School Committee approves new bullying plan

Date: 12/21/2010

Dec. 22, 2010

By Debbie Gardner

Assistant Managing Editor

WEST SPRINGFIELD -- At its Dec. 14 meeting, the School Committee approved the draft of the school district's updated Bullying Prevention and Intervention Plan by a vote of 6-0.

According to a draft of the plan provided to Reminder Publications, the plan "addresses the nine mandated areas of compliance which are required under Massachusetts General law c.71, S 370, known as the Massachusetts Bullying Prevention Plan."

A copy of the completed plan, which must be submitted to the state by Dec. 31, is available in the School Department's main office, in the office of each individual school, and online at the school district's Web site, www.wsps.org.

By January, a written notice of the new anti-bullying plan is to be provided in memo form in the handbook of all district employees.

The plan was developed by a task force, which included administrators, teachers, students, parents, and members of both the school committee and community. The task force used information collected through the administration of The Colorado Trust's bullying prevention initiative student survey in October, as well as a school climate survey, which was distributed to all teachers.The task force also reviewed the district's current anti-bullying practices, including the Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) approach to student behavior, which was adopted in 2006, in light of the new information collected. The results were used to draft the updated anti-bullying plan.

To date, the district has employed three approaches to prevent bullying within the schools. Those methods were: Second Step: A Violence Prevention Curriculum, the PBIS Bully Proofing protocol in schools and the implementation of a bullying prevention curriculum in health classes.

The task force has recommended several steps be taken in FY11 to strengthen the district's implementation of PBIS within the schools. These steps include establishing a review session for administrators and teachers, provisions for follow up planning in each school, increased oversight of the implementation of PBIS and an enhancement of the program for middle and high school students.

It has also requested the development and revising of several anti-bullying policies, including an Internet safety policy, as well as the designation of key staff to implement these changes and an updating of the student and staff handbooks.

Among the enhancements listed on the draft plan are: a student mentoring program for the middle school, slated to begin in January; peer mediation on the middle school level, to be ongoing throughout the school year; a student/peer mentor program in which high school students will interact with elementary and middle school students, to be ongoing throughout the year; and appropriate Internet behavior, to be taught throughout the year in technology classes at the middle and high school level.

The district will also be implementing a summer reading list for each grade level incorporating books and projects, which have an anti-bullying message. This program will begin in summer, 2011.

In addition, the bullying task force has requested additional training, based upon the train-the-trainer program offered through the Massachusetts Aggression Reduction Center (MARC) for staff regarding these enhancements, and this training is expected to be completed by Feb. 2011.