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Bullying policies being created in midstate schoolsJul 31, 2011 (The Macon Telegraph - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Middle Georgia school districts are putting new guidelines in place to comply with the state's anti-bullying law, an attempt to deal with a growing national problem. According to the website bullyingstatistics.org, about 2.7 million students nationwide were bullied in 2010 and about 2.1 million students bullied their classmates. It's much more difficult to tally midstate bullying statistics, in part because many incidents haven't previously been classified as bullying. In Bibb County, for example, school tussles have been classified simply as fights, whether or not they were caused by bullying. So while Bibb County officials can say how many fights took place in the 2010-11 academic year, they can't determine how many of those fights arose from a bullying incident. But that's about to change. As part of the Georgia Bullying Law, the state is requiring every public school system by Monday to add specific anti-bullying guidelines to their student codes of conduct. Administrators will now classify every incident that involves bullying with a specific code so that data can be tracked. "The (current) data is convoluted," said Edward Judie, the Bibb County school system's new deputy superintendent of student affairs. "It's not that we're not tracking it. It's that it's integrated into other categories. What we've decided is that if we can identify (bullying), we can get a baseline. We're going to identify if it's online (bullying) or physical." Judie noted that a school fight isn't necessarily a sign of bullying. Students get in fights over boyfriends and girlfriends, personal property and other reasons. And bullying doesn't have to involve physical contact. Nationwide, the trend of cyber bullying -- attacking a person on a social network such as Facebook or Twitter, for example -- continues to rise. According to statistics gathered by the iSafe Foundation, a Carlsbad, Calif., group that specializes in dealing with online threats against youth nationwide: -- More than half of adolescents and teens have been bullied online, and about the same number have engaged in cyber bullying. -- More than 1 in 3 young people have experienced cyber threats online. -- More than 25 percent of adolescents and teens have been bullied repeatedly through their cell phones or the Internet. -- More than half of young people do not tell their parents when cyber bullying occurs. Some data for Middle Georgia bullying incidents does exist, thanks to a state student health survey conducted for the 2010-11 school year in Jones County. Of those surveyed, 14 percent of middle and high school students in Jones County said they had been bullied at least once, but less than 2 percent said they had been bullied every day for the 30-day period in question. Nine percent said they had bullied others. In a 2009-10 survey in Monroe County, more than 22 percent of 6th-, 8th- and 10th-grade students responded that they had experienced bullying at least once. Just under 13 percent said they had bullied others during that period of time. Both counties adopted their current bullying policies in recent months -- Jones County in March and Monroe County in May. The Jones County policy allows for procedures to be developed at each school encouraging employees, students and others to report bullying activity. Monroe County's policy urges staff to involve other school system professionals, such as social workers and counselors and "use other interventions if needed to address the social-emotional, behavioral and academic needs of students who are the victims of bullying and students who commit the offense of bullying." Houston County schools are taking a similar approach to discipline. School officials there will document each bullying incident. While districts' policies allow for "appropriate disciplinary action" in the event of bullying, they also make clear that middle and high school students involved in a third instance of bullying within a school year will be assigned to an alternative school, in accordance with the state law. Proactive approach Steve Corkery, director of psychological services for the Bibb County school system, said the district is trying to be as proactive as possible in curbing all bullying incidents. He noted that school counselors have received training to address bullying, even if it doesn't take place on school property or if it occurs in cyberspace. "Our counselors can defuse the situation," he said. "We have real good sources. We can have a discussion with (students involved in incidents) and cool them down." Chris Floore, spokesman for the Bibb school system, said bullying has been a source of concern for parents and students in the district. During a series of community forums conducted by Superintendent Romain Dallemand, questions about bullying were asked at each one. Judie said the best way for the system to cut down on bullying is to reach the students themselves. "We're training the students to prevent this kind of behavior," he said. "We want to be out in front of it. We're developing skill sets, and our counselors and teachers are helping kids work through some things. Our staff is right on course -- be responsive prior to (a situation) getting blown out of proportion." Burdell-Hunt Elementary School assistant principal Sonya Thomas said the school held an assembly earlier this year to teach students about the effects of bullying. She said the school had three or four bullying incidents last year. Thomas said she defines bullying as a series of acts by one student toward another rather than a single, isolated incident. With new bullying rules in place and a better understanding of the issues, her students are much more willing to report incidents than in the past, she said. One way Bibb County is educating students and parents about bullying is by revising the system's code of conduct. The handbook for the 2010-11 academic year is 90 pages long, and Floore said much of it is written in legal-style language, making it difficult for parents and students to absorb. Floore said Dallemand wants the code of conduct to be five to 10 pages long and be written much more clearly. Houston County school officials are implementing a three-pronged approach to curb bullying, making sure students, staff and parents are informed about the issue, said Linda Horne, assistant superintendent for operations. Teachers have been trained to identify and address bullying incidents among students already, Horne said. Faculty members also will take the time to discuss the rules with students. Come Monday, when school starts in Houston County, students will see anti-bullying signs at their schools. Parents, who will receive information about the new anti-bullying rules, also will be notified if their children become involved on either side of a bullying incident. "We believe parents need to be talked to and educated, as well as the staff, on what bullying is," Horne said. Schools may also address bullying beyond the board policy in place, Horne said. At Warner Robins High School, for example, an existing student peer intervention group may work with those involved in bullying. While Houston County schools had methods to address bullying in the past, having a formalized plan takes those efforts further, she said. "We're making sure the plans are in place and doing what we need to do," she said. Houston County's policy, adopted in May, also incorporates cyber bullying. While cyber bullying hasn't been much of an issue in the school system yet, Horne said it may be something the district may deal with more in the future with the use of technology on the rise. "We want to address every way a child is bullied at school," Horne said. Bullyingstatistics.org said that enough suicides among children are linked to bullying that a new term, "bullycide," has been coined. Even if a victim doesn't commit bullycide, there are other effects linked to bullying besides physical harm. These effects can often include declining grades and increased school absences. Bibb County's Judie said it's not only a matter of creating a safe environment for students, but it's also trying to develop better character in the students who take part in bullying. "Part of prevention is letting (students) know that this behavior is not acceptable," he said. "We're building the character of our students, and we want to emphasize that. ... We want you to succeed in school, and (good behavior) is part of the guidelines for success." Telegraph writers Caryn Grant and Andrea Castillo contributed to this report. To contact writer Phillip Ramati, call 744-4334. To see more of The Macon Telegraph, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.macon.com Copyright (c) 2011, The Macon Telegraph, Ga. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com. |