Bullying Prevention Staff Training Sexual Harassment and Assault

Bullying Prevention Staff Training Sexual Harassment and Assault Prevention Program (SHAPP) (Insert School District) Public Schools Training Date: (Insert Date)

Vision/Mission Statement The vision (and/or mission) of (school district) Public Schools is to (insert district vision/mission statement here) 2

SHAPP Goals and Objectives • Highlight your district’s SHAPP goals/objectives pertaining to bullying in bullet form • Use your discretion as to whether all SHAPP objectives should be listed here or simply those related to bullying. If the latter is chosen, you may want to briefly mention that additional program objectives are beyond the scope of this training and will be covered in other programrelated trainings/activities. • Include statement that draws clear and direct link between SHAPP goals/objectives on bullying and school district vision/mission 3

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Sentence Stems • When I think of student bullying and teasing, I… • One question or concern I have about student bullying and teasing is… • The whole focus on student bullying and teasing is… 5

Bullying Definition Components • Aggressive behavior that intends to cause harm or distress • Is repeated over time • Occurs in a relationship where there is an imbalance of power or strength 6

Definition “Bullying among children is commonly defined as intentional, repeated hurtful acts, words or behavior such as name-calling; threatening and/or shunning committed by one or more children against another. The victims do not intentionally provoke these negative acts, and for such acts to be defined as bullying, an imbalance of real or perceived power must exist between the bully and the victim. ” 7

Bullying = Peer Abuse 8

Why focus on Bullying/Victim Problems? • Short and long-term effects on victims • Concern about students who bully • Impact on bystanders • School social climate 9

Bullying Affects the Total School Climate • It interferes with student learning • It creates a climate of fear and disrespect • Students may perceive lack of control/caring 10

What’s YOUR Bully I. Q. ? TRUE or FALSE? 11

TRUE or FALSE? Studies suggest that fewer than 10% of children are involved in bullying/victim problems in elementary or middle school 12

TRUE or FALSE? Most bullying is physical in nature. 13

TRUE or FALSE? Girls bully just as much as boys; they just do it differently. 14

A 2001 National Institute of Health study on bullying found that… • 10% of children said they had been bullied by other students • 13% of students said they had bullied other students • 6% said they had both been bullied themselves and had bullied other children • In all, 29% of students who responded to the survey had been involved in some aspect of bullying, either as a bully, the target of bullying or both • Males were both more likely to bully others and more likely to be victims of bullying than were females • Males were more likely to say they had been bullied physically (hit, slapped or pushed), while females more frequently said they were bullied verbally (through sexual comments or rumors) 15

More on Gender Differences • Boys tend to bully/harass with physical or verbal aggression • Girls tend to bully/harass with social aggression • Boys who bully tend to be 1 – 2 years older than their victims. Their victims can be either boys or girls. • Girls who bully tend to target other girls who are the same age • Girls are more likely to be bullied by a group • Girls are more likely to involve both boys and girls in their bullying pursuits against the victim • Boys identify their behaviors as bullying more often than girls 16

Direct Bullying • Physical hitting, kicking, shoving, spitting • Verbal taunting, teasing, degrading, racial or sexual comments • Non-Verbal threatening, obscene gestures 17

Indirect Bullying • Physical getting another person to assault someone • Verbal spreading rumors • Non-Verbal deliberate exclusion from a group or activity; cyber-bullying 18

Bullying/Harassing Behaviors Physical Aggression Mild Moderate • Pushing; • Kicking; • Defacing • Physical acts that Shoving; Hitting property; are demeaning and Spitting Stealing humiliating, but not bodily harmful (e. g. de-panting); Locking in a closed or confined space Severe • Physical violence against family or friends • Threatening with a weapon; Inflicting bodily harm 19

Bullying/Harassing Behaviors Social Alienation Mild • Gossiping; • Setting Embarrassing up to look foolish; spreading rumors about Moderate • Ethnic slurs; setting up to take the blame • Publicly humiliating (e. g. revealing personal info); excluding from group; social rejection Severe • Maliciously • Threatening excluding; with total manipulating isolation by social order to peer group achieve rejection; malicious rumormongering 20

Bullying/Harassing Behaviors Verbal Aggression Mild • Mocking; name-calling; dirty looks; taunting Moderate • Teasing • Intimidating about telephone clothes or appearance calls possessions Severe • Verbal threats of aggression against property or possessions • Verbal threats of violence or of inflicting bodily harm 21

Bullying/Harassing Behaviors Intimidation Mild • Threatening to reveal personal info; graffiti; publicly challenging to do something Moderate • Defacing property or clothing; playing a dirty trick • Taking possessions (e. g. lunch, clothes, toys • Extortion; sexual/ racial taunting Severe • Threats of using coercion against family or friends • Coercion; threatening with a weapon 22

