Bullying Behavior: Braiding Bully Blocker with PBIS Barb Long and Lynne DeSousa

1. Bullying Behavior: Braiding Bully Blocker with PBIS Barb Long and Lynne DeSousa Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports Coaches

2. Thank you. • Thompson School District • George Sugai • Erin Sullivan-CDE • Safe and Civil Schools

3. PURPOSE To improve our understanding of & responding to bullying behavior from perspective of school-wide positive behavior support.

4. Objectives for Today • Learn about best practices for establishing a safe school culture and minimizing bullying for elementary students. • Receive resources to support you in this work. • Receive guidance on how to effectively respond when bullying does occur.

6. Bullying Prevention –Why little success in US schools? 6 • All programs fail to address the extent to which demographic variables (such as gender and race) impact efficacy. • Need to consider how classroom management skills and implementation levels impact a program’s effectiveness. • Need to seriously consider how to motivate schools to engage in a serious conversation about bully prevention. • REALITY– Developmental science MUST inform the next generation of prevention efforts; by contributing to modifications, enhancements, implementation issues, and must infuse INNOVATION into basic and applied scholarship.

7. A Positive Climate is the Best Prevention

8. School Wide Bullying Prevention Create a school climate based on mutual respect Make bullying prevention part on the work of the PBIS Team Establish clear rules/procedures/ policies about bullying. “Be Respectful” applies to students and adults in the building!”

9. SW PBIS is

10. PBIS Prevention Goals & Bullying Behavior

11. Integrated Elements Supporting Social Competence & Academic Achievement OUTCOMES 15 Supporting Decision Making Supporting Staff Behavior DATA SYSTEMS “BULLY BEHAVIOR” PRACTICES Supporting Student Behavior

12. Academic Systems Behavioral Systems • Intensive, Individual Interventions • Individual Students • Assessment-based • High Intensity • Intensive, Individual Interventions • Individual Students • Assessment-based • Intense, durable procedures • Targeted Group Interventions • Some students (at-risk) • High efficiency • Rapid response • Targeted Interventions • Some students (at-risk) • High efficiency • Rapid response • Individual or Group • Universal Interventions • All students • Preventive, proactive • Universal Interventions • All settings, all students • Preventive, proactive Designing School-Wide Systems for Student Success 1-5% 1-5% Bullying Prevention 5-10% 5-10% Bullying Prevention 80-90% 80-90% Bullying Prevention

13. Implications for Prevention Programming Need to give kids life and social skills, not just knowledge about bullying Need to develop secondary and tertiary programs, not just primary prevention programs Bullying programs need to consider incorporating discussion of sexual harassment and homophobic language (Birkett & Espelage, 2010). 67 bullying prevention programs in US, only five discuss sexual harassment or sexual orientation issues. Peers influence has to be considered in developing and evaluating prevention/intervention programs 67 bullying prevention programs, only one attempts to target and shift peer norms.

14. Our Starting Point

15. Pair Share • Turn to your neighbor and discuss what the definition of “bullying” is. • (3 minutes)

16. What is Bullying? Thompson School District defines bullying behavior as “the use of coercion to obtain control over another person or to be habitually cruel to another person.” JICDE-R Bullying Prevention and Education Thompson School District Board Policy

17. What is Bullying? • “Any written or verbal expression or electronic or gesture, or pattern thereof, that is intended to coerce, intimidate, or cause any physical, mental, or emotional harm to any student.” Colorado House Bill 11-1254 June 2011

18. Team 35 GENERAL IMPLEMENTATION PROCESS Agreements Data-based Action Plan Evaluation Implementation

19. SWIS Definition of Bullying Behavior

20. How does Bullying Behavior Occur? “Written, verbal, or electronically transmitted (cyber bullying) expression or by means of a physical act or gesture.” Bullying Prevention and Education Thompson School District Board Policy.

21. Where Does Bullying Occur? What does your data say?!! • The most common places where bullying takes place: • School yard or playground (74% of victims) • Hallways (53% of victims) • Cafeteria (45% of victims) • At home or on computer (cyberbullying) But it could be different for your school….

