BullyingLet’s Talk About

Great Valley School District 2011

What is Bullying?Let’s Define it

A student is being bullied when he or she is exposed repeatedly and over time to purposeful negative actions on the part of one or more students.

What is Bullying?

Bullying implies an imbalance of power or strength.

What is Bullying?

Social PowerPhysical PowerIntellectual PowerFinancial PowerCultural or Racial Power

Verbal PowerGender Power

What are the different types of power?

What are the different types of bullying?

PhysicalVerbal/Written Language

Emotional/ SocialCyberbullying

Physical Aggression:- spitting- hitting, kicking, pushing- taking/destroying belongings- using threatening gestures- invading personal space in an aggressive way

What can Bullying look like?

Verbal /Written Aggression:- Insulting others’ appearance or abilities- Teasing/Name-calling- Writing/Drawing mean notes- Using technology to threaten or spread rumors (Cyber-bullying)

What can bullying look like?

Emotional/Social - Deliberate exclusion- Ganging up on others- Spreading rumors/gossip- Playing unwanted tricks

What can bullying look like?

Cyber Bullying: -Text Messaging

-E-mail or I.M.-Social Networking Sites-Video Sharing

What can Bullying look like?

Federal and State Mandates

School districts must develop and implement research based violence prevention programs, which include, but are not limited to bullying.

GVSD adopted two policies: policy 248, Unlawful Harassment and Policy 249, Bullying/Cyberbullying

GVSD identified the Implementation of the Olweus Program as a district goal in the strategic plan beginning with the 08/09 School Year

What Will Schools Do?

What will Great Valley do?

Implement OLWEUS Bullying Prevention Program:

A systemic and research based program designed to improve the culture of schools to ensure that ALL students feel safe and have an equal opportunity to succeed.

OLWEUS Principles:

It is important to create an environment, characterized by warmth, positive interest, and involvement with adults.

It is important to have clear and firm limits around unacceptable behavior.

When limits and rules are violated, it is important that interventions and consequences be consistently applied.

Olweus Program Components:

Posting of school and community expectations.

Opportunities for students to learn how to intervene when they see someone being harassed.

Support for the students who are the targets of harassment.

Intervention for the students who harass others.

A system of identification, documentation,and tracking of bullying incidents.

Olweus Program Components continued:

3rd, 4th, and 5th grade anonymous survey: Provides information regarding the type, frequency, and extent of the problem. Identifies the problems that need to be addressed in our schools.

Interventions: School Level Classroom Level Individual Level

School Interventions

A collective commitment by the administrators, faculty, staff, parents, and students to the responsibility of implementation.

The development of attitudes and norms that decrease the extent of the problem.

Supervision in high density/unstructured areas and times.

Class meetings Honoring positive and healthy behaviors through

reinforcement and school wide programs like; pillars of character.

Consistent follow through with interventions and consequences.

Classroom Interventions

Cultivate positive and safe learning environment.

Posting of the school and community expectations.

Teacher led regular class meetings. Taking advantage of “teachable

moments”. “On the spot” interventions to

bullying.

Individual Interventions

Provide interventions and support to the target and bully in manner that respects the privacy and dignity of all students.

Educate and affirm the bystander.

Parent contact as indicated.

Olweus Outcomes:

A substantial reduction in students’ reports of bullying.

Improvement in the climate of the school.

We believe that if GVSD continues on its current path, we too, will see these same results in our District.