Bullying/Harassing Behaviors Racial and Ethnic Harassment Mild • Joke telling • Exclusion with racial or due to ethnic targets ethnic or cultural group membership Moderate • Racial or ethnic slurs • Verbal accusations, putdowns; public humiliation Severe • Destroying or defacing property due to ethnic or cultural group membership • Physical or verbal attacks due to group membership 23

Bullying/Harassing Behaviors Sexual Harassment Mild • Sexual or “dirty” jokes; conversations that are too personal Moderate • Howling, cat calls, whistles; leers and stares • “Snuggies” (pulling underwear up at the waist; repeatedly asking someone out when he/she isn’t interested • Spreading sexual rumors; pressure for sexual activity; de-panting Severe • Cornering, • Sexual blocking, assault or standing attempted too close, sexual following assault; rape 24

What examples of bullying/harassment do you see in your school? 25

TRUE or FALSE? The vast majority of children who are bullied tell a teacher or other member of the school staff. 26

TRUE or FALSE? Researchers have document few, if any, serious effects of bullying on victims. 27

Who are the Victims? There are three types of bullying victims: • Passive Victims • Provocative Victims • Vicarious Victims 28

Passive Victims • Are the most common type of victims, easy to identify • Lack social skills • Cry easily • Lack the ability to use humor to defuse conflict • May be lonely and depressed • Yield easily to bullying • Are likely to be anxious and insecure • Are unable to defend themselves 29

Provocative Victims • Comprise a much smaller group, are often difficult to recognize as victims • Are restless children who irritate and tease others and don’t know when to stop • Fight back in bullying situations but end up losing • Are easily emotionally aroused • Tend to maintain the conflict and lose with frustration and distress • May be diagnosed with ADHD • Often make others feel they deserve to be bullied 30

Vicarious Victims • Feel vulnerable as a potential target • Have a moderate to high degree of empathy and sensitivity • Do not take a stand against bullying because of fear • Experience guilt about their failure to act 31

Bullying affects everyone… The victim, bystanders and the bully 32

Short Term Effects of Being Bullied • Lower self-esteem • Illness • Absenteeism and dropping out • Depression, anxiety and hyper-vigilance • Sleeplessness and eating disorders • Thoughts of suicide 33

Long Term Effects of Being Bullied • Lower self-esteem • Higher rates of depression • Suicide • Violent retaliation 34

Bystanders • Make up 85% of school population “silent majority” • Become desensitized to the bullying over time • Why don’t bystanders get involved? – Fear of retaliation – Don’t know what to do – Afraid they’ll make things worse – Worry about losing social status – Don’t believe that adults will help 35

TRUE or FALSE? Bullying is just as likely to occur on the way to and from school as during school hours. 36

Common Bullying Locations • 48% hallways/stairs • 32% in class (teacher absent) • 29% in physical education class/locker room • 27% in class (teacher present) • 17% in bathrooms • 16% on the way to/from school • 15% on the bus • 8% at the bus stop 37

TRUE or FALSE? Most students who observe bullying don’t think they should get involved. 38

Bystanders may… • Feel it’s none of their business • Feel afraid, e. g. , for personal safety • Feel powerless to change things • Feel guilty • Feel diminished empathy for victims • Join in on the bullying (watch, cheer) • In some cases, be “henchmen” for the bully 39

Intervene With the Bystander Why? • Bystanders represent the largest group in the “Bullying Circle” • A bystander may range from the “follower/henchman” to the defender of the victim 40

Bullying Circle (Olweus) THE BULLYING CIRCLE: STUDENTS’ MODES OF REACTION/ROLES IN AN ACUTE BULLYING SITUATION 41

Schools should consider helping the bystander by… • Enforcing school rules • Modeling intolerance for bullying, addressing it when seen • Distinguishing between tattling and reporting • Providing an anonymous means for students to report bullying • Providing commendations for bystanders who intervene 42

TRUE or FALSE? Once a bully, always a bully. 43

Considering Bullies and Their Behavior • Bullies have high self-esteem. Their behavior satisfies their self-esteem and they are not likely to stop bullying on their own • The behavior is often part of a conduct-disordered behavior pattern • This pattern may continue into adulthood and take shape in various relationships, e. g. , dating • Bullies are 4 times more likely than non-bullies to have 3 or more convictions by age 24 44

Motivations to Bully/Harass • Gain power • Gain popularity and attention • Act out problems from home • Copy what someone else does whom they admire • Perceive it as fun • Inflated self-esteem 45

