Need Advice? Ask Us!
printer friendly >
Advice Archive >
In an effort to provide more support to you in the field, Joy Rose, retired secondary principal, and Theresa Kucsma, retired elementary principal, will be offering bits of advice each month. We can also respond to specific questions that keep popping up on the blog. From our combined “X” years of experience (over 70 but we are not sharing just how many!), we will also be offering suggestions that we consider timely, and some will be connected to the monthly theme.
Best Practices in Bullying Prevention and Intervention
by Joy Rose
With cyberbullying on the rise, principals need to be sure that all teachers and paraprofessionals (especially those who serve as playground and lunch time aides) recognize it—as well as the instances of “teasing” that students often are not classified as bullying.
Although there are still people who believe that “teasing” (and learning to deal with it) is part of growing up, in many instances these aggressive behaviors are having very negative impacts on the victims and on their achievement in school. We are not just talking about bullying that occurs through the web or cell phones; in-person bullying is still occurring.
Many books and programs are currently available to deal with bullying in schools. However, many of these are “one-shot” assemblies that may reduce some bullying; but schools need to develop ongoing programs and policies to deal with incidents of bullying.
The Health Resources and Service Administration (www.hrsa.gov) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services believes that research on preventing bullying is in its infancy. However, HRSA has reviewed bullying prevention programs and educator feedback and has developed 10 strategies that represent best practices in bullying prevention and intervention:
- Focus on the social environment of the school; include everyone—teachers, administrators, counselors, nurses, custodians, librarians, cafeteria workers, paraprofessionals, bus drivers, etc.
- Assess bullying at the schools—administer anonymous questionnaires to students so you have data to tailor bullying prevention strategies to your school.
- Garner staff and parent support for bullying prevention.
- Form a group to coordinate the school’s bullying prevention activities.
- Train the entire staff in bullying prevention.
- Establish and enforce school rules and policies related to bullying—develop clear, simple rules so students are aware of behavior expectations that they refrain from bullying and help students who are bullied.
- Increase adult supervision in hot spots where bullying occurs; the questionnaire given to students will help identify these areas.
- Intervene consistently and appropriately in bullying situations.
- Focus some class time on bullying prevention.
- Continue these efforts over time.
These strategies will take time to put into place. However, by focusing on prevention and not simply consequences, in the long run they will save time that teachers and administrators spend dealing with negative behaviors. Not only that, but these strategies will also help us educate students in their role of being good citizens—in school and in their communities.
