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Preventing Bullying and Harassment: A Critical Safety Issue

Anyone who has been the target of ongoing teasing or bullying knows that the adage, “Sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me,” couldn’t be further from the truth. Preventing and Countering School-Based Harassment, a booklet produced by the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory, warns about the effects of bullying and harassment on a student’s educational progress and the attainment of future goals. These effects can include isolation, fear for personal safety, loss of self-esteem, and dropping out of a class or out of school altogether.

The recent tragedy at Virginia Tech reminds us that the consequences of harassment and bullying can affect many more lives than that of the individual being bullied. According to the March 2007 Look @ Equity newsletter published by NWREL’s Equity Center, U.S. Secret Service and Department of Education investigations show that incidents of targeted violence at school are carefully planned and that perpetrators report being bullied by others prior to the attack.

Hearing about violent attacks on school grounds across the country can naturally lead students to wonder, “Could my school be next?” When students are distracted by fear and anxiety, their focus on learning suffers. As President Bush stated in the aftermath of the Virginia Tech tragedy, “Schools should be places of safety and sanctuary and learning. When that sanctuary is violated, the impact is felt in every American classroom and every American community.”

The Equity Center at NWREL serves schools in the Northwest and Pacific regions by working toward the goal of ensuring that all children, regardless of race, gender, or national origin, have equal access to quality education and the opportunity to develop high academic standards. To this end, the Equity Center offers training and technical assistance to school communities in the development of:

• Strategies for preventing bullying and harassment
• School policies for dealing with bullying and harassment
• Crisis response strategies for schools and parents
• A crisis response plan

PARENT INVOLVEMENT IS KEY

According to Equity Associate Moses Wambalaba, parents can play a crucial role in keeping their children safe from the devastating effects of harassment and bullying. The Equity Center’s workshop, Parents’ Role in Preventing and Countering School-Based Bullying and Harassment, provides parents with information on:

• Identifying harassing and bullying behaviors—or characteristics of victimization—in their children
• Strategies they can use to prevent their children from becoming victims or perpetrators, including making sure their own behaviors at home aren’t contributing to their children becoming victims or perpetrators
• Effectively responding to their children’s complaints about bullying by their peers (important since children are often reluctant to report bullying)

“In addition to holding workshops, schools can involve parents by including them on the school’s crisis response team or on the school safety plan,” suggests Wambalaba. “Additionally, schools should encourage parents to share any information, concerns, or suspicions about safety issues at the school with school officials or law enforcement agencies.”

Most of the services offered by the Equity Center are free to public schools and agencies in the Northwest and Pacific regions of the U.S. Some cost sharing may be involved depending on the number and duration of services requested. For more information on NWREL services related to school safety and crisis response, contact Joyce Harris, Equity Center director, 800-547-6339, ext. 603, or harrisj@nwrel.org.