BULLYING PREVENTION THE EVERY STUDENT SUCCEEDS ACT

KNOWLEDGE IS POWERMcGowan. But McGowan and his team didn’t stop there.District leaders wanted to know how they could furtherimprove the learning climate for students. In fall 2015, Brightonissued a school climate survey to gather feedback fromstudents, staff, and parents. A follow-up survey was issued inspring 2016 to explore the findings from the first survey inmore detail, and the results have helped shape the district’spriorities moving forward.Although students reported that they felt safe at school, thesurveys revealed that bullying off campus was still a problem—especially cyber bullying. This insight prompted McGowan andhis staff to place more emphasis on teaching students properonline behavior.Having data to show what its needs were helped ensure thatBrighton was on the right path; it also paved the way forgreater community support around the problem.The surveys were “essential in demonstrating to thecommunity that this wasn’t just one person’s plan,” McGowansays. “It was a community plan for building on our success.”“Parents knowthat safety is notsomething we takelightly. If there areany issues, we wantto know about them.”BRYAN DILLONCHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER,CLOVER SCHOOL DISTRICT (SC)One of Brighton’s priorities is making sure that every studenthas a personal connection to a trusted adult. But even withinsuch a supportive environment, fewer than half of students arelikely to alert an adult if they are being bullied, studies suggest.Why don’t more students ask for help? StopBullying.gov lists anumber of reasons: BULLYING CAN MAKE A CHILD FEEL HELPLESS.Students might want to handle it on their own to feel incontrol again. They might fear being seen as weak or atattletale. STUDENTS MIGHT FEAR BACKLASH from the personwho bullied them. BULLYING CAN BE A HUMILIATING EXPERIENCE.Students might not want adults to know what is being saidabout them, whether it’s true or false.Listen to studentsListening to what students have to say and giving them a safeplace to express their concerns and report abuse is a criticalelement of any school-based anti-bullying plan. In addition toclimate surveys, McGowan and his staff have worked to createan environment in which students feel comfortable sharingtheir concerns with an adult.“I think we broadly preach that message, but it only happenswhen we constantly consider our relationship with kids andtreat them with respect,” he says. “We have to address theirconcerns openly and transparently and then follow through forthem. That has to happen on an everyday basis and in everyinteraction. When we do that, students are much more likely toturn to adults as partners in this process.”Because students might be reluctant to tell an adult, evenif they believe their problems will be taken seriously, manyschools have given students a way to report threats orconcerns anonymously.South Carolina’s Clover School District has an anonymoustipline that students and parents can use to send messagesto school or district leaders. All reports are thoroughlyinvestigated, and Chief Information Officer Bryan Dillonsays the tipline—and subsequent follow-through byadministrators—helps build the community’s trust in thedistrict.“Parents know that safety is not something we take lightly,” hesays. “If there are any issues, we want to know about them.”WWW.K12INSIGHT.COM9

THE SCHOOL LEADER’S DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO BULLYING PREVENTIONKNOWLEDGE IS POWERRecognize the warning signsThere are many indicators to suggest that someone might be bullied or is bullying others.Recognizing these warning signs is an important prevention strategy, because two-thirds ofstudents who are bullied never report the incident to a parent or educator.SIGNS A CHILD MIGHTBE BULLIED Unexplainable injuries Lost or destroyed clothing,books, electronics, or jewelrySIGNS A CHILD MIGHTBE BULLYING OTHERS Gets into physical or verbal fights Has friends who bully others Is increasingly aggressive Frequent headaches or stomachaches, feeling sick or faking illness Gets sent to the principal’s officeor to detention frequently Changes in eating habits, likesuddenly skipping meals or bingeeating. Has unexplained extra money ornew belongings Difficulty sleeping or frequentnightmares Declining grades, loss of interestin schoolwork, or not wanting togo to school Sudden loss of friends oravoidance of social situations Blames others for his or herproblems Doesn’t accept responsibility foractions Is competitive and worries aboutreputation or popularity Feelings of helplessness ordecreased self-esteem Self-destructive behaviors suchas running away from home,harming themselves, or talkingabout suicideFor more, visit K12 Insight at www.K12insight.comSource: StopBullying.gov10

