Bullying Prevention & Intervention – Module II

Training for LPSS Faculty & Staff2013-2014

Module 2:Ensuring Safe & Supportive School Settings

Objectives:• Review policies & laws regarding bullying and individual

responsibility for reporting

• Review definition of bullying and how bullying can impact a student’s mental health

• Consider what a positive climate/culture looks like and how it can prevent bullying behavior

• Correlate PBIS practices with Bullying Prevention

• Examine the role of adult-to-student relationships in building a supportive classroom climate

LA ACT 861- 2012

The purpose of Act 861 is to ensure that all school districts have and maintain a uniform policy to provide equal protection, for all Louisiana public school students, against bullying. This Act is known as the "Tesa Middlebrook Anti-Bullying Act.“

Act 861 In Summary “The principal/designee of each school in the LEA must establish and

prominently publicize to students, staff, volunteers, and parents/legal guardians, how a report of bullying may be filed and how this report will be acted upon. The form developed by the LDE must be accepted as a report of bullying.”

“All school employees and parents chaperoning or supervising school-sponsored functions and events are required to report alleged violations of this policy to the principal or the principal’s designee. A verbal report must be reported on the same day as the employees or parents witnessed or otherwise learned of the incident and a written report must be filed no later than two days thereafter.”

To view detailed information on Act 861:

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1t0_Z_CxfiyA0Atm4_9OEpODVMtxOEigxZLulkx3cBsg/edit?usp=sharing

Colleague Letter Office of Civil Rights - 2010

“School districts may violate a student’s civil rights when peer harassment based on race, color, national origin, sex, or disability is sufficiently serious that it creates a hostile environment and such harassment is encouraged, tolerated, not adequately addressed, or ignored by school employees. School personnel who understand their legal obligations to address harassment under these laws are in the best position to prevent it from occurring and to respond appropriately when it does.”

The statutes that Office of Civil Rights enforces include:• Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VI), which prohibits discrimination on the

basis of race, color, or national origin• Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Title IX), which prohibits discrimination

on the basis of sex• Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504) and Title II of the Americans

with Disabilities Act of 1990 (Title II) which prohibit discrimination on the basis of disability

Bullying DefinedBullying is a form of youth violence that includes:• Unwanted, aggressive behavior• A real or perceived imbalance of power

between the student(s) doing the bullying and the student(s) being bullied

• Behavior that is repeated, or has the potential to be repeated, over time

-stopbullying.gov

Possible Effects of BeingBullied

Have lower self-esteem Greater loneliness Greater anxiety More depression May harm themselves Have high levels of suicidal thoughts Attempt suicide Want to avoid school Have lower academic achievement

-stopbullying.gov

Prevent Bullying Behavior• In our last module, we learned:

– how to identify bullying behavior– how to intervene– how to report it– Peer mediation, school-wide assemblies & Zero Tolerance

policies do not PREVENT bullying

• What are best-practice strategies for PREVENTING bullying behavior?

Promoting a POSITIVE School Climate/Culture

School Climate/CultureDefinition:• A group’s shared beliefs, customs and behavior

which drive how people interact, solve problems and make decisions

Why is Climate/Culture Important?• Positive learning can only take place in a positive

culture. A healthy school culture will affect more student and teacher success than any other reform or school improvement effort currently being employed.

-modelprograms.com

Benefits of PositiveClimate/Culture• Fosters effort and productivity• Improves collegial and collaborative activities• Supports successful change and improvement

efforts• Builds commitment• Amplifies energy and motivates staff & students• Focuses attention and daily behavior on what is

important and valued-modelprogram.com

Benefits of PositiveClimate/Culture

Research shows that in a positive school climate, students: Do better academically. Attend school more regularly. Feel better about themselves. Engage in fewer risky behaviors like drinking alcohol

or using drugs. Engage less in bullying and other problem behaviors.

-modelprogram.com

Positive Climate/Cultureis Established Through:

Expectations Relationships Curricular focus Extra-curricular activities Decision-making processes

-modelprogram.com

Toxic School Climate/Culture:• Expectations are low

– Teachers, families, students

• Relationships are negative– Staff to staff, staff to students, students to students

• Staff blame students for not being successful• Community blames the school for poor

outcomes• Exhibit a sense of depression/frustration• Lack of shared sense of purpose – efforts are

fragmented-modelprogram.com

Bully Prevention in a Positive Behavior Support System

What is PBIS?The intentional structuring of learning environments to equip students for behavioral success based on principles of human behavior.

PBIS is NOT just bucks and a store. IT IS a School Climate change model!

