Creating School Cultures of Health, Safety and Respect A presentation for Staff & Faculty September 2009

Department’s Student Priority: Safety & Well-being 1o f 3 student priorities Our mission: Ensure we exemplify the healthy, safe, and respectful teaching and learning environments where all student diversities are honored and valued. Safety & well-being prerequisite to student academic and social success Establish compassionate and rigorous learning environments Students need to feel safe & secure to maximize their growth potentials in risk-free environments

Our School’s Investment in Prevention Insert copy of your school’s behavioral expectations matrix or core ethical values Appropriate student behaviors are modeled by adults on campus and Acknowledged by adults and students Our goal is to provide 6 positives to 1 negative in recognizing appropriate behaviors

Increased Attention to Bullying National Data 15, 686 students 6th-10th graders (Nansel, 2003) 19% had engaged in bullying behaviors 17% had been victims 6% had been both victims & bullier Increasing number reporting being both Occurs most frequently from grade 6 to 8 Males more than females are bullies & victims Males more physically bullied Females more verbally or psychologically bullied

National Data Secret Service & US DOE Research Report on 37 shootings including Columbine ¾ of student shooters felt bullied, threatened, attacked or injured by others Columbine shooters bullied others Several shooters reported experienced long-term & severe bullying and harassment from peers

Is bullying a problem in Hawaii schools? 2007 Youth Behavioral Risk Survey 2 in 3 middle school students in Hawaii say bullying is a problem 1 in 2 high school students in Hawaii say bullying is a problem 6

Is bullying & harassment a problem? Hawaii Youth Risk Behavioral Survey (YRBS) 2007 Middle School (%) High School (%) Had been hurt by having mean things said to them on internet or email 20 24 Had been hurt by hitting, punching, or kicking while on school property one or more times 33 Had been hurt by having mean things said to them while on school property 45 Had been harassed because someone thought they were gay, lesbian, or bisexual 10 13 2007-08 Hawaii DOE Official Enrollment Count 35,584 Middle School Students (68% ~ 24,179) 2007-08 Hawaii DOE Official Enrollment Count 82,681 High School Students (55% ~ 25,903) Total of 50,000 students in public schools identify harassment and bullying by other students as a problem at school. Hawaiian student were also 4 times more like to believe harassment and bullying was a problem at their school than US students. 7

When Bullying Happens . . . Bully Bystander All in the triangle are impacted. Any bullying prevention/intervention program must address all three groups. Bystander Victim/Target

Sometimes Hard To Detect Teasing, hitting, pushing can be playful or bullying Takes place in areas not well supervised by adults e.g., schools, homes, or communities Maybe subtle such as: social exclusion, note-passing, threatening looks Many students don't report, fear: Retaliation by student doing the bullying Adults won't take concerns seriously or will act inappropriate in dealing with incident

Myth #1 About Bullying Bullying is same thing as conflict. Bullying = Aggressive behavior, imbalance of power, often repeated over time Student has hard time defending him/herself Conflict = Antagonism among 2 or more people Conflict resolution or mediation sometimes misused to solve bullying Inappropriate message – both are partly right and partly wrong Appropriate message for child who is bullied: “Bullying is wrong and no one deserves to be bullied. We are going to do everything we can to stop it.”

Myth #2 About Bullying Name calling, rumor spreading, etc. Most bullying is physical, i.e., hitting, shoving, kicking. Most common bullying = Verbal bullying Name calling, rumor spreading, etc. Also common = Bully via Social Isolation Shunning, leaving one out on purpose

Myth #3 About Bullying Bullying isn’t serious. It’s just a matter of “kids being kids.” Bullying extremely serious Affects mental well being, academic work & physical health of those targeted Victims Lower self-esteem, higher rates of depression, loneliness, anxiety, & suicidal thoughts More likely avoid school, have higher absenteeism Students who bully More likely engage in other antisocial, violent or troubling behaviors Bystanders Observing incident also be impacted negatively

Myth #4 About Bullying Bullied kids need to learn how to deal with bullying on their own. Many do not have confidence & skills to stop bullying when it happens Should not expect students to deal with bullying on their own Adults play critical roles in helping to stop bullying

Chapter 19 2009 Definition “Bullying” means any written, verbal, graphic, or physical act that a student or group of students exhibits toward other particular student(s) and the behavior causes mental or physical harm to the other student(s); and is sufficiently severe, persistent, or pervasive that it creates an intimidating, threatening, or abusive educational environment for the other student(s).