ADVERTISEMENTGiving students a voiceSchools have several options when trying to engage students and families in critical conversations about student safety and bullying.What’s important is that everyone has a safe place to express their concerns, and to report abuse.The Brighton Central School District in New York and Clover School District in South Carolina are two of hundreds of schooldistricts nationwide that partner with K12 Insight to gather insights about bullying and other school safety and climate issues usingEngage, the company’s cloud-based survey solution.School districts use Engage to design, promote,administer and analyze student and climate surveys.The goal: to ask the right questions, elicit honestfeedback from parents and students and use reliabledata to create an action-based plan around bullyingprevention and awareness in schools.Engage from K12 InsightFor more about Engage climate surveys, visit:www.K12insight.com/engageWhen surveys aren’t enoughSurveys are a great way to get feedback from your schoolcommunity. But, when it comes to critical issues like bullying,sometimes they aren’t enough.Students and parents need a way to contact teachers oradministrators, and to express concerns or report abuse inreal-time, as it’s happening.Let’s Talk!, from K12 Insight, aims to create a safe place wherestudents, parents and others can send feedback or concerns. Accessiblefrom any device, the Let’s Talk! app allows students and others to contactLet’s Talk!school officials 24/7. No call centers or general mailboxes. Each personalfrom K12 Insightmessage is immediately routed to the right team member to issuea prompt response. A special Critical Alerts featureallows administrators to set immediate alertsInterested in learning more about howfor key topics, such as student health or violenceLet’s Talk! can help your schools givestudents a louder voice against bullying?in schools. When leaving feedback, parents andSign up for a free demo:students can choose to leave their names or remainwww.K12insight.com/lets-talkanonymous, ensuring they always feel protectedand safe when engaging with the school.Dialogue DetailsDoneThis is d byObservationPhone CallLetterIn-PersonOtherReceived fromStudentParent 11

THE SCHOOL LEADER’S DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO BULLYING PREVENTIONCHANGE THE CULTUREAddress the underlying causeListening to students’ concerns and intervening to stop bullying are important, but K12leaders also must focus on prevention. And that starts by fostering the right school culture,as Brighton has done with its Brighton Beliefs program.“School leaders must address the underlying cause of bullying, which is a lack of emotionalintelligence—a set of skills for understanding, communicating about, and regulating feelings,”says Ross Ellis, founder and chief executive of STOMP Out Bullying. “Social and emotionallearning must be a major component in bullying prevention efforts from preschool to highschool classrooms and at home.”In Newton, Mass., the public school system received a five-year, 2 million grant to makeits schools safer and its climate more accepting by adopting a multi-tiered approachto teaching kindness and respect.12If children are nottaught empathy,then bullying willcontinue to bepervasive in ourschools.”ROSS ELLIS,FOUNDER ANDCHIEF EXECUTIVE,STOMP OUT BULLYING

CHANGE THE CULTUREThe Newton Public Schools have created a Social andEmotional Learning Department that functions like any otheracademic department. The district is using the ResponsiveClassroom model, a research-based approach for integratingsocial and emotional learning into the K-8 curriculum, to be“preventive rather than reactive” in heading off bullying, saysAmy Kelly, who leads the department.“When you have a safe, supportive, and responsive school, youhave a school that is bully-proof,” Kelly says.To support the development of this kind of environment,Newton has established Responsive School Teams in each ofits 19 elementary and middle schools. These teams include adiverse array of staff members, such as administrators, generaleducation teachers, and special-education teachers.Every teacher is required to take a Responsive Classroomcourse within their first five years of teaching, and theResponsive School Teams provide additional training andsupport. “We have taken a team-based approach to capacitybuilding,” Kelly explains.3 KEYS TO KINDNESSDriven by a desire to protect the health and well-being of students, Brighton and Newton areinstilling a culture of kindness and respect in their schools. Here are three keys to their success:Set clear expectations—and be consistent“We’re trying to make sure we have the same expectations for students in all areas of our schools,” says AmyKelly, department head for social and emotional learning at Newton Public Schools in Massachusetts, “and thoseexpectations are taught, modeled, and practiced constantly.” If everyone understands these expectations—including staff—then the adults in each building can respond to situations consistently, she said, which helpsreinforce correct behavior.Involve parents“Developing partnerships with parents is essential to making sure the message is reinforced at home, andthat everybody is buying into our approach to character development,” says Kevin McGowan, superintendent,Brighton Central School District in New York.In Newton, teachers who have been trained in the Responsive Classroom approach are using their open housenights to explain the mode

the school leader’s definitive guide to bullying prevention 6 3 strategies for k12 leaders stopbullying.gov, a program from the u.s. departments of education, justice, and health and human services, offers a number of resources to help k12 leaders prevent bullying. here are three key suggestions #1 assess bullying in your schools.