1. 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

2.  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

3.  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

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

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

6.  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

7.  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.

8.  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

9.  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

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

11.  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

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

13.  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

14.  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

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

16.  “How many times has someone called you mean names or made fun of you this school year?”  Never- 36.6%  1-2- 27.9%  3-4- 12.8%  5-6- 4.1%  7 or more- 18.6%

17.  “How many times have you called someone mean names or made fun of them this school year?”  Never- 59.0%  1-2- 29.0%  3-4- 5.8%  5-6 1.3%  7 or more- 4.9%

18.  “How many times have you been excluded or felt alone this school year?”  Never- 44.8%  1-2- 29.8%  3-4- 10.6%  5-6- 4.8%  7 or more- 10.0%

19.  “How many good friends do you have at school?”  None- 2.5%  1- 2.0%  2- 4.6%  3- 6.0%  4 or more- 84.9%

20.  “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%

21.  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%

22.  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

23.  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

24.  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

25.  Increased adult supervision in “hot spots” identified by survey  Focused some class time on bullying  20-30 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

26.  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

27.  San Elijo Middle School  Counselor A-L= Celena Breining  celena.breining@smusd.org celena.breining@smusd.org  #760-290-2809  Counselor M-Z= Michelle Santiago  michelle.santiago@smusd.org michelle.santiago@smusd.org  #760-290-2838  Assistant Principal A-L= Gary DeBora  gary.debora@smusd.org gary.debora@smusd.org  #760-290-2823  Assistant Principal M-Z= Virginia Kim  virginia.kim@smusd.org virginia.kim@smusd.org  #760-290-2824