22. Key Elements ofBullyingBehavior Imbalance of power Intent to cause harm; deliberate, non-accidental Acts are repeated – show a pattern Vulnerability of victim

23. Direct Bullying Hitting, kicking, shoving, spitting… Taunting, teasing, racial slurs, verbal harassment Threatening, obscene gestures

24. Indirect Bullying Getting another person to bully someone for you Spreading rumors, gossip Deliberately excluding someone from a group or activity Many forms of Cyber bullying

25. Cyber-Bullying (= Digital Abuse) “Cyber-bullying involves the use of information and communication technologies to support deliberate, repeated, and hostile behavior by an individual or group, that is intended to harm others." (Bill Belsey: www.cyberbullying.ca/)

27. Cost to the Victim “Bullying fosters a climate of fear and disrespect that can seriously impair the physical and psychological health of its victims and create conditions that negatively affect learning, thereby undermining the ability of students to achieve their full potential.” Reference United States Department of Education Office of Civil Rights memo 10/26/11

28. Effects of Bullying • Students who are chronically bullied are more likely to have: • A greater dislike of school • Higher absenteeism • A decline in school performance • Poor self-esteem • Greater incidence of psychological disorders such as depression and anxiety • Repeated bullying may also trigger serious episodes of violence

29. Video • Alye Pollack “Sticks and Stones video” (You Tube) • (http://youtu.be/37_ncv79fLA)

30. Why Some Children Have Bullying Behaviors Students don’t know how else to influence peers. (skills) They don’t realize that their behavior is inappropriate- poor modeling (taught) . Bullying behavior meets a need. Rewards for bullying behaviors: Social attention Social recognition Social status

31. Family & School Risk Factors • FAMILY • Lack of supervision • Lack of attachment • Negative, critical relationships • Lack of discipline/ consequences • Support for violence • Modeling of violence • SCHOOL • Lack of supervision • Lack of attachment • Negative, critical relationships • Lack of discipline/ consequences • Support for violence • Modeling of violence

32. Sibling Bullying Sibling bullying is tied to school-based bullying in many countries (Espelage & Swearer, 2003 for review) Study of 779 middle school students, association between bullying perpetration and sibling aggression perpetration was strongly associated (girls r = .52, boys r = .42; Espelage & Stein, in prep)

33. Myths About Bullying Bullying really isn’t a big problem. Children who bully have low self-esteem. Only boys bully. If a kid just “fights back” or ignores the bullying, the problem will be solved. Adults feel that they are already doing everything they can to address bullying.

34. The Tough Kid Bully Blockers Program • Safe and Civil Schools (CHAMPS) • Research based: Bowen, Ashcraft, Jenson, and Rhode • Universal, targeted or individual intervention.

35. The Tough Kid Bully Blockers Program • Prevents and reduces bullying behavior. • Applies to general and special education classes. • 15 minute weekly lessons for teachers and other school professionals. • sample letters; tips for families

36. Goal of Bully Blockers • Teach replacement behaviors to potential bullies and help potential victims counteract bullying behavior.

37. Use your data • Student and Staff surveys • SWIS and Infinite Campus ODR’s • Pre and Post tests

38. Tools for Chronic Bullies and Victims Bullies: Functional Behavior Assessment Check in Check out Contracts Peer Mediation Victims: Check in Check out Peer Buddy Parent Involvement Skills training

39. Facts about Bystanders • Provide an audience for the bully, reinforcing • Afraid of retaliation • Develop symptoms of stress and worry • Sometimes part of a a peer group that encourages bullying

40. Lessons for 6 skills • Learning about Bullying • Bully Blocker Tool • Friendship Builders • Problem Solvers • Respecting Differences • Confidence Builders

41. Lessons All materials can be reproduced. Optional Bully Blocker “Shorts”. Thompson team created lessons for each grade, with supplemental materials for students ; and tools for family involvement on new wiki. (Judy Norman demonstration)

42. Results of Internal Audit • Need for a unified system of recording Bullying Behavior. (Thompson School District Discipline Referral Form) • Need for a unified system to respond to Bullying Behavior. (Bullying Assessment Flow Chart)

43. Review of Key Concepts Create a positive and safe school environment. Provide supervision in high-risk areas of the school. Establish uniform response procedures for bullying behavior.

44. When you plant lettuce, if it does not grow well, you don’t blame the lettuce. You look for reasons it is not doing well. It may need fertilizer, or more water, or less sun. You never blame the lettuce. Thich Nhat Hanh