Bullying Prevention for Schools E-Book

Allan L. Beane

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Bildung
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 372

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2010

Beschreibung

A Step-by-Step Guide to Implementing a Successful ANTI-BullyING Program Bullying can be found in every school system, school, and classroom. It is destructive to the well-being of students, creates unsafe schools, and impacts learning. School personnel, parents, and others are increasingly realizing the importance of putting effective anti-bullying strategies and policies in place that will create safe, caring, and peaceful schools where all students feel a sense of belonging and acceptance. Based on Allan L. Beane's proven Bully Free7reg; Program, Bullying Prevention for Schools is a step-by-step guide to implementing an anti-bullying program in individual schools or throughout a district. In Bullying Prevention for Schools, Dr. Beane details how to: * Implement training for school personnel and volunteers and awareness sessions for students, parents, and the community * Establish policies, rules, behavioral expectations, discipline rubrics, and response plans * Prepare intervention and prevention strategies * Develop a plan to actively include, involve, and empower students, parents, and the community * And much more Bullying Prevention for Schools also contains a wealth of reproducible documents and forms, such as surveys, statement sheets, and intervention questionnaires.

Leseprobe

Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright Page

About This Book

Acknowledgments

Dedication

The Author

Introduction

Steps to Program Planning and Implementation

Appendixes

Bully Free Program Implementation Files

Task Checklists

Step 1 - Establish and Train the Bully Free Program Team and Develop the ...

Establishing the School’s Bully Free Program Team

Planning and Conducting the First Team Meeting

Train the Bully Free Program Team

Preparing for the Next Meeting

Step 2 - Provide Bully Free Awareness Training for School Personnel and Volunteers

Step 3 - Provide a Bully Free Awareness Assembly for All Students

Step 4 - Provide a Bully Free Awareness Presentation for Parents and the Community

Step 5 - Develop a Program Evaluation Plan and Determine the Status of ...

Purpose of the Evaluation Plan

Evaluation Components

Tracking Reports

Program Impact Evaluation Strategies

Step 6 - Develop the Bully Free Program Mission Statement, Objectives, Slogan, ...

Develop the Bully Free Mission Statement

Develop the Bully Free Program Objectives

Develop the Bully Free Program Slogan

Develop the Bully Free Logo

Step 7 - Implement a Bully Free Curriculum

Lesson Plans

Classroom Meetings

Bulletin Boards, Posters, and Banners

Training for School Personnel

Step 8 - Develop and Implement the Bully Free Program Administrative ...

Administrative Strategies Plan

Bully Free Policy

Step 9 - Establish the Bully Free Rules and Behavioral Expectations

Establish Bully Free Rules

Establish Behavioral Expectations

Step 10 - Develop the Discipline Rubrics and Adopt Prosocial (Nonpunitive) Strategies

How to Develop Rubrics

Establish an Anti-Bullying School Rubric (Behaviors and Consequences)

Establish an Anti-Bullying Bus Rubric (Behaviors and Consequences)

Adopt Prosocial Strategies

Step 11 - Develop the Response Plan

Areas to Address

Step 12 - Identify the High-Risk Locations and Times and Develop and Implement ...

Identifying High-Risk Areas and Times

Supervision

Develop and Implement a Supervision Plan and Schedule

Supervision Strategies

Write the Formal Supervision Plan

Visually Changing the Atmosphere of the School

Reporting and Information Exchange System

Step 13 - Train School Personnel, Volunteers, and Other Key Individuals to ...

Step 14 - Conduct a Meeting with Adults and an Assembly Program for Students ...

Meeting with Adults

Student Assembly Program

Step 15 - Develop and Implement a Student Involvement and Empowerment Plan

Student Involvement and Empowerment Strategies Plan

Step 16 - Develop and Implement Parent and Community Involvement and Education Plans

Parent Involvement and Education Strategies Plan

Community Involvement and Education Strategies Plan

Step 17 - Review and Confirm the Implementation and Completion of Program ...

Step 18 - Readminister the Survey Instruments, Analyze Pre- and Post-Data, and ...

Readminister the Surveys

Reexamine Data

Examine Bullying Reports and Notes Taken During Focus Meetings

Do Not Relax

Step 19 - Celebrate Success and Plan for Next Year

Appendix A - Description of the Bully Free Program

Appendix B - Overview of Bullying—Handouts and Fact Sheets

Appendix C - Bully Free Survey Instruments

Appendix D - Example Anti-Bullying Policy

Appendix E - Bully Free Discipline Rubrics and Blank Rubric Forms

Appendix F - The Bully Free Response Plan Forms for Students Bullying Students

Bibliography

Index

Copyright © 2009 by Allan L. Beane. All rights reserved.

