District-wide Anti-Bullying Program and Its Impact on Student Learning

1. District-wide Anti-Bullying Program and Its Impact on Student Learning Jean Greco, Program Supervisor of K-12 Guidancejgreco@cpsed.net Karen Carnevale, Elementary School Counselorkcarnevale@cpsed.net Cranston (Rhode Island) Public Schools ASCA 2006 Conference, Chicago, Illinois

2. Bullying Statistics • Six out of 10 American teens witness bullying at least once a day. National Crime Prevention Council, 2003 • Approximately 5% of students reported in 2003 that they had either skipped school or avoided specific places at school because they were fearful • 29% percent of public schools reported that student bullying occurred on a daily or weekly basis. Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2003 • For children in grades 6–10, nearly one in six—or 3.2 million—are victims of bullying each year and 3.7 million are bullies. Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, September 2003

3. More Disturbing Statistics • Playground statistics: Every 7 minutes a child is bullied. • Adult intervention: 4% • Peer intervention: 11% • No intervention: 85% • Nearly 60 percent of boys who researchers classified as bullies in grades 6–9 were convicted of at least one crime by the age of 24; 40 percent of them had three or more convictions by 24. Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, 2003 • Harassment and bullying have been linked to 75 percent of school-shooting incidents, including the fatal shootings at Columbine High School near Littleton, Colorado, and Santana High School in Santee, California. US Secret Service Report, 2002

4. Cranston Public SchoolsDefinition of Bullying Bullying occurs when an individual or group, while at school, intentionally assaults, batters, threatens, harasses, stalks, menaces, intimidates, extorts, humiliates, taunts, shuns or maliciously spreads rumors about others or participates in the organizing of others to engage in any of the aforementioned.

5. Physical Racial Sexual Homophobic Pushing, kicking, hitting, any use of violence racial taunts, graffiti, gestures unwanted physical attention or contact, sexually abusive comments focusing on sexuality or sexual preference Bullying: verbal, written or physical behavior usually of some duration

6. Social Emotional Intentionally unfriendly Name-calling Sarcasm Spreading rumors Taunting Deliberately excluding Treating with disrespect Tormenting (i.e. hiding books, threatening gestures) Bullying

7. In February 2003 declared “that bullying disrupts a school’s ability to educate students and threatens public safety by creating an atmosphere in which such behavior can escalate into violence” By September 2004 required every district to have policy that addresses bullying and ensures protection of the right of all students to learn in a safe and supportive environment free from harassment, intimidation or bullying. RI General Assembly

8. Cranston Public Schools Policy “The Cranston Public Schools recognizes that each student, staff member, teacher, and administrator has a right to attend/or work in schools, that are safe and secure and are conducive to learning, free from threat of physical or emotional harm, actual or implied. It is the policy of the CPS that harassment and/or bullying of students by other students, personnel, or the public will not be tolerated.”

9. Anti-Bullying Policy “This policy is in effect while students are: • on school grounds • property immediately adjacent • using school transportation • at bus stops • attending school-sponsored activities • and while away from school grounds if the misconduct directly affects the good order, efficient management, and welfare of the school district.”

10. Anti-BullyingImplementation Plan • Established a Collaborative Environment • Identified Desired Outcomes • Determined Professional Development Need • Provided Professional Development Beginning with Administrators • Administrators Responsible for Implementing Program in Their Schools • Schools had Flexibility in Their Design • Created Advocacy Projects • Collected and Analyzed Data

11. Elementary Interventions • Developmental Guidance Lessons • Individual Counseling • Small Group Sessions • School-wide Assemblies • School-wide Programs • Data Collection and Analysis

12. Two Elementary SchoolsPre and Post Test Results

13. An Elementary SchoolFrequency of Bullying

14. An Elementary SchoolWhere Bullying Occurs

15. Comparison ofTwo Elementary Schools “Do Bullies Go Away if You Ignore Them?”

16. Middle School Interventions • School-wide Intervention Plans • Faculty Workshops with Guest Speakers • School-wide Programs/Assemblies • Project Respect • Words of Wisdom • Classroom Developmental Guidance Lessons

17. Middle School Interventions • Small Groups for Offenders • Students as Mediators • Parent Education (Pamphlets, Meetings, Guest Speakers) • Staff Monitoring of Unstructured Areas • Community Involvement

18. Two Year Study of Discipline Referrals for Bullying at PVMS sss

19. Words of Wisdom Survey

20. High School Interventions • Motivational Assemblies • Advisories • Freshmen Mentoring • Activity Programs • Diversity Week • Mix It Up for Lunch Day • Project Respect

21. Administrators’ pre and post survey Student pre and post survey Staff survey Discipline data School climate SALT data Data Collection & Analysis

22. Administrators’ Pre/Post Survey (2005-2006) “My School Has a Bullying Problem.”

23. Collect/Analyze Data Plan Program Educate Staff Educate Students Educate Parents Be Proactive Be Consistent Apply School-wide Lessons Learned

24. Resources • The Bully, the Bullied, and the Bystander by Barbara Coloroso • Odd Girl Out by Rachel Simmons • Bully Free Classroom by Allan Beane www.freespirit.com • www.operationrespect.org • www.StopBullyingNow.hrsa.gov • www.fcclainc.org • www.safeteen.ca • www.teachingtolerance.org • www.cscor.org