-modelprogram.com

PBIS & Bully Prevention• PBIS Critical Element: School-Wide Expectations

Identified and taught to students, faculty and staff (shared beliefs/values)• Create specific expectation lesson plans that include:

respecting self/others, identifying disrespect, advocating for self & others, accepting feedback/criticism, asking for help

• PBIS Critical Element: Consistently acknowledge and/or reinforce the use of expected behaviors with staff & students

-modelprogram.com

PBIS & Bully Prevention• PBIS Critical Element: Identify system for responding

to and reporting incidents of inappropriate behavior

• Adult Response to Bullying Behavior (Review)• Intervene immediately• Get adult help if needed• Separate the children involved• Make sure that everyone is safe• Meet any immediate mental or medical health needs• Stay calm. Reassure the children involved, including

bystanders• Model respectful behavior when you intervene

-modelprogram.com, Safe & Supportive Schools T.A. Center

PBIS & Bully Prevention• PBIS Critical Element: Identify system for responding

to and reporting incidents of inappropriate behavior

• Reporting Bullying Behavior (Review)• All school employees and parents chaperoning or

supervising school-sponsored functions and events are required to report alleged violations of this policy to the principal or the principal’s designee. A verbal report must be reported on the same day as the employees or parents witnessed or otherwise learned of the incident and a written report must be filed no later than two days thereafter.”

LA Act 186, 2012

Student Response to Bullying Behavior

• Adopted for use in all LPSS Schools. All three are free curriculums that incorporate the previous PBIS critical elements just reviewed as well as a response system for students to use when they witness bullying. Lesson plans are included. A power-point presentation to train staff on this curriculum is also available.

• Bully Prevention in PBIS – Elementary• https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5FfiOCxdE5WNjJwcjdOam1MSTQ/edit?usp=sharing

• Bully Prevention in PBIS – Middle/High• https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5FfiOCxdE5Wa2ZCRzRZelZCWG8/edit?usp=sharing

• Bullying & Harassment Prevention in PBIS: Expect Respect – Elementary/Middle

• https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5FfiOCxdE5WM041MGxyaGpoLUk/edit?usp=sharing

STOP/WALK/TALK• STOP: A common “stop” signal is decided upon by

school staff and students are taught when to use it

• WALK: Students are taught to “walk-away” after the signal is given rather than engage the student further

• TALK: Even when students use “stop” and they “walk away” from the problem, sometimes students will continue to behave inappropriately toward them. When that happens, students should "talk" to an adult. - Bully Prevention in PBIS

Impact of Student Response

In the majority of bullying episodes in which students intervene, the bullying stops within:A. Two minutesB. Ninety secondsC. One minuteD. Ten seconds

- Safe & Supportive Schools T. A. Center

In Conclusion:

Research clearly indicates that when students move from being bystanders to a bullying incident to standing up and intervening, they can have a powerful impact on stopping the behavior and sending a message that bullying is not acceptable.

- Safe & Supportive Schools T. A. Center

The Importance of Relationships in

Preventing Bullying Behavior

Engagement is Characterized By:

The quality of relationships—including respect for diversity—between students and their peers, staff and their peers, students and staff, and staff and families

• Bullying is a relationship problem that requires a relationship solution.

• Positive relationships are a foundational element in creating a positive and supportive classroom climate

- Safe & Supportive Schools T. A. Center

Positive School Culture2008 study asked students to describe the things that teachers do that help them in their lives:– Be available.• Students point to teachers who are accessible to them,

checking in on how they are doing and caring not only about their academic performance but also about all aspects of their lives.

– Listen to me• Positive teacher-student relationships were characterized

by teachers who actively listened to student concerns and worries, engaging them in dialogue about their lives.

- Safe & Supportive Schools T. A. Center

Positive School Culture– Be positive.• Teachers who encouraged and modeled positive thinking in

their students had students with higher levels of engagement and preparedness as well as higher levels of self-confidence that they could overcome barriers.

–Have fun.• Students felt more at ease around teachers who were in

control of the classroom but could keep students’ motivational level high by using humor. Along with being positive, humor can help build the kind of positive personal connections that play a part in building a supportive classroom climate.

- Safe & Supportive Schools T. A. Center

Positive School Culture– Be real• Teachers who are comfortable being themselves around

their students promote the kind of pro-social bonding that is an important element in a supportive classroom climate. Sharing personal information that is appropriate can help students see that their teacher is a real person and values them enough to share a part of his or her life with them.

- Safe & Supportive Schools T. A. Center

MODEL RESPECT

Respect is a learned behavior and attitude—we cannot make it happen, but we can teach and encourage it.

Set a tone of respect

Expose students to accurate information and positive representations of those who they may perceive as different from them

Talk about differences in a respectful way including examples of people with varied backgrounds and orientations

Provide time for learning and practicing positive, respectful behaviors

- Safe & Supportive Schools T. A. Center

Students Model What They See!

What YOU MODEL in your relationships with students and other adults also helps build positive student-to-student relationships that can have a direct impact on reducing bullying behavior through encouraging students to feel safe and confident to stand up for each other.

- Safe & Supportive Schools T. A. Center

Every Kid Needs A CHAMPION!

Thank-You!!

• Thanks for completing Module 2. Please return to www.lpssonline.com/bullying to complete the 2 Hour Bullying Refresher Course Survey