Published by Jossey-Bass

A Wiley Imprint

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No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, 978-750-8400, fax [phone], or on the Web at www.copyright.com. Requests to the publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, 201-748-6011, fax [phone], or online at www.wiley.com/go/permissions.

Certain pages from this book are designed for use in a group setting and may be customized and reproduced for educational/training purposes. The reproducible pages are designated by the appearance of the following copyright notice at the side of each page:

Copyright © 2009 by Allan L. Beane. All rights reserved.

This notice must appear on all reproductions as printed.

Bully Free®, Bully Free Zone®, and Bully Free Classroom® are registered trademarks of Free Spirit Publishing, Inc.

This free permission is restricted to limited paper reproduction of the materials for educational/training events. It does not allow for systematic or large-scale reproduction, distribution (more than 100 copies per page, per year), transmission, electronic reproduction, or inclusion in any publications offered for sale or used for commercial purposes—none of which may be done without prior written permission of the Publisher.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Beane, Allan L.

Bullying prevention for schools : a step-by-step guide to implementing the bully free program /

Allan L. Beane.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-0-470-40701-1 (pbk.)

1. Bullying in schools-Prevention-Handbooks, manuals, etc. 2. Bullying-Prevention-Handbooks, manuals, etc. 3. School violence-Prevention-Handbooks, manuals, etc. I. Title.

LB3013.3.B433 2009

371.5’8-dc22

2009017421

FIRST EDITION

PB Printing 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

About This Book

Several years ago, the pain of being mistreated visited our home. When our son, Curtis, was in seventh grade, he was bullied and eventually isolated by several students. My wife and I decided to transfer him to another school system. He found acceptance and a sense of belonging at the new middle school. Then at age fifteen, Curtis was in a car accident that changed his life.

My wife and I had to give the surgeons permission to remove two fingers and one-third of his right hand. He had two other fingers repaired and one rebuilt. When he went back to school, many of his classmates encouraged and supported him. But many were cruel to him. Once again, I asked myself, “How can kids be so cruel?” There was a cry from within me for answers. I wanted to know if I could stop cruelty from developing, and I wanted to stop it after it had already developed.

There was also a cry from within my son, and it was deeper and more intense than mine. The bullying had a tremendous impact on his self-esteem, confidence, and emotional health even into his adult years. At the age of twenty-three, he suffered from depression and anxiety. He developed posttraumatic stress from the car wreck and the persistent peer mistreatment. He also sought the company of the wrong people. He got desperate to escape his pain by taking an illegal drug. He had a heart problem that no one knew about, and the drug killed him.

Now you understand why I am passionate about preventing and stopping bullying and why I am writing this book for you. I understand the pain expressed by children who are mistreated and the heartache their parents experience. I want to stop the pain. I also have witnessed the frustration of professionals who seek to prevent and stop bullying. They have a tremendous need for a step-by-step guide to implementing a program that will prevent and stop bullying.

In response to my son’s bullying, I wrote my first book, The Bully Free Classroom. I wrote this book you are holding because I do not want any student to experience what our son did. I especially do not want them to take the path he took. After his death, I wrote several books and developed numerous other materials and resources (bracelets, brochures, posters, and others) that now make up the Bully Free Program. My wife, Linda Beane, and I coauthored one book, Bully Free Bulletin Boards, Posters, and Banners. Thousands of schools in the United States and other countries now use our materials and resources, and Linda and I work full time helping schools implement the Bully Free Program. We have dedicated the rest of our lives to preventing and stopping bullying. Our efforts have expanded into presenting school assembly programs, presenting to parents, training school personnel, and training others who work with young people. Visit our Web site, www.bullyfree.com, for more information.

Bullying can be found in every neighborhood, school system, and school. To prevent and reduce it requires a systematic effort in each school. Ideally, there will be a school-system-wide commitment to preventing and stopping bullying. There must be adult involvement, including parents and others in the community. But this kind of commitment doesn’t always exist. I have actually had school superintendents tell me that bullying didn’t exist in their school system. Adults denying that bullying exists or ignoring bullying is the worst thing that can happen to children, a school, and a community. When adults harness the energy of school personnel, parents, community representatives, and children, bullying can be prevented and stopped, or at least significantly reduced. I often wonder if we can ever eliminate it—considering the nature of human beings. However, I am extremely hopeful. Using this book is the first step toward making that a reality.

