Bullying Requires Joint Response From School, Teachers
Bullying is a problem in the Jamestown Public Schools District — though no one seems to know just how pervasive the problem is.
Statistics compiled by the state Education Department showed no reported incidents of cyber-bullying at any school in the Jamestown Public Schools District in 2015-16, the last school year for which statistics are available.
The story told by the statistics is much different than the one told by the more than 20 city residents who attended the board’s most recent meeting, spurred by the suicide of a young girl who attended Jamestown High School, to speak about bullying. A few told stories of being bullied in Jamestown High School. Several speakers referenced to an app called “Sarahah” that lets people message each other anonymously. The Jamestown Public Schools are not alone. All area schools need to step up their efforts to identify potential bullying students and take quick action to follow up and end the bullying.
It’s good to hear Bret Apthorpe, district superintendent, and Paul Abbott, school board president, say the district will do more to decrease bullying. We look forward to seeing what Apthorpe and his administrative team propose to augment the district’s existing policies. One place to start is accurately reporting incidents to the statewide databases as required through the Dignity for All Students Act and state-mandated violent incident reporting guidelines. Improved communication may be necessary among schools when a bullied student moves. Schools can likely do more to identify those accused of bullying and attempt to get parents involved. One place to start is accurately reporting incidents to the statewide databases as required through the Dignity for All Students Act and state-mandated violent incident reporting guidelines. Accurate statistics would help the public understand just how bad the situation really is, but what happens when bullying happens outside of school or online?
In the age of social media no school can eliminate bullying on its own, so a community response is needed. Part of the response will have to include parents — a group many schools have been struggling to reach for years — and possibly law enforcement. In North Tonawanda, parents can be fined $250 and sentenced to 15 days in jail if their child violates the city’s curfew or any other city law, including bullying, twice in a 90-day period. The Associated Press reported the law is geared toward minors who repeatedly bully other children in public places.
Such a law is but one option. There are very clear and defined penalties in the workplace that pertain to harassment, which a majority of the time result in the firing of the harasser. Bullying is very similar to these situations. We’re sure there are other ideas out there that may warrant discussion. Last week’s Board of Education meeting should be the beginning of a community conversation about bullying, not the end.
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