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BULLYING CAN BE STOPPED
Mr. Carl Williams, Assistant PrincipalDr. Marilyn Highland, Principal
Sarasota School of Arts and Sciences
How it started
Sexuality issues reported Health classes 2/28/11 Increased number of bullying related
deaths Interest on campus with only a few
students and their desire to stop bullying Design of Anti-bullying bracelets on
campus Creation of the Anti-Bullying Committee
Initial Flood of Reporting
After initiating the “Open Reporting” we initially received on average 10 reports per day (for about 2 weeks)
Shared across 5 people: Principal, 2 Assistant Principals, School Counselor, Security Aide
Students showed a certain level of comfort with knowing they could report without feeling intimidated (changed culture)
Reporting Process
Statement of Witness/Subject report Appointment Request Can be anonymous Can be slipped under any teacher’s door
or placed into any teacher’s mailbox (will then be turned in to Admin)
Anyone can report Reports investigated immediately
Bullying?
Nationally, bullying has risen to levels higher than ever, but the word “bullying” cannot be taken for granted
While every report is properly investigated, there are times when it just isn’t bullying
Parents like to hear that there really isn’t bullying as much as they like to hear that a case of bullying has been effectively handled
Dangers of Bullying
Physical = Inferiority Verbal = Confrontation Cyber = Confusing Thoughts Non-verbal = Isolation Text messaging = Rumors
Any of these can lead to mental bullying which is the most dangerous and leads to depression, injury, or death
Anti-Bullying Committee
Started in March of 2011 Approximately 75 student committee
members (and growing) 2 student representatives for each grade
level Hold monthly meetings organized and
facilitated by representatives Address relevant and current issues Decision making body
Communication with Families
Incoming 6th Grade Parent Meeting Connect Ed Team News (Online and Hard Copies) School Newspaper School Website PTSS Meetings
City/County Involvement
On Site visits from County Law Enforcement to speak to student body
Assistance from School District (ie: resources we may not have)
Yearly presentation for families with City Law Enforcement, Government Leaders, and Professional Counselors*
Making it Contagious
Our students spread the word that bullying will not be accepted
What started as a staff driven concept has now become student driven
Our families are very well aware of the zero tolerance policy. We constantly receive families to our school who were referred by others due to this fact.
Keys to Success
Positive Promotion Level of trust and confidence in reporting Consistency with investigations Effective Decision Making Tolerance and acceptance for all Support from inside and outside sources Strong consequences when applicable
How do we know it works?
The methods of reporting have been utilized
The level of bullying related incidents have decreased significantly
The reputation in the community of the school has been noted as one with “true” zero tolerance
Other schools have contacted us about anti-bullying measures
Morale of the students and staff has risen
Interesting Facts
The Anti-Bullying Committee started at SSA+S has garnered local and statewide attention including interviews with Fox and ABC News
A Facebook page was put together by our first grade level representative (8th grade) which accumulated 7000 followers in the first week
While the number of reports has risen (approx. 4 per week), the number of referral incidents has dropped (approx. 1 per month)
Contact Information
Dr. Marilyn Highland, Principal(941) 330-1855 ext [email protected]
Mr. Carl Williams, Assistant Principal(941) 330-1855 ext 202 [email protected]