Bullies CAN Change Bullying behaviors and victimization experiences are relative stable over time if there is NO intervention BUT, appropriate intervention CAN change behaviors 46

Good Idea…Or Mistake? “Get rid of the bullies. We simply need a zero tolerance policy for bullying. ” 47

Good Idea…Or Mistake? “Let’s group bullies together for treatment. ” 48

Good Idea…Or Mistake? “Bullying is best handled through peer mediation. ” 49

Good Idea…Or Mistake? “The Prevention Program ‘Du Jour’ Approach. ” 50

Good Idea…Or Mistake? “There’s got to be a good, one-shot solution to bullying prevention. ” 51

A Successful Bullying Prevention Program is… • Universal (school-wide) • Preventative and problem solving • Focused on changing norms and behaviors • Research-based • Not time-limited; requires systematic efforts over time • Inclusive of bystander involvement 52

What can we do in our schools… As teachers and support staff? As administrators? For prevention? For intervention? 53

What Can We Do in Our Schools? Prevention: • Be aware of the system-wide resources available and use them • Publicize policies and procedures (posters in classrooms, handouts with clear explanations, reminders in the announcements, report forms throughout the building) • Promote standardized responses by all staff members (consequences, recourses available) • Be observant of student behavior 54

What Can We Do in Our Schools? Intervention: • Listen to each student’s entire story (Who’s the victim? ) • Tell the students the school must intervene (explain school system sanctions) • Report the complaint to an administrator • Report assaults to the police • Create a detailed record of each incident and help preserve any evidence • Help identify responsible parties and possible witnesses 55

What Can We Do in Our Schools? Intervention (cont. ): • Discuss recourse options (parent conference, restitution, alternative program or placement, suspension or expulsion) • Encourage students to talk with parents/guardians • Take no action without students’ and parents’ knowledge • Ensure that the students receive counseling, if needed • Check in with the students often to decrease feelings of isolation • Again, be observant of student behavior 56

To help determine if an incident is in fact bullying, as yourself: • Was it intentional? • Is there an imbalance of power? • Was the action meant to hurt? • Is the behavior repeated (a pattern of behavior)? • Does the victim have trouble defending him/herself? • Was the victim threatened with retaliation if he/she told? 57

Bullying, Harassment and Abuse School Staff Duties • A duty to train, providing appropriate training and instruction for all school employees and students with respect to the issues that surround bullying, harassment and abuse • A duty to investigate, establishing and implementing complaint and investigation procedures to assure that each complaint receives an appropriate, adequate and comprehensive response • A duty to remedy, providing appropriate and adequate remedial steps and follow-through to stop the harassment, bullying and/or other abusive behavior • A duty to monitor, enabling a school environment free of hostility through continual monitoring and correcting of inappropriate behaviors 58

SHAPP Strategies to Prevent Bullying • (Enter district’s plan to address bullying. ) • (Enter specific how-to’s for staff to implement SHAPP plan) • (Enter here and on following slide(s)) 59

Evaluating Strategies to Prevent Bullying • (Enter district’s plan to evaluate bullying prevention plan. ) • (Enter specific role of staff to evaluate the plan, include as many step-by-step how-to’s as possible) • (Enter here and on following slide(s)) 60

References Bully Proofing Your School – A Comprehensive Approach for Middle Schools. Marla Bonds, Psy. D. and Sally Stoker, M. S. W Educational Equity Center at the Academy for Educational Development. (2003). Quit It! Research summary. Available at Website: www. information@edequity. org Fox, J. , Elliott, D. , Kerlikowske, R. , Newman, S. , Christenson, W. (2003). Bullying prevention is crime prevention. Fight Crime: Invest in Kids: Washington, D. C. Available at Website: www. fightcrime. org 61

References Nansel, T. , Overpeck, M. , Pilla, R. , Ruan, W. , Simons-Morton, B. , Scheidt, P. (2001). Bullying behaviors among US youth: prevalence and association with psychosocial adjustment. JAMA, 285: 2094 -2100. Olweus, D. (1993). Bullying at school: What we know and what we can do. Oxford, UK: Blackwell. Sampson, R. (2002). Bullying in schools. Retrieved from the U. S. Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services Website: www. copsusdoj. pdf/e 12011405. pdf 62

Acknowledgments We would like to thank the following individuals for their significant contributions to the conceptualization and development of this presentation: Joseph Leake, Staff Associate, Office of Curriculum and Instruction Ledonia Kimball, Staff Associate, Drug Abuse and Violence Prevention Unit Baltimore City Public Schools Darleen Kahl, Safe and Drug Free Schools Coordinator Charles County Public Schools 63

SHAPP Contact Information Main Contact: Secondary Contact: (Name) (Phone) (Email) 64