Cerra Vista hosts community forum on prevention of bullying in
local schools
Cerra Vista School hosted a Bullying Prevention Kick Off Feb. 2,
in which staff shared the school’s approach to making everyone on
campus responsible for ending the negative behavior with parents
and members of the community.
Cerra Vista is one of three schools selected to be the recipient
of a grant to implement the Olweus Bullying PreventionProgram and
Training, and teachers and staff members underwent a two-day
training that helped them identify issues specific to each school.
The other schools involved include San Juan School and Sunnyslope
School in Hollister.
Cerra Vista hosts community forum on prevention of bullying in local schools
Cerra Vista School hosted a Bullying Prevention Kick Off Feb. 2, in which staff shared the school’s approach to making everyone on campus responsible for ending the negative behavior with parents and members of the community.
Cerra Vista is one of three schools selected to be the recipient of a grant to implement the Olweus Bullying PreventionProgram and Training, and teachers and staff members underwent a two-day training that helped them identify issues specific to each school. The other schools involved include San Juan School and Sunnyslope School in Hollister.
“This school safety and violence prevention project has great possibilities for our school and community,” said Pam Little, Cerra Vista principal, in a press release. “It’s really exciting.”
The initial step in the program happened last year when parents and students answered a survey about bullying. The survey found that more than 10 percent of students said they had been bullied several times a week. Of the parents surveyed, none thought their child had been bullied several times a week.
The survey highlighted one of the difficult things about combating bullying behavior – that those who are subject to it often do not tell a teacher or a parent. Part of the Olweus program is to teach students to tell an adult at school and an adult at home – and also to teach students who oversee bullying behavior that they should report it, too.
Though the program is still ramping up, each classroom on campus put together a poster for why bullying is wrong. The residents and parents who came out to the event voted on which poster best expressed the anti-bullying sentiment. The posters filled the walls of the multipurpose room, some with pictures of students, some with drawings and all with sentiments about how bullying hurts others. The winning poster connected the words of Martin Luther King, Jr. to why students should treat each other well.
“The teachers have committed to teaching students how to be ambassadors,” Little said during an introduction at the event.
As part of the event, a handful of fourth-grade students put together a PowerPoint presentation on how students can help with the issue.
“They put together skits to cement what the rules mean,” Little said.
The four main points of the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program are:
– We will not bully others.
– We will try to help students who are bullied.
– We will try to include students who are left out.
– If we know that somebody is being bullied, we will tell an adult at school and an adult at home.
The students summed up the rules with the acronym “Rise,” and in unison said, “Remember bullies affect all of us. Inform the bully to stop. Say it to an adult. Everybody can be a defender.”
The students at Cerra Vista are all signing a pledge to uphold the rules, and the rules are posted in every classroom and around campus, including in spots where students say they are most often bullied such as the restrooms.
Colleen Meyers, a resource teacher on campus, talked to parents and community members about myths and facts about bullying, as well as what types of behaviors are considered bullying.
“It takes seven years to get going,” Meyers said. “It takes seven years to see the effects in the communities. It takes parents, coaches, carrying it into the community to see the effect on local crime and violence.”
Meyers talked about some of the traits of students who bully.
“They appear to be tough,” she said. “They are good at talking themselves out of situations. They have good or average self-esteem, difficulty conforming to rules and are stronger than their peers.”
Those who are bullied tend to be physically weaker than their peers, quiet or sensitive, and relate better to adults.
She talked about the need for parents to be aware of student’s cell phone and online activities, as bullying can continue after hours.
“There are no barriers,” she said.
Bullying involves a difference in power, physical or social, and the behaviors themselves can be physical, verbal and indirect, such as purposely excluding students from activities. To be considered bullying, the behaviors must be repeated over time – they are not isolated incidents or one-time events.
De Vos pointed out that one of the important measures that can be taken at home is to create an environment where kids feel comfortable telling an adult about negative behavior.
“When kids and adults tell an adult/authority about negative behavior they are doing a good thing that protects the current victim and future victims,” he wrote, in a press release.
De Vos said telling on someone can have negative connotations, such as being known as a snitch.
“When adults misuse the expression and shake a finger at kids, saying, ‘Don’t be a tattletale,’ they inadvertently teach kids that it is wrong to tell adults about bad behaviors they see in life. We want kids to tell adults when someone is getting hurt.”
In addition to making Cerra Vista a place where students feel comfortable telling an adult if they see negative behavior, the school revamped its discipline policy. The policy will be posted online and describes specific consequences for specific actions.
The policy even defines actions and consequences so that students know in advance what they will be. Part of the Olewus program is to make the rules consistent across campus so that all teachers and staff members enforce them uniformly.
“We want to help students make better choices,” Little said.
