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ACHIEVING ACCESS TO HEALTH FOR ALL COLORADANS

BUILD TRUST, END BULLYING, IMPROVE LEARNING. Highlights from the Evaluation of The Colorado Trust’s 2005-2008 Bullying Prevention Initiative. Presented by: Luke Yoder The Partnership for Families & Children October 8, 2009. ACHIEVING ACCESS TO HEALTH FOR ALL COLORADANS.

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ACHIEVING ACCESS TO HEALTH FOR ALL COLORADANS

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  1. BUILD TRUST, END BULLYING, IMPROVE LEARNING Highlights from the Evaluation of The Colorado Trust’s 2005-2008 Bullying Prevention Initiative Presented by: Luke Yoder The Partnership for Families & Children October 8, 2009 ACHIEVING ACCESS TO HEALTH FOR ALL COLORADANS

  2. Presentation Overview • The Colorado Trust • The Bullying Prevention Initiative • The bullying dynamic • Four major evaluation findings • Bullying prevention best practices • A call to action

  3. The Colorado Trust • A grantmaking foundation that works with nonprofit organizations, government agencies and communities across Colorado to improve health and well-being • Committed to achieving access to health for all Coloradans by 2018

  4. Bullying Prevention Initiative • Three-year, $9 million Colorado initiative • Funded 45 grantees reaching 50,000 youths and adults in 40 counties from 2005 - 2008 • Helped youths and adults in school districts, schools and community centers intervene in and prevent bullying

  5. Bullying defined • Intent to harm • Imbalance of power • Repeated over time

  6. Types of bullying • Physical: pushing, shoving, tripping • Verbal: aggressive teasing, rumors or lies • Internet/cyberbullying: telling lies or rumors by email, instant messaging, texting or on websites • Intentional exclusion from activities or social events

  7. Impact of bullying Lasting effects: • Bullying can leave youth feeling depressed, alone and even sick • Victims have an increased chance of academic failure and health problems, low self-esteem and inability to connect socially. • Youth who bully typically have a criminal record by age 24.

  8. Evaluation • Pre- and Post-surveys of more than 3,000 students and 1,500 adults • Case studies of four school –based bullying prevention programs • Focus groups with staff and students • Comparative analysis of demographic and school achievement data

  9. Four major evaluation findings • Bullying was prevalent in year one in funded schools and community-based organizations. • Over time, beliefs and behaviors about bullying changed for the better. • Factors such as positive relationships among adults and youths at school and a school culture of trust and fairness had a direct impact on reducing bullying. • Schools with lower levels of bullying reported higher test scores.

  10. 1. Prevalence in year one Elementary through high school students reported that they had bullied others in the last 12 months: • 57% reported verbal bullying • 33% reported physical bullying • 10% reported cyberbullying Middle and high school youths: 80% reported verbally bullying others

  11. 1. Prevalence in year one • Physical and cyberbullying: increased in middle school, dropped off in high school • Verbal bullying: spiked in middle school, remained elevated in high school

  12. 1. Prevalence in year one: implications • Start bullying prevention programs in elementary school when behavior is emerging. • Focus on verbal and cyberbullying prevention in middle and high schools.

  13. 2. Decline in bullying Bullying decreased when adults and students were willing to: • Intervene • Treat each other fairly • Show they care

  14. 2. Decline in bullying: implications • Bullying can be reduced over time if prevention programming is implemented effectively. • Adult awareness of and intervention in bullying situations are critical to success. • When students perceive bullying as a negative behavior, bullying decreases.

  15. 3. Importance of adult connections and school culture Students reported less bullying when they: • Felt a sense of belonging in school • Were treated fairly and with respect by staff • Trusted teachers and other adults • Saw the school responding to their needs

  16. 3. Importance of adult connections and school culture “ BULLYING IS EVERYWHERE – families, schools, even churches. We can’t really expect children to change until we as adults truly embrace our role as models for bullying prevention.” – School bullying prevention coordinator

  17. 3. Importance of adult connections and school culture: implications • A culture that actively discourages bullying behavior and encourages trust, fairness and respect can reduce bullying behavior. • Student and adult intervention in bullying situations is important in reducing bullying behavior.

  18. 4. Academic achievement 54 schools participating in all three years of the initiative and evaluation were sorted according to those above or below the average: • Frequency of bullying • Percentage of students scoring proficient or advanced on state reading, writing and math tests combined during years one and two

  19. 4. Academic achievement • Schools with less bullying reported higher scores on state tests in reading, writing and math. • What we don’t know: • ° Whether low-achieving schools provided a favorable environment for bullying • ° If bullying interfered with learning and achievement (Both are likely true.) • Finding is consistent with previous studies showing that bullying is linked to learning difficulties from: fear of being bullied, distractibility, absenteeism and dropping out of school.

