Low self-esteem  Depression  Frequent absences  Poor health  Poor concentration on school work  Social dysfunction  Insomnia  Anxiety  Attempted suicide

 Disability  Gender  Gender Identity  Appearance/Behavior  Nationality  Race/Ethnicity  Religion  Sexual Orientation

 Spend time with the child, learn and listen  Praise the child for their courage to discuss bullying incidents with you and helpfulness  Ask the child what he/she needs to feel safe and follow through  Urge the child to report any further incidents of bullying

 What doesn’t work  Zero tolerance policies  May discourage reporting  Bullies need positive, pro-social role modeling  Conflict resolution and peer mediation  Bullying is a form of victimization, not conflict  May send inappropriate message  May further victimize the bullied child  Short term solutions  Piecemeal  Will do little to significantly reduce bullying problem

 “I feel safe at school.”  Yes- 73.2%  Sometimes- 24.5%  No- 2.3%

 “How many times has someone called you mean names or made fun of you this school year?”  Never- 36.6%  %  %  %  7 or more- 18.6%

 “How many times have you called someone mean names or made fun of them this school year?”  Never- 59.0%  %  %  %  7 or more- 4.9%

 “How many times have you been excluded or felt alone this school year?”  Never- 44.8%  %  %  %  7 or more- 10.0%

 “How many good friends do you have at school?”  None- 2.5%  %  %  %  4 or more- 84.9%

 “If you saw someone being bullied at school, would you try to stop it?”  Yes- 53.0%  No- 4.2%  Maybe- 30.3%  Not sure- 12.5%

 Where have you been bullied at school? (students can pick more than one)  In the classroom- 46.5%  In the restroom- 16.8%  In the cafeteria- 34.5%  In the parking lot- 13.4%  On the computer- 18.6%  On the playground- 35.8%  In the hallway- 35.8%  On the stairways- 26.1%  In the locker rooms- 31.3%  On the phone- 23.3%

 Focusing on the social environment of the school  It is “uncool” to bully  It is “cool” to help students who are bullied  It is normal for staff to notice incidents of bullying and to intervene

 Assessed bullying at all school and staff’s commitment to address it  Administered anonymous student questionnaire to assess the nature, extent, and location of bullying problems in your school  Administered staff questionnaire to assess the staff’s understanding of the bullying problems in their schools  Held parent information trainings

 Established and enforce rules and policies  Adopt comprehensive policies that include ALL protected classes  Post rules in every classroom  Discuss rules with students and parents  Develop positive and negative consequences

 Increased adult supervision in “hot spots” identified by survey  Focused some class time on bullying  minutes bi-weekly  Candid discussion about bullying and potential harm  Provided tools to students to address bullying  Incorporated anti-bullying themes and messages into curriculum

 SEMS has formed a group to coordinate prevention activities  Administrator, teacher from each grade, non- teaching staff, school counselor, and hopefully adding a parent and student representative  Meet regularly, review data, motivate staff, students, and parents, ensure continuing efforts over time

 San Elijo Middle School  Counselor A-L= Celena Breining   #  Counselor M-Z= Michelle Santiago   #  Assistant Principal A-L= Gary DeBora   #  Assistant Principal M-Z= Virginia Kim   #