I hope you find this book informative and helpful.

Allan L. Beane April 2009

Acknowledgments

I offer my grateful thanks to everyone who has helped by providing advice, information, and comments during the preparation of this book. Special acknowledgment and thanks are due to my wife, Linda Beane, for her proofreading and her desktop publishing knowledge and skills. I deeply appreciate her insight, love, and support during this project. Special thanks are also due to Darlene Gibson for her thorough proofreading of an earlier manuscript. I want to express my sincere gratitude to Kate Bradford and Nana Twumasi at Jossey-Bass for their editorial assistance, knowledge, skills, ideas, encouragement, and support during the preparation of this manuscript.

This book is dedicated to our son, Curtis Allan Beane, who was bullied in seventh grade and high school. It is also dedicated to our daughter, Christy Turner; our son-in-law, Mike; and our grandchildren, Emily Grace Turner, Sarah Gail Turner, Jacob Allan Turner, and Jimmy Andrew Turner. They have been the light in the darkness caused by Curtis’s death. We hope this book, and those who use it, will bring light into the darkness of students who are mistreated.

The Author

Allan L. Beane, Ph.D., is an internationally recognized expert, speaker, and author on bullying. He is the president of Bully Free Systems LLC in Murray, Kentucky. He has over thirty-four years of experience in education that includes teaching special education, teaching regular education, serving as vice president of a university, and serving as director of a school safety center. He has served as an expert and consultant in criminal cases and lawsuits involving bullying and has been an expert guest on Fox News and CNN’s Nancy Grace Show. He and material from his anti-bullying program have been featured in many national magazines and journals, such as USA Today, USA Weekend, Time for Kids, Newsweek for Teens, School Transportation News, and Parenting magazine. Beane’s son was bullied in seventh grade and high school. His son’s life inspired him to develop his anti-bullying program, the Bully Free Program, which has been adopted around the United States. His books, The Bully Free Classroom (Free Spirit Publishing) and Protect Your Child from Bullying (Jossey-Bass), are available in several languages. He often gives keynote addresses, speaks to students and parents, and provides training for school personnel and others. For more information, visit his Web site at www.bullyfree.com.

Introduction

Bullying is a form of overt and aggressive behavior that is intentional, hurtful (physically or psychologically, or both), and persistent (repeated). Bullied students are teased, harassed, and assaulted (verbally or physically, or both) by one or more peers and often socially rejected by their peers. In any bullying, there is an imbalance of strength (power). Students should not be made to feel they are alone in coping with their mistreatment. One of the most effective deterrents to bullying is adult authority and supervision. Unfortunately, adults in our schools cannot tackle this problem alone. Efforts to combat bullying must be a collaboration among school personnel, volunteers, students, parents, law enforcement, community agencies and organizations, and others. The Bully Free Program includes such collaboration. Anti-bullying programs should include not only policies and procedures, but also prevention and intervention strategies that are administrative and teacher centered, as well as curriculum.

Increasingly adults are realizing the importance of creating school environments that are bully free—where all students feel a sense of belonging and acceptance and everyone treats others the way he or she wants to be treated. The purpose of this book is to help you create this kind of environment in your school by explaining how to develop, implement, and evaluate the Bully Free Program in your school system or school. The aim of the Bully Free Program is to create peaceable, caring environments in which students and adults feel psychologically, emotionally, and physically safe and all adults and students model self-control, acceptance of others, kindness, empathy, and respect. Even if your school system or school has already initiated an anti-bullying program, this book can be used to fill gaps in it.

This book provides a step-by-step action plan that requires the collaboration of parents, school personnel, volunteers, students, and key community representatives. Ideally, the Bully Free Program will be implemented in all of the schools in a district. Some aspects of the program can also be used in community programs for children and youth. Implementing this program only at certain grade levels will not sufficiently tackle the problem. It is wonderful to have caring teachers who have a passion for stopping bullying, but they cannot do this alone. They need the help of many others—administrators, custodians, bus drivers, bus monitors, cafeteria workers, volunteers, students, parents, school resource officers, counselors, school psychologists, and key community representatives. Therefore, this book is designed to guide implementation of the schoolwide Bully Free Program because research indicates that such an approach can effectively reduce bullying. Of course, it is best if a program can be implemented throughout the school system because bullying often occurs at all grade levels, including preschool.