  20. 4. Academic achievement in year one Almost one-third of schools with less bullying did well on tests compared to only 14% of schools with frequent bullying.

  21. 4. Academic achievement in year two Almost half of schools with less bullying did well on tests compared to only 6% of schools with frequent bullying.

  22. 4. Academic achievement: implications • Schools with low academic achievement often struggle to nurture caring relationships between adults and students. • If youth must deal with bullying at school, it’s unlikely they come to school ready to learn.

  23. Four major evaluation findings • Bullying was prevalent in year one in funded schools and community-based organizations. • Over time, beliefs and behaviors about bullying changed for the better. • Factors such as positive relationships among adults and youths at school and a school culture of trust and fairness had a direct impact on reducing bullying. • Schools with lower levels of bullying reported higher test scores.

  24. Best practices in bullying prevention • Regularly assess the social climate in schools • Make bullying prevention an integral and permanent component of the school environment. • Establish and enforce school rules and policies related to bullying. • Provide ongoing training for school staff, and increase adult supervision in hot spots for bullying.

  25. Best practices in bullying prevention • Form a team responsible for coordinating bullying prevention efforts. • Garner support of school staff, parents and other key partners. • Give young people an active and meaningful role. • Develop cultural competency strategies, skills and programs that are inclusive and enhance communications and relationship building.

  26. Best practices – Assess Social Climate • Conduct hot spots map activity with youth & adults • Make necessary changes to schedule, supervision, programs • Survey youth & adults anonymously • Conduct a focused discussion on climate problems and solutions

  27. Best practices – Integrate into all activities • Set aside time each week for activities – 20-60 minutes • Integrate bullying prevention themes, messages, and rituals into standard, required curriculum • Determine & share behavior expectations • Increase communications

  28. Best practices – Create Policies & Procedures • Develop simple and clear rules • Create a hierarchy of consequences for bullying offenses • Enforce hierarchy of consequences consistently • Create expectations and interventions for bystanders as well as victims and bullies – everyone is expected to refrain from bullying and help others in bullying situations

  29. Best practices – Train Youth & Adults • Train youth and adults in bullying prevention and intervention methods • Administrators, teachers, coaches, bus drivers, cafeteria workers, volunteers, parents • Train each new student during new student orientation • Hold follow-up meetings with youth who have been bullied and those who have bullied, but separately

  30. Best practices – Form a Coordination Team • Form a partnership to address bullying • Administrator • Teacher from every grade level • Parents • Students • Counselor • Mental Health Professional • Community and Neighborhood representatives • Led by a committed and organized chair • Discuss programs, schedules, curricula, problem solving • Meet regularly to build consistency

  31. Best practices – Garner Support • Build buy-in with key stakeholders • Youth • Parents • Staff • Faculty • Community • Establishing early buy-in among stakeholders helps ensure an approach that meets everyone’s needs and more effective programming and implementation

  32. Best practices – Give Youth a Meaningful Role • Consider youth: • Ideas • Opinions • Feedback • Involve older youth in planning, implementation, teaching younger youth • Focus strategies on: • Empathy and support for those who are bullied • Personal responsibility • Active intervention

  33. Best practices – Be culturally competent • Cultural competency understands, accepts, and respects the unique contributions of all people, regardless of ability, age, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, geographic region, health, language, mental health, race, religion, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status or spirituality. • Helps identify needs for a healthier social climate • Recognizes people’s differences when interventions need to occur

  34. A call to action These findings matter for all of us because the negative effects of bullying and the positive effects of preventing bullying can last a lifetime.

  35. Help prevent bullying: parents • Does your child feel safe in school? • Does your child’s school have bullying prevention programming? • Is it effective? And, how does the school know? • Does the school ask parents and students for input on bullying prevention?

  36. Help prevent bullying: educators • Do adults in the school understand the extent of the bullying problem? • Can they distinguish bullying from normal conflict? • Has the school created an environment that promotes care and concern for others? • Has all staff bought in to bullying prevention? • Are prevention strategies embedded schoolwide?

  37. Help prevent bullying: policymakers • Have school districts been encouraged or mandated to identify methods to decrease and document bullying? • Are local- and state-level policies effective? • Have the voices of educators, students and parents been part of the discussion?

  38. Learn more • Visit www.coloradotrust.org to read the report Build Trust, End Bullying, Improve Learning and find out how you can make a difference. • Visit www.bullyingprevention.org to learn more about strategies to prevent bullying.

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