Addressing Bullying Within the Classroom: Resources for Teachers

1. Addressing Bullying Within the Classroom: Resources for Teachers Robyn Sullivan, Ph.D., NCSP Reading Public School District The Blueprint for Educational Excellence National Institute

2. Overview of Presentation • Status of mental health in schools • Bullying • Resources for elementary school • Resources for middle/high school

3. Mental Health in the Schools • Approximately 13% of public school students receive special education • Recommended ratios: • 1:250 School Counselor • 1:400 School Social Worker • 1:700 School Psychologist • Need to talk to someone other than a family member • 48% of high school students • 30 % of middle school students • Sought counsel from a school psychologist or school counselor • 11% of high school students • 7% of middle school students Source: Massachusetts Department of Elementary & Secondary Education & Massachusetts Department of Public Health, 2011; Skalski & Smith, 2006; Weir, 2012

4. The Role of Teachers • Create a sense of belonging • Promote resilience • Develop competencies • Ensure a positive, safe school environment • Teach and reinforce positive behavior and decision making • Encourage helping others • Encourage good physical health Source: National Association of School Psychologists

5. Bullying • Bullying occurs when a student is, “…exposed, repeatedly and over time to negative actions on the part of one or more students”. • Between 15-30% of all students in the United States are bullied, making it the most common form of violence in the country. • Long-term consequences of bullying: • Adjudication • School dropout • Poor psychosocial adjustment Source: Olweus, 1993; Cohn & Canter, 2003

6. Massachusetts General Law M.G.L. Chapter 71, Section 37o: “Bullying”, the repeated use by one or more students of a written, verbal or electronic expression or a physical act or gesture or any combination thereof, directed at a victim that: (i) causes physical or emotional harm to the victim or damage to the victim’s property; (ii) places the victim in reasonable fear of harm to himself or of damage to his property; (iii) creates a hostile environment at school for the victim; (iv) infringes on the rights of the victim at school; or (v) materially and substantially disrupts the education process or the orderly operation of a school. For the purposes of this section, bullying shall include cyber-bullying. • Each school district, charter school, approved private day or residential school and collaborative school shall provide age-appropriate instruction on bullying prevention in each grade that is incorporated into the curriculum of the school district or school. The curriculum shall be evidence-based. • Aggressors, Victims, and Bystanders • Al's Pals: Kids Making Healthy Choices • Bullying Prevention Program (Olweus) • Bully Proofing Series • Michigan Model for Comprehensive School Health Education • PATHS (Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies) • Peacebuilders • Steps to Respect

7. What Teachers Can do About Bullying Best Practices • School-wide interventions • Value system based on caring, respect, and personal responsibility • Address off-campus bullying Source: Feinberg, 2003 Action Steps • Classroom-based interventions • Clear and consistent expectations and consequences and reinforcing alternate behaviors • Work with parents

8. Aggression in Early Childhood • Boys: Rough and tumble play begins to emerge but does not completely replace physical aggression • Girls: Begin to socially exclude peers Sources: Underwood, 2003; Wood, Cowan, & Baker, 2002

9. Early Childhood Interventions Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning • Scripted stories for social situations • Recommended book list • Tools to supplement recommended books • Tools to teach social emotional skills and support behavior • Training modules CSEFEL

10. Bullying and Aggression in Elementary School • Development of social hierarchies and cliques • In-group/out-group bias • Enemies • 28% of children in grades 3 and 4 • 38% of children in grades 5 and 6 • Bullying appears in the greatest frequency among children ages 10 through 14, and during the transition from elementary to middle school Sources: Eslea & Rees, 2001; Gifford-Smith & Brownell, 2003; Hoover et al., 1992; Pellegrini & Long, 2002; Pope, 2003

11. Government initiative to provide information about bullying What bullying is What cyberbullying is Who is at risk How to prevent bullying How to respond to bullying www.stopbullying.gov Elementary School TeachersStop Bullying Now!

12. Resources to use with students Webisodes • 12 videos for use with students ages 9 to 13 • 2 “early childhood” videos • Multiple choice questions following videos to enhance learning

13. Resources to use with students Cool Comics • Three volumes of comic books, each containing 4 webisodes • Supplemental games/activities following each comic

14. Bullying in Massachusetts Middle School • 36% of students report being a victim of bullying • 15% of students report being the victim of cyber-bullying Source: Massachusetts Department of Elementary & Secondary Education & Massachusetts Department of Public Health, 2011 High School • 18% of students report being the victim of bullying • 17% of students report being the victim of cyber-bullying

15. K-12 Resources No Name-Calling Week/GLSEN • Differentiated lesson plans • Elementary School • 5 lesson plans • P.E. lesson plan • Suggested Literature • Middle School • 12 lesson plans • High School • 4 lesson plans • Safe space kit* • Art Lessons • 3 lesson plans • Grades K-9 • Teachers Guide No Name-Calling Week

16. The Massachusetts Aggression Reduction Center • Provides low-cost or no-cost trainings and evidence-based curricula to Massachusetts public school • Provides information for administrators/districts to choose bullying prevention programs based on Massachusetts law MARC

17. Cyberbullying Anti-Defamation League • Three lesson plans • Internet Safety Strategies • Responding to Cyberbullying Cyberbullying

18. Links to Resources • Anti-Defamation League http://archive.adl.org/education/curriculum_connections/cyberbullying/ • Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning http://csefel.vanderbilt.edu/resources/strategies.html • Massachusetts Aggression Reduction Center http://webhost.bridgew.edu/marc/index.html • No Name-Calling Week http://www.nonamecallingweek.org/cgi-bin/iowa/all/resources/index.html • Stop Bullying Now! http://www.stopbullying.gov/index.html

19. References Cohn, A., & Canter, A. (2003). Bullying: Facts for schools and parents.National Association of School Psychologists. Eslea, M., & Rees, J. (2001). At what age are children most likely to be bullied at school? Aggressive Behavior, 27, 419-429. Feinberg, T. (2003). Bullying prevention and intervention. Principal Leadership. Gifford-Smith, M. E., & Brownell, C. A. (2003). Childhood peer relationships: Social acceptance, friendships, and peer networks. Journal of School Psychology, 41, 235-284. Hoover, J. H., Oliver, R., & Hazler, R. J. (1992). Bullying: Perceptions of adolescent victims in the Midwestern USA. School Psychology International, 13(5), 5-16. Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and Massachusetts Department of Public Health. (2012). 2011 Health and Risk Behaviors of Massachusetts Youth. National Association of School Psychologists. Supporting children’s mental health: Tips for parents and educators Olweus, D. (1993). Bullying at School: What we Know and What we can Do.Cambridge, MA: Blackwell Publishers. Pellegrini, A. D., & Long, J. D. (2002). A longitudinal study of bullying, dominance, and victimization during the transition from primary school through secondary school. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 20, 259-280. Pope, A. W. (2003). Developmental risk associated with mutual dislike in elementary school children. New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development, 102,89-110. Skalski, A. K. & Smith M. J. (2006). Responding to the mental health needs of students. Principal Leadership. Underwood, M. K. (2003). Social aggression among girls. New York: Guilford Press. Weir, K. (2012). School psychologists feel the squeeze. Monitor on Psychology, 43(8), 34. Wood, J. J., Cowan, P. A., & Baker, B. L. (2002). Behavior problems and peer rejection in preschool boys and girls. Journal of Genetic Psychology, 163(1), 72-89.