Steps to Program Planning and Implementation

Any anti-bullying program should be implemented throughout the school district or system. If this isn’t possible, it should be schoolwide and in as many schools as possible. The program should also be comprehensive and multifaceted in that it permeates policies, procedures, activities, events, instructional activities, operating procedures, codes of conduct, discipline procedures, and other areas. The program should be an ongoing curriculum and strategies approach and not viewed as a one-time event or add-on program. However, the program should also go beyond the curriculum and become a way of living in every school. After all, it is the little things we do and say every day that will make a difference.

This book is based on the assumption that at least a schoolwide program is desired. However, the following steps in this book can be easily adapted for a systemwide program:

Step 1: Establish and train the Bully Free Program team and develop the program time line.

Step 2: Provide bully free awareness training for school personnel and volunteers.

Step 3: Provide a bully free awareness assembly for all students.

Step 4: Provide a bully free awareness presentation for parents and community.

Step 5: Develop a program evaluation plan and determine the status of bullying in the school.

Step 6: Develop the Bully Free Program mission statement, objectives, slogan, and logo.

Step 7: Implement a bully free curriculum.

Step 8: Develop and implement the Bully Free Program administrative strategies plan and policies.

Step 9: Establish the bully free rules and behavioral expectations.

Step 10: Develop the discipline rubrics and adopt prosocial (nonpunitive) strategies.

Step 11: Develop the response plan.

Step 12: Identify the high-risk locations and times and develop and implement a coordinated and monitored supervision plan and schedule, as well as a reporting and information exchange system.

Step 13: Train school personnel, volunteers, and other key individuals to adhere to policies, procedures, discipline rubrics, prosocial strategies, and response plans.

Step 14: Conduct a meeting with adults and an assembly program for students to increase awareness and involvement.

Step 15: Develop and implement a student involvement and empowerment plan.

Step 16: Develop and implement parent and community involvement and education plans.

Step 17: Review and confirm the implementation and completion of program components and activities.

Step 18: Readminister the survey instruments, analyze pre- and post-data, and make improvements.

Step 19: Celebrate success and plan for next year.

Appendixes

The appendixes include a description of the Bully Free Program, an overview of bullying, examples of documents to be developed by the Bully Free Program team, forms, and survey instruments. All of the material in the appendixes may be copied and used by your school.

Bully Free Program Implementation Files

Several files have been provided online in electronic form to facilitate the efforts of the Bully Free Program team. These files are located at www.bullyfree.com. When you visit the Web site, click on “Click here to access our training resources.” Then click on “Resources for Bully Free Program Committee.” Type bfp1 when you are asked your user name and bullyfree when you are asked your password.

Task Checklists

To assist you in completing each step, a task checklist is provided at the end of each step. The checklist will help the team track its progress. The checklists have space to add tasks and to write notes regarding team decisions.

To effectively promote peer acceptance, a systemwide or schoolwide plan is needed that uses the program components and strategies discussed in this book. I hope this book will give you the information, desire, and confidence necessary to prevent and stop bullying. This book will help you give it your best shot. As Helen Keller said, “When we do the best we can, we never know what miracle is wrought in our life, or in the life of another.”

Step 1

Establish and Train the Bully Free Program Team and Develop the Program Time Line

In order for the Bully Free Program to achieve the expected results in your school, the steps set out in this book need to be implemented systematically and as described here. Since planning is the beginning of action and input from all stakeholders is important, a team structure should be used to systematically implement and assess the effectiveness of the Bully Free Program. If this is a systemwide effort (there will be a program in several schools), I recommend that two types of teams be established: a systemwide Bully Free Program team and a Bully Free Program team in each school. Establishing such teams communicates the school system’s commitment to preventing and stopping bullying. If a systemwide team is appointed, it should serve as the steering committee and be made up of the chairs of the school teams. The superintendent should appoint a chair of the systemwide team.

From here on, this book will address the role of the schoolwide Bully Free Program team. A school team serves as the working committee in the school.

Establishing the School’s Bully Free Program Team

Membership

A team should be formed in each school desiring to implement the program. The team chair should be appointed by the appropriate person in the school system. The chair must be dedicated to preventing and stopping bullying and must have the ability to provide effective leadership. This person often serves as the Bully Free Program coordinator. The chair should then work with the school officials to identify the team members.

