District-wide Anti-Bullying Program and Its Impact on Student Learning

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District-wide Anti-Bullying Program and Its
Impact on Student Learning

• Jean Greco, Program Supervisor of K-12
  Guidancejgreco_at_cpsed.net
• Karen Carnevale, Elementary School
  Counselorkcarnevale_at_cpsed.net
• Cranston (Rhode Island) Public Schools

ASCA 2006 Conference, Chicago, Illinois
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Bullying Statistics

• Six out of 10 American teens witness bullying at
  least once a day. National Crime Prevention
  Council, 2003
• Approximately 5 of students reported in 2003
  that they had either skipped school or avoided
  specific places at school because they were
  fearful
• 29 percent of public schools reported that
  student bullying occurred on a daily or weekly
  basis. Indicators of School Crime and Safety
  2003
• For children in grades 610, nearly one in sixor
  3.2 millionare victims of bullying each year and
  3.7 million are bullies. Fight Crime Invest in
  Kids, September 2003

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More Disturbing Statistics

• Playground statistics Every 7 minutes a child is
  bullied.
• Adult intervention 4
• Peer intervention 11
• No intervention 85
• Nearly 60 percent of boys who researchers
  classified as bullies in grades 69 were
  convicted of at least one crime by the age of 24
  40 percent of them had three or more convictions
  by 24. Fight Crime Invest in Kids, 2003
• Harassment and bullying have been linked to 75
  percent of school-shooting incidents, including
  the fatal shootings at Columbine High School near
  Littleton, Colorado, and Santana High School in
  Santee, California. US Secret Service Report,
  2002

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Cranston Public SchoolsDefinition of Bullying

• Bullying occurs when an individual or group,
  while at school, intentionally assaults, batters,
  threatens, harasses, stalks, menaces,
  intimidates, extorts, humiliates, taunts, shuns
  or maliciously spreads rumors about others or
  participates in the organizing of others to
  engage in any of the aforementioned.

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Bullying verbal, written or physical behavior
usually of some duration

• Physical
• Racial
• Sexual
• Homophobic

• Pushing, kicking, hitting, any use of violence
• racial taunts, graffiti, gestures
• unwanted physical attention or contact, sexually
  abusive comments
• focusing on sexuality or sexual preference

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Bullying

• Social Emotional

• Intentionally unfriendly
• Name-calling
• Sarcasm
• Spreading rumors
• Taunting
• Deliberately excluding
• Treating with disrespect
• Tormenting (i.e. hiding books, threatening
  gestures)

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RI General Assembly

• In February 2003 declared that bullying
  disrupts a schools ability to educate students
  and threatens public safety by creating an
  atmosphere in which such behavior can escalate
  into violence

• By September 2004 required every district to
  have policy that addresses bullying and ensures
  protection of the right of all students to learn
  in a safe and supportive environment free from
  harassment, intimidation or bullying.

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Cranston Public Schools Policy

• The Cranston Public Schools recognizes that
  each student, staff member, teacher, and
  administrator has a right to attend/or work in
  schools, that are safe and secure and are
  conducive to learning, free from threat of
  physical or emotional harm, actual or implied. It
  is the policy of the CPS that harassment and/or
  bullying of students by other students,
  personnel, or the public will not be tolerated.

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Anti-Bullying Policy

• This policy is in effect while students are
• on school grounds
• property immediately adjacent
• using school transportation
• at bus stops
• attending school-sponsored activities
• and while away from school grounds if the
  misconduct directly affects the good order,
  efficient management, and welfare of the school
  district.

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Anti-BullyingImplementation Plan

• Established a Collaborative Environment
• Identified Desired Outcomes
• Determined Professional Development Need
• Provided Professional Development Beginning with
  Administrators
• Administrators Responsible for Implementing
  Program in Their Schools
• Schools had Flexibility in Their Design
• Created Advocacy Projects
• Collected and Analyzed Data

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Elementary Interventions

• Developmental Guidance Lessons
• Individual Counseling
• Small Group Sessions
• School-wide Assemblies
• School-wide Programs
• Data Collection and Analysis

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Two Elementary SchoolsPre and Post Test Results
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An Elementary SchoolFrequency of Bullying
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An Elementary SchoolWhere Bullying Occurs
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Comparison ofTwo Elementary Schools
Do Bullies Go Away if You Ignore Them?
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Middle School Interventions

• School-wide Intervention Plans
• Faculty Workshops with Guest Speakers
• School-wide Programs/Assemblies
• Project Respect
• Words of Wisdom
• Classroom Developmental Guidance Lessons

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Middle School Interventions

• Small Groups for Offenders
• Students as Mediators
• Parent Education (Pamphlets, Meetings, Guest
  Speakers)
• Staff Monitoring of Unstructured Areas
• Community Involvement

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Two Year Study of Discipline Referrals for
Bullying at PVMS

sss
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Words of Wisdom Survey
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High School Interventions

• Motivational Assemblies
• Advisories
• Freshmen Mentoring
• Activity Programs
• Diversity Week
• Mix It Up for Lunch Day
• Project Respect

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Data Collection Analysis

• Administrators pre and post survey
• Student pre and post survey
• Staff survey
• Discipline data
• School climate SALT data

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Administrators Pre/Post Survey (2005-2006)
My School Has a Bullying Problem.
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Lessons Learned

• Collect/Analyze Data
• Plan Program
• Educate Staff
• Educate Students
• Educate Parents
• Be Proactive
• Be Consistent
• Apply School-wide

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Resources

• The Bully, the Bullied, and the Bystander by
  Barbara Coloroso
• Odd Girl Out by Rachel Simmons
• Bully Free Classroom by Allan Beane
  www.freespirit.com
• www.operationrespect.org
• www.StopBullyingNow.hrsa.gov
• www.fcclainc.org
• www.safeteen.ca
• www.teachingtolerance.org
• www.cscor.org