A Bullying Prevention Program

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A Bullying Prevention Program

• Baldwin-Whitehall School District
• Donna K. Milanovich, Ed.D.
• Randal A. Lutz

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Advice from Kids

• When kids tease, I imagine Im a big tree. I
  imagine their words are the wind blowing through
  the branches, but they cant hurt the tree.
• Melissa, 7

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Advice from Kids

• A boy in my class kept calling me a dork. My
  dad told me to think about the time I made a goal
  in soccer and everybody cheered when I did.
• Matt, 10

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Advice from Kids

• Some girls were cutting be out and making mean
  remarks about my clothes. I told myself,
  theyll get tired of this if you dont react.
  You can handle it. You have other friends.
• Tessa, 13
• McCoy, Elin, What To DoWhen Kids Are Mean To
  Your Child, Kid Tactics 1 Stay Calm Ignore
  It, page 55.

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Session Goals

• Participant will be able to
• Define bullying/victimization
• Review current literature on bullying/victimizatio
  n
• Identify components of an effective bullying
  prevention program
• Review awareness activities and resources
  appropriate for professional development and
  classroom use

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Guiding Questions

• 1. Define the term bullying/victimization and
  discuss at least four scenarios of
  bullying/victimization that include two direct
  and two indirect forms.

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Guiding Questions

• 2. Describe the scope of the bullying/victimizat
  ion problem facing schools. Include facts or
  statistical examples to support the description.

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Guiding Questions

• 3. Summarize the elements of Olweuss
  research-based bullying prevention program.
  Include program goals, target population,
  prerequisites, and components in the answer.

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Why implement a district bullying prevention
program?
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Bullying Statistics

• 15 or one in seven school children are involved
  in bully-victim problems. Of those children,
  about 9 are victims and 7 are bullies.
• One in ten students is regularly harassed or
  attacked by bullies.
• In a mid-sized school, bullying happens once
  every 7 minutes.

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Bullying Statistics

• One long-term study showed that 60 of the boys
  who were named as bullies in middle school had at
  least one criminal conviction by age 24.
• By the age of 7 or 8, bullies are already in the
  habit of misinterpreting innocent behavior as an
  attack.
• 7 of American 8th graders miss school monthly in
  order to avoid bullies.

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Bullying Statistics

• 87 of the 15,000 4th grade students surveyed by
  the Weekly Reader reported being bullied.
• The percentage of students who report being
  victims of bullying decreases with age (grades
  2-9). While 16 to 17 of 2nd grade students
  reported being bullied, only 3 of girls and 6.5
  of boys reported bullying incidents by grade 9.

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Myth or fact?

1. Determine whether each of the listed statements
   is a myth or a fact.
2. Discuss your response with a partner.
3. Check your response against the answers in the
   book.

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Baldwin-Whitehall Bullying Prevention Program

• Based upon the research of Professor Dan Olweus

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Bullying or Victimization

• A student is being bullied or victimized when he
  or she is exposed, repeatedly and over time, to
  negative actions on the part of one or more other
  students.
• Olweus, 1986 and 1991

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Types of Bullying

• Direct Bullying
• Verbal attacks
• Physical attacks

• Indirect Bullying
• Social exclusion
• Slandering
• Spreading rumors

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Share a personal experience
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Baldwin-Whitehall School DistrictBullying
Prevention Program

• Program Goals
• Reduce existing bully/victim problems
• Prevent development of new bully/victim problems
• Achieve better peer relations

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Baldwin-Whitehall School DistrictBullying
Prevention Program

• Targeted Population
• Primary Target
• All students
• Secondary Target
• At-risk students
• Bullies
• Victims

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Baldwin-Whitehall School DistrictBullying
Prevention Program

• General Prerequisites
• Awareness of the problems
• Involvement of all adults in the school

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Baldwin-Whitehall School DistrictBullying
Prevention Program

• Program Components
• School level
• Classroom level
• Individual level

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Baldwin-Whitehall School DistrictBullying
Prevention Program

• School Level
• Bullying Prevention Committee
• Survey
• School Conference Day (In-service)
• Staff Supervision
• Parent Meetings

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Baldwin-Whitehall School DistrictBullying
Prevention Program

• Classroom Level
• Rules Against Bullying
• Positive and Negative Consequences
• Student Meetings
• Parent Meetings

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Student Meetings

• Introduced to students as a tool for behavior
  intervention
• Allow both the teacher and students to resolve
  problems before they become major issues
• Involve students in solving their own problems
• Provide students opportunity to improve their
  social and problem-solving skills
• Jones Jones, (2001)

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Student Meetings

• Guidelines for Implementation
• Teacher and students seated in a circle
• All problems relating to class as a group can be
  discussed
• Agenda created for each meeting
• Discussion focused on solutions that are not
  punishments
• Student permission for individual issues
• Student responsibilities during the meetings
• Role of facilitator

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Baldwin-Whitehall School DistrictBullying
Prevention Program

• Individual Level
• Conference with the Bully/Bullies
• Conference with the Victim(s)
• Parent Meetings

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Baldwin-Whitehall School DistrictBullying
Prevention Program

• Rules for Bully-Proofing Our School
• We will not bully other students
• We will help others who are being bullied by
  speaking out and by getting adult help
• We will use extra effort to include all students
  in activities at our school

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Baldwin-Whitehall School DistrictBullying
Prevention Program

• Playground Behavior
• Rough and Tumble Play
• Fighting
• Bullying

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Baldwin-Whitehall School DistrictBullying
Prevention Program

• Effective Verbal Rebukes
• Intervene early in the course of events
• Approach the student(s) who are to be rebuked
• Look the student(s) in the eyes
• Be brief, clear, and behavior-specific
• Be firm and determined, but not overly emotional
• Do not make empty threats
• Olweus, (1999)

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Baldwin-Whitehall School DistrictBullying
Prevention Program

• Talking with the Bully
• Indicate that the facts are known (documentation)
• Give a stop bullying message seriously and
  firmly
• Share that the situation will be watched closely
• State that additional and more serious
  consequences will follow if the bullying continues

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Baldwin-Whitehall School DistrictBullying
Prevention Program

• Practice Bullying Intervention Skills

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Baldwin-Whitehall School DistrictBullying
Prevention Program

• Getting started in your district