The team should have no more than about a dozen members. Although it may be tempting to limit the membership of this team to school personnel because it is easier to get everyone to a meeting, wide representation on the team is important. The broader the scope of representation, the more likely the team will be successful. Although parents are very busy and have difficulty meeting during the day, they can play an important role in planning and implementing the Bully Free Program. They also can assist in enlisting the support of other parents and other community representatives. Sometimes it is not realistic to have a student representative on the team. In many school systems, all the students ride buses and can’t meet with the team, which usually meets after school. If circumstances make it feasible for student representation, we encourage it.

Some schools have used an existing committee to serve as the program’s team when there seems to be appropriate representation on the committee. For example, schools have used discipline committees and school safety committees.

I offer one note of caution on membership. Just because a person volunteers to be on the Bully Free Program team does not mean this person should be on it. Sometimes adults who are bullies want to be on the team, and sometimes individuals with negative attitudes who always want to have their way want to be on it. Therefore, be very selective in choosing members.

Nevertheless, whether you are using an existing committee or forming a new team, the following people should be considered for membership:

• A school principal or assistant principal who provides leadership so the program has priority and its momentum is maintained

• A teacher representative from each grade who serves as a program liaison with other teachers in that grade and an ongoing consultant to them

• A guidance counselor or school psychologist who serves as a program liaison with other counselors and school psychologists

• A special education director or teacher who serves as a program liaison with other special education personnel

• A parent who serves as a program liaison with other parents and helps coordinate efforts to involve parents in the program

Others may be asked to be on the team or to attend team meetings from time to time—for example:

• A member of the nonteaching staff (secretary, cafeteria worker, bus driver)

• A school resource officer or school-based law enforcement officer

• A volunteer supervisor

• A school nurse

• A community representative (for example, the parks and recreation director or YMCA director)

• A student (for students in middle school or higher grades)

• A representative from the after-school program

These individuals should feel passionate about preventing and stopping bullying. The members of the school’s team should also be willing to give the project the time it requires, listen to those they represent, and take the initiative to obtain the opinions and ideas of those they represent.

The representation of the team members may vary from one school to another. For example, some schools may decide to have one teacher represent more than one grade level.

Desirable Team Member Behaviors

The individuals selected should demonstrate willingness to:

• Accept that all members are equal in value and power.

• Be on time and give full attention to each session.

• Commit to the tasks of the team.

• Share and value different ideas and viewpoints.

• Seek ideas and strategies that all can agree on.

• Communicate often to keep everyone informed.

• Recognize the efforts as well as the accomplishments of team members.

• Actively listen to team members and ask information-seeking questions.

• Leave their position, title, and degrees outside the team meetings.

• Assist in keeping the team on task and make effective use of time.

• Encourage and explore the use of creative ideas from all team members.

• Be prepared for each team meeting and complete assignments on time.

• Learn from and value the knowledge and experience of team members.

• Support and implement the team’s plan.

These desirable characteristics should be periodically reviewed by the team members and used to discuss the effectiveness of the team in working together.

Responsibilities of the School’s Team

The school’s team is considered the working committee and is responsible for planning and ensuring the implementation of the Bully Free Program using the steps presented in this book. It also has responsibility for maintaining commitment to the Bully Free Program and maintaining the program’s momentum in the school. Strategies for maintaining commitment and momentum are presented in Step 8.

The Bully Free Program team should become knowledgeable about bullying and become familiar with all of the Bully Free Program materials and resources.

Planning and Conducting the First Team Meeting

The team chair should establish a date, time, and location for the first meeting. He or she should make sure the meeting is held in an easily accessible location, preferably with nearby parking or public transportation. The room should have good lighting, tables, and comfortable chairs. Appropriate refreshments should also be made available (consider those who may have special dietary needs, including food allergies).

Prior to the first meeting, the chair should determine which of the members of the team will write and disseminate the minutes to the members and others deemed appropriate to receive minutes. It is best for the chair to select this person and ask him or her to serve in this capacity before the meeting.

A copy of this book should be ordered for each team member. This book is not only a guide; it contains numerous documents that team members need to examine prior to certain meetings and also serves as a record book for tracking the team’s progress and recording important team decisions.

I suggest ordering one of each of the grade-appropriate Bully Free Program kits and a support materials kit that your school will use (www.bullyfree.com) so that they are available at the first meeting. At some point, a brief period of time may be scheduled for members to examine these.