Impact of Bullying & Harassment Harmful effects well documented in research literature Ranges from feelings of: Shame, fear, loneliness, anger, low self-esteem to decline in academic performance, avoidance of certain places, ostracized by peers, to escalation of overt violence on campus

“Two minutes of bullying can last a lifetime.” 11 year old male, 5th grade student I get called “gay” everyday in the classroom “I want to kill myself. I can’t take it anymore.” Student is outcast & his peers will not touch anything he has prior contact with. Has reported to teacher, counselor, and vice principal, but met with ambivalence. Teachers describe student as “enigma” implying there is little school can do about his inherently provocative personality.

“Two minutes of bullying can last a lifetime.” 16 year old girl moved from foreign country to Hawaii Small group of boys would mock her and mimic her accent every time she stood in front of the class to recite or give a report Over time, she decided never to say another word in class As result, began to fail in class She noted sadly that teacher never intervened even once to stop the harassment & sometimes smiled when the boys made fun of her

“Two minutes of bullying can last a lifetime.” 25-year old tearfully recalls anguish felt as overweight child in elementary school Kids called her “the Whale” She tried very hard to get to stop by bringing students presents But they continued to tease her Eventually became very isolated & ate lunch in the bathroom Became anorexic over the summer At school they called her “anorexic bitch” Yet, no teacher intervened and tried to help her Today she remains severely eating disordered

Types of Bullying Horne and Orpinas, 2007 Physical Verbal Relational Social isolation Sexual (harassment) Cyberbullying Horne and Orpinas, 2007

What Rewards Bullying Behavior? Most common Attention from bystanders Attention and reaction of victim Access to resources (materials, activities) Self –delivered reward

Creating Programs That Work Most effective strategy: “The entire school as a community to change the climate of the school and the norms of behavior.”

Effective Bullying Prevention Program: Establish . . . CLEAR school-wide message that bullying is unacceptable Positive school climate and implement school-wide rules against bullying Incorporate BOE 2109 Character Policy into grade curricula Commitment from all students, parents, and staff that they are part of the anti-bullying solution. Train all school personnel how to prevent and intervene when they witness bullying

Because We Care About You . . .

Teach All Students . . .3 STEP Process How To STOP Something You Don’t Like Teach students the schoolwide “stop signal” Model when experience problem behavior Practice often with student volunteers Walk away Sometimes even when indicate “stop”, problem behavior will continue If this happens, students are to “walk away” from problem Practice “walking away” with student volunteers in class Talk: Report problems to an adult If “stop” & “walk away” does not work, students should “talk” to an adult Model and practice the “talk” technique

However, if in DANGER . . . If any student is in danger, “stop” and “walk” steps should be skipped, and the incident should be reported immediately.

Where Is The Line Between Tattling And Reporting? "Talking" is when you have tried to solve the problem yourself, and have used the "stop" and “walk" steps first “Tattling” is when you do not use the "stop" and "walk away" steps before "talking" to an adult Tattling is when your goal is to get the other person in trouble

Practice Strategies with Students Students who often are verbally, physically aggressive: Pre-correction On-site practice Students who often are Victims: Extra teaching about what might be reinforcing Bystanders Teach 3 step process Teach not to reinforce problem behavior Otherwise bulliers will gain peer attention/objects for inappropriate behavior

Other Prevention Strategies Be visible and vigilant (in hallways, cafeterias, playground…). Increase/improve supervision in areas where bullying tends to occur Weave bullying awareness into the curriculum Be aware of seating arrangements

Other Prevention Strategies Meet the needs of individual students Create an “open-door policy” for students Inform parents about bullying prevention efforts Articles about bullying prevention in school newsletter

Reflection . . . Think about a time when you were truly respected. How can we create those feelings of being respected in our classrooms and school? Share 3-5 specific ways

Thank you for being Proactive and Committed!

Table Talk What are possible actions we should continue or initiate as a whole school regarding prevention of bullying and harassment? As classroom teachers and staff? What activities should we initiate/maintain with our school community regarding bullying and harassment?