Bullying, Harassment, or Intimidation Reporting

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Bullying, Harassment, or Intimidation Reporting

• Woodlin Elementary School

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Agenda

• History of Reporting Procedures
• Definition of Bullying
• Signs of Bullying
• What is Woodlin E.S. Doing to Address Bullying?
• Literature on Bullying
• Survey Data
• Reporting Procedures
• Resources
• Student Council Skit
• Questions

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Have You Been Bullied?

• Talk to another Woodlin parent/guardian and tell
  them the name of a bully you encountered during
  your youth or adulthood. What made that person a
  bully?

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History

• 2005 - Safe Schools Reporting Act
• All school systems in MD have a process for
  reporting and investigating instances of
  bullying, harassment, or intimidation
• 2008 MD General Assembly
• MD Board of Education directed to develop and
  adopt a model policy prohibiting bullying,
  harassment, or intimidation in schools

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History

• 2009 MCPS
• Created a draft bullying policy
• Under review and comment with the Board of
  Education Policy Subcommittee as part of the
  approval process
• June 2010 Board of Education
• Adopted Policy JHF to comply MD law
• http//www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/pol
  icy/jhf.shtm

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Bullying Definition

• Bullying is aggressive behavior that is
  intentional and that involves an imbalance of
  power or strength. Typically, it is repeated
  over time. A child who is being bullied has a
  hard time defending himself or herself.
• www.StopBullyingNow.hrsa.gov

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Types of Bullying

• Physical Bullying hitting or punching
• Verbal Bullying teasing or name calling
• Non-Verbal Bullying or Emotional Bullying
  intimidation through gestures or social exclusion
• Cyber-Bullying sending insulting messages by
  text or email
• www.StopBullyingNow.hrsa.gov

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Signs of Bullied Students

• Comes home with torn, damaged, or missing
• pieces of clothing, books, or other
  belongings
• Has unexplained cuts, bruises, and scratches
• Has few, if any friends, with whom he or she
• spends time
• Seems afraid of going to school, walking to and
• from school, riding the school bus, or
  taking part
• in organized activities with peers (such as
  clubs)
• Has trouble sleeping or has frequent bad dreams

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Signs of Bullied Students

• Experiences a loss of appetite
• Appears anxious and suffers from low self-esteem.
• Takes a long, illogical route when walking to
  or
• from school
• Has lost interest in school work or suddenly
• begins to do poorly in school
• Appears sad, moody, teary, or depressed when he
• or she comes home
• Complains frequently of headaches, stomachaches,
• or other physical ailments

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What is Woodlin E.S. Doing to Address Bullying?

• Bullying, harassment, or intimidation are serious
  and will not be tolerated at Woodlin E.S.
• Woodlin E.S. has programs and procedures in place
  to prevent and deal with instances of bullying.

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Woodlin E.S.

• Stop and Think Social Skills Program
• Teaches students social skills needed in academic
  and social settings
• Teaches appropriate steps for listening, dealing
  with teasing, apologizing, ignoring distractions,
  dealing with frustration, etc.
• Taught by classroom teachers and allows for
  students to practice skills in a controlled
  environment

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Stop and Think Social Skills

• Stop and Think!
• 2. Am I going to make a good choice or a bad
  choice? I need to make a good choice.
• 3. What are my choices or steps?
• 4. Just do it!
• 5. Good job!

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Woodlin E.S.

• School-wide Behavior Policy
• Students monitor their own behavior on a daily
  basis keeping track on an individual calendar
• Students rewarded for positive behavior
• Weekly Grade Level Incentives Often extra
  recess!
• Students aware of consequences of inappropriate
  behavior
• Students who do not meet daily/monthly behavior
  expectations have the opportunity to set a
  behavioral goal

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Woodlin E.S.

• Classroom Guidance Lessons Taught by the school
  counselor
• Teaches students to identify bullying behaviors
  and strategies for dealing with unwanted behavior
• Encourages students to use problem-solving
  strategies
• Teaches students to interact in
• positive ways with peers and adults

DEBUG
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Woodlin E.S.

• Individual Behavior Plans
• Teachers work with colleagues and school
  counselor to develop individualized behavior
  plans for students who need additional support.
• Guidance Advisory Committee
• Meets monthly to monitor effectiveness of
  school-wide behavior plan and plan activities
  related to school behavior.

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Bully Blockers Club New This Year

• Because bullying often happens when adults are
  not watching, students can play an important part
  in bully prevention.
• Students are encouraged to notice bullying
  behavior and respectfully remind the misbehaving
  student about school rules and/or get adult help.
• All students can join the Woodlin Bully Blockers
  Club

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Bully Blockers Club

• 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade homerooms will have Bully
  blocker representatives who attend monthly
  meetings, describe bully problems they are aware
  of, brainstorm solutions and report back to
  homerooms.
• Representatives are the go to students for peer
  support in bullying situations.

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Question

• Has your child come home and complained about
  being bullied or teased? How did you respond as
  a family? Introduce your self to a person you
  have not met before and discuss.

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Books on Bullying Teasing

• Stories can be a great way to teach students
  about the topic and how to handle situations in
  the correct way.

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Survey Results

• 266 students in grades 2-5 completed the bullying
  teasing survey in October 2010.

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Survey Results
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Survey Results
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Survey Results
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Survey Results
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Survey Results
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Preemptive Measures to Bullying Teasing

• COMMUNICATION!!!!
• Talk with your child
• Learn the details
• Who/what/where/when
• Talk with the classroom teacher
• Share details
• Teacher can address in classroom

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Preemptive Measures to Bullying Teasing

• Contact the school counselor administration
• Counselor can work with child to help deal with
  feelings and to talk about strategies for
  avoiding bullying situations.
• Counselor can work with the student who is
  bullying to help find better ways to deal with
  anger, frustration, etc.

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Procedures for Reporting Bullying, Harassment, or
Intimidation

• Complete MCPS Form 230-35 Bullying, Harassment,
  or Intimidation Reporting Form
• Available in Woodlin E.S. main office or from
  school counselor
• Available online www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/depa
  rtments/forms/230-35.shtm

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Bullying, Harassment, or Intimidation Reporting
Form

• Principal/designee is required to conduct an
  investigation using Form 230-36 Bullying,
  Harassment, or Intimidation Incident School
  Investigation Form.
• All information will be entered in system-wide
  database and a copy of forms will be kept in a
  confidential file in Woodlins main office.

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Additional Websites Resources

• www.montgomerycountyschoolsmd.org/departments/form
  s/230-35.shtm
• www.stopbullyingnow.hrsa.gov
• www.connectsafely.org
• www.ikeepsafe.org
• www.infomontgomery.org
• www.nea.org/home
• www.NetSmartz.org
• www.stopcyberbullying.org

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Questions?

• Please feel free to contact us for additional
  information or resources.