The chair and principal or superintendent should send a letter and a copy of this book to team members thanking them for agreeing to serve on the team and inviting them to attend the first team meeting; specify the date, time, and place; and ask them to become familiar with this book and bring it with them to the first meeting (and all other meetings as well). They should also be told to read Appendix A. The letter should also mention the mission of the team: to make sure the Bully Free Program is successfully implemented.

At the first meeting, each member should be asked to introduce himself or herself. The chair should thank them for agreeing to be on the team and explain why they were selected. Next, the recorder/secretary should be introduced. The team should then determine the best way to disseminate the meeting minutes.

The chair should explain the mission of the team: to implement the Bully Free Program by following the steps described in this book. The chair should note that each team member will become very familiar with the program and should strive to become very knowledgeable about bullying.

Next, a time and place for future team meetings and ground rules should be determined—for example:

• We will meet for two hours only unless everyone agrees to meet longer.

• We will start on time.

• We will do our best not to be late.

• We will not leave the meeting early.

Ground rules are important to the functioning of teams. Sometimes teams are ineffective because the ground rules are not enforced or they might not be clear.

The suggestions of team members regarding ground rules could be written on a flip chart and discussed. How often the team meets will depend on the availability of the members and the eagerness of the team to implement the program. My recommendation is that the team meet at least once a month, and perhaps more often initially. To move the team more quickly through the steps, groups of two or three team members could be given assignments focusing specifically on certain steps.

Too often individuals in education are asked to work together as a team without teaching them effective team member behaviors. Corporations using the team model rarely make this mistake, and we in education can learn from their effective approaches.

At the first meeting, team members should examine the list of desirable behaviors and briefly discuss them. Also discussed should be the importance of attending team meetings. If a person mentions that he or she will have to miss several meetings, speak to him or her after the meeting about finding a replacement. If a team member mentions that he or she must occasionally miss a meeting, the chair, in consultation with the appropriate school officials, can appoint an alternate who will attend the meetings this team member misses. Once the alternate has been appointed, send copies of all minutes to both the team member and the alternate.

Train the Bully Free Program Team

It is important for the team to become knowledgeable about bullying and the steps to implementing the Bully Free Program. One possibility for training is to work with one of my associates or me at Bully Free Systems LLC to implement the program. Of course, this is not a requirement. If your school is interested in such training, contact information is available at www.bullyfree.com.

The recommended training objectives are listed below, and related recommended reading appears in parentheses after each objective. The readings can be found in the appendixes to this book as well as online at www.bullyfree.com. There is also a tremendous body of information about bullying on the Internet.

After the training, each team member should be able to:

• Discuss the major components and elements of the Bully Free Program (see Appendix A’s summary on last two pages).

• Define bullying (see Appendix B).

• Discuss how males and females are similar and different in their bullying behavior (see Appendix B).

• Discuss how frequently bullying occurs (see Appendix B).

• Discuss when and where bullying occurs (see Appendix B).

• Discuss why students keep bullying a secret (see Appendix B).

• Discuss the impact bullying has on its victims and those who bully—both immediate and long-term consequences (see Appendix B).

• Discuss the warning signs (see Appendix B).

• Discuss some typical adult responses to bullying (see Appendix B).

• Discuss the steps to implementing the Bully Free Program.

Team members can be trained by studying material on their own and discussing it at a series of team meetings or through a retreat or workshop.

• Series of team meetings. If the team wishes to discuss the aforementioned items and the material appearing in Appendixes A and B during a series of team meetings, ask them to read selected material prior to each meeting. Selected team members could present the content to the team.

• Retreat or workshop. Some schools have offered a two-day retreat or workshop for team members. The retreat usually covers the objectives as well as a snapshot of the steps for implementing the program. I am often asked to provide this training at the retreat. When this training strategy is used, the first two or three hours of the training focus on the nature of bullying and the rationale for preventing and stopping bullying. Therefore, sometimes all school personnel are invited to attend the first two or three hours. This has the effect of training the team (Step 1) and completing Step 2, which is to provide awareness training for all school personnel. (Visit www.bullyfree.com for more information about workshops.)

Preparing for the Next Meeting

The chair of the team should ask the team to review this book and to come prepared at the next meeting to establish a Bully Free Program time line. They should be asked to review the following example and be prepared to design a tentative time line. This example also appears in the files located at www.bullyfree.com.

Example of Bully Free Program Time Line

Year One

August and September

• Select the program coordinator and identify and train the Bully Free Program team. (Step 1 )

• Provide bully free awareness training for all school personnel and volunteers. (Step 2)

• Provide a bully free awareness assembly for all students. (Step 3)

• Provide a bully free awareness presentation for parents and the community. (Step 4)

• Develop a program evaluation plan and determine the status of bullying in the school by collecting baseline data (examine existing data and administer bully free surveys). (Step 5)

October and November

• Develop the Bully Free Program mission statement, objectives, slogan, and logo. (Step 6)

• Implement the bully free curriculum. (Step 7)

• Develop and implement the Bully Free Program administrative strategies plan and policies. (Step 8)

• Establish the bully free rules and behavioral expectations. (Step 9)

• Develop the discipline rubrics and adopt prosocial (nonpunitive) strategies. (Step 10)

December and January

• Develop the response plan. (Step 11)

• Identify high-risk locations and times for bullying; then develop and implement a coordinated and monitored supervision plan and schedule, as well as a reporting and information exchange system. (Step 12)

February and March

• Train school personnel and volunteers to adhere to policies, procedures, discipline rubrics, prosocial strategies, and response plans. (Step 13)

• Conduct a meeting with adults and an assembly program for students to increase awareness and involvement. (Step 14)

• Develop and implement a student involvement and empowerment plan. (Step 15)

• Develop and implement parent and community involvement and education plans. (Step 16)

April

• Review and confirm the implementation and completion of all program components and activities. (Step 17)

• Readminister the survey instruments, analyze pre- and post-data, and make improvements. (Step 18)

May

• Celebrate success, and plan for the next year. (Step 19)

June and July

• Provide staff development focused on bullying and the program.

Year Two

August

• Train new staff and update other school personnel.

September

• Begin regular meetings of the Bully Free Program team to maintain the program’s momentum.

• Collect baseline data for second year.

• Implement all components and elements of the Bully Free Program.

Each step in this book has a task checklist at the end that provides a listing of the activities in that step. Following is the first of these task checklists.

Step 2

Provide Bully Free Awareness Training for School Personnel and Volunteers

After members of the Bully Free Program team have been trained, bully free awareness training for all school personnel and volunteers should be provided. You may want to invite me to provide this training. However, you can provide the training yourself or ask selected team members to provide it. I cannot overemphasize the importance of all school personnel and volunteers being knowledgeable about bullying and why it is critical to prevent it, not just stop it. The volunteers who assist with supervision, the school resource officer, bus drivers, teachers, counselors, the librarian, secretaries, cafeteria staff, custodians, administrators, and other personnel should attend this training. The training needs both to inform and to encourage them to feel passionate about preventing and stopping bullying. They need an emotional understanding of the problem. They must hate it when someone is mistreated. Information and passion will drive them to action. Eventually they will be trained to implement the program, so that there is also uniformity in implementation.

For school personnel and volunteers to effectively implement prevention and intervention strategies, they must first understand the nature of bullying, the possible causes of bullying, why it must be prevented and stopped, and why some students are retaliating against those who bully them, harming themselves, or committing suicide.

The objectives of the awareness training will be determined by the needs of trainees. If personnel in your school system or school have already received some anti-bullying training, use the following suggested agenda to develop an agenda you feel is most appropriate for your school. The supportive material appearing in the appendixes can be used as handouts or used to develop slides. The question format of the agenda also lends itself to small group discussion regarding possible answers to the questions. Therefore, try to have the participants sitting in small groups at tables. After a brief period of discussion, randomly select groups to share their answers. Then present the correct answers through slides or other means.

Suggested Training Agenda for Bully Free Awareness Training

• What is bullying? (see Appendix B)

• What does it look like? (see Appendix B)

• How are males and females similar and different in their bullying behavior? (see Appendix B)

• How often does it occur, and why do students keep it a secret? (see Appendix B)

• When and where does it occur? (see Appendix B)

• Why must bullying be prevented and stopped? (see Appendix B)

• What are the characteristics of bullies, which serve as warning signs? (see Appendix B)

• What are the typical characteristics of victims and potential victims, which serve as warning signs? (see Appendix B)

• What are some typical adult responses to bullying? (see Appendix B)

• What are the major components of the Bully Free Program? (see the summary on the last two pages of Appendix A)

• What bully free materials and resources are available to help prevent and reduce bullying? (Visit www.bullyfree.com, click on “Products,” and print the order form as a handout.)

It may take more than one session to cover this agenda. You may prefer to address the topics in a workshop or through a series of faculty and staff meetings. For more information about workshops, visit www.bullyfree.com.

The following task checklist is a detailed listing of the activities involved in implementing this step.

Step 3

Provide a Bully Free Awareness Assembly for All Students

Schools frequently have a bully free awareness assembly for all students. My assembly program takes approximately one hour. I usually share my son’s story and use movie clips. For example, I show a clip from the movie Forrest Gump, where Forrest is bullied on the bus and has rocks thrown at him. I also show a clip from the 1985 movie Mask. The main character, Rocky, has a disease that has deformed his skull and face. He doesn’t want to go to the new high school because he knows he will be bullied. When he walks up to the school, a student makes fun of him, and other students laugh. I also use props. For example, I hit an apple and talk about how I bruised it. Then I talk about how even verbal bullying bruises people on the inside. I also tell several powerful emotionally charged stories about students I have met who are bullied. These are the kinds of components you can build into your assembly program.

Your assembly program should be based on the questions in the suggested assembly agenda that follows. For your convenience, I have provided the answer to each question (or where to find the answer in this book), as well as speaking points. If you wish, make slides with the following questions, answers, and speaking points.

Suggested Assembly Agenda for a Bully Free Awareness Assembly for All Students

• What is bullying? For the answer, see Appendix B.

• What does bullying look like? For the answer, see Appendix B. Note: As you discuss bullying behavior, share stories about students who have been bullied. Do not mention names.

• What kind of memories does our treatment of others create? Answer: People who have been mistreated remember it for the rest of their life. When we mistreat others, they have bad memories of us because we have hurt them. But people also remember kindness. Kindness creates good memories of us. We should be concerned about the memories people have of us. When they think of us or hear our name, we should want them to think well of us.

• Where does bullying happen in our school? (Ask students to answer this question.)

Answer: Everywhere: hallways, stairwells, bathrooms, on buses, in the cafeteria, waiting for the bus, the gym, the locker room, classrooms, the parking lot, and any other place you can think of.

• Why should we treat others the way we wish to be treated?

Answer: It is the right thing to do. It is also the best way to create a peaceful and safe school.

• Why do we allow others to convince us to mistreat others?

Answer: We might be afraid they will mistreat us, and we may think we can’t tell adults because they might make it worse for us. We also want to be popular and be accepted by those who are mistreating others.

Note: Emphasize the importance here of students and adults taking a stand together because they have power when they are united against bullying.

• Why should we be careful how we use our words?

Answer: Words can be more hurtful than physical mistreatment.

Note: Emphasize the importance of using words to encourage, support, and make others feel good about themselves.

• How do people who are mistreated almost every day feel?

Answer: Depressed, angry, fearful, anxious, lonely, defective.

• Do you know anyone in our school who is bullied?

Note: Ask students to close their eyes and raise their hands if they know someone in the school who is bullied.

• Are you bullied?

Note: Ask students to close their eyes and raise their hands if they are bullied.

• What should be our response when we see bullying?

Answer: Don’t ignore it, and don’t laugh. Ask the victim to walk off with you, and if appropriate make an assertive statement on behalf of the victim. (For example, “It makes me angry when you call him that name. He has a real name; his name is John. Call him John.”Or, “I don’t have to listen to this. This is a waste of my time. I’m out of here.”) You should also report the bullying to an adult. This is not tattling or ratting. Reporting is what a good person should do to help someone who is in trouble.

• Why should we seek to make our school bully free?

Answer: Bullying is very hurtful. It can make a person sick. Bullying also makes our school less peaceful and more violent. Almost all school shootings were caused by bullying. The victims retaliated. Some victims of bullying harm themselves and even commit suicide. (See Appendix B for additional reasons.)

Step 4

Provide a Bully Free Awareness Presentation for Parents and the Community

Another important step to take is to provide a bully free awareness presentation to parents and other interested individuals in the community. Because my son was bullied in seventh grade and in high school, I am often asked to make this presentation. I can relate to parents in a special way. The presentation is usually one and a half or two hours in length and addresses the questions listed below. For your convenience, the answer to each question is also provided, as well as other speaking points. If you wish, make slides with the following questions, answers, and speaking points. The material in Appendix B also can be compiled to make a handout for the parents. Another excellent resource for handouts and for planning the presentation is Protect Your Child from Bullying (Beane, 2008).