School Bullying Council

Special report: Bullying: Taunts, Texts, Torment

Their mission isn’t easy: Put a program in place in less than six months with no money and little training. It must address a complicated problem that has no sure-fire solution and, if it isn’t successful, disciplinary action may be taken.

No wonder more than 300 teachers, counselors, school administrators and a handful of parents packed a seminar Friday at Ramapo College for tips and guidance on how to effectively deal with bullying in the schools.

Program note: Tune in to The Record’s television partner, Verizon’s FiOS1 News, for a two-hour special report on bullying Monday 4/4 @ 6pm.

They were looking for legal, law enforcement, and academic advice on how to get anti-bullying programs up and running by the fall, as mandated by law.

“We’re all in panic mode because we have to start this by September,” said Cindy Sherman, a guidance counselor in Bloomfield High School. “It was really helpful to hear all the experts explain the various parts of this law.”

The legislation signed into law in January requires each school have a program, complete with an anti-bullying specialist to lead the school’s efforts to prohibit harassment, intimidation and bullying of any kind. School employees who witness a bullying incident and fail to act in a timely manner face disciplinary action by their district.

Nearly a dozen specialists were on hand to address the crowd, including Bergen County Prosecutor John Molinelli, Passaic County Sheriff Richard Berdnik, David Nash, attorney for the New Jersey Principal and Supervisors Association, Steven Goldstein, head of Garden State Equality, Richard Guerry, a cyberbullying expert and several educators.

A common theme seemed to emerge — teachers are on the front lines and connections to students are the key to reducing bullying. If students know they have someone to go to if they are bullied or if they see a situation that makes them uncomfortable, their reporting will ultimately make administrators aware of what problems exist in their school and how best to deal with them.

Dorene Zacher, a counselor at New Milford High School, has been tapped as her school’s anti-bullying specialist. She offered some tips that she said seem to be working in her district.

Boxes have been put around the school where students can anonymously report on bullying incidents they’ve witnessed. Twenty-three students were selected and then trained to help with conflict resolution and be “46 extra eyes” in the school. These students often step in and recommend targeted teens go and talk with Zacher.

“This is a tough law and we have to educate these kids that they may get in trouble for something next year that they didn’t this year,” Zacher said. “But I think we really have to give kids a voice in all this.”

The seminar, sponsored by a number of organizations including North Jersey Media Group, which owns The Record, and Verizon Fios, spotlighted the onus schools face in tackling the problem, which extends into cyberspace. The new law requires school administrators take action when cyberbullying — sending nasty or threatening messages via text or social networking sites — creates a hostile school environment for a student.

 “Too many people think what they are putting online is anonymous but that is not true,” said Guerry, executive director of the Institute for Responsible Online and Cellphone Communication. “Lawsuits have made Google and others turn over their records to show who is behind those messages. We need to teach our students that posting these messages can have long-term effects on them.”

Though many audience members said they appreciated learning the intricacies of the law, some said they would like assistance with the bigger issue: When is someone being bullied and when is it just two kids not getting along?

“I teach third grade and I’ve tried talking to my kids about bullying,” said Mary Craccos, from Lindbergh School in Palisades Park. “Now whenever one kid bumps into another one, I hear, ‘He’s bullying me.’ I truly don’t think any one kid is being bullied, but it would be nice to have some materials or videos that are age-appropriate that we can use.”

Kathleen Kelly, a guidance counselor at the Garrett Morgan Academy in Paterson, has the same questions about older students.

“When you see a couple of boys pushing each other around, do you say one is bullying the other? When you’re just visually looking at something and don’t know the whole story, where is the line between kids fooling around and one being bullied?”

E-mail: williamsb@northjersey.com

http://www.northjersey.com/news/crime_courts/040111_Seminar_offers_plenty_of_advice_for_anti-bullying_programs.html

Governor Chris Christie signed the “Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights” into law Thursday, which advocates say makes New Jersey the state with the strongest stance against school bullying in the nation.

The law, which includes specific provisions for cyber-bullying or bullying through text messages, the internet, or social media, addresses loopholes in a previous anti-bullying measure passed in 2002.

“The law will certainly place New Jersey in the forefront of strengthening the procedures for reporting, investigating and responding to incidents of harassment, intimidation and bullying (HIB),” said Caldwell-West Caldwell Schools Superintendent Daniel Gerardi Friday. “More importantly, it will hopefully help to prevent this type of behavior from occurring.”

Gerardi added, “As advocates for children, our schools certainly endorse and praise the efforts that led to this aspect of the legislation.”

Under the new law, schools in New Jersey are required to report, investigate and resolve bullying issues within a 10-day deadline. Schools will also be equipped with an anti-bullying specialist and team and will be graded for anti-bullying efforts that will be made public.

Gerardi said that while each school will be required to employ an anti-bullying specialist, it is not clear what the credentials and compensation are for this position.

The provisions of the new law do not just apply within school boundaries, but off school grounds — on buses, cyberspace and during extracurricular activities — if the incident carries over to the school.

Gerardi said that while the district’s schools are “safe havens for children and incidents of unacceptable hurtful behavior are effectively managed,” being responsible for incidents that occur off school premises presents a challenge. He said this could be time-consuming and place a strain on the district’s limited resources. He also said the district would need further explanation as to how an administrator could be held liable for not reporting an incident of bullying that he or she was not aware of, but “should have known” about.        

The Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights arose after more than a year of research by advocacy groups and a government-assigned task force on bullying and came on the heels of recent incidents that reflected a growing trend of cyber-bullying.

“This bill sadly inspired by the tragic death of (Tyler) Clementi, really put some specific regulations and consequences to the ant-bullying policy,” said Assemblyman and former West Orange Mayor John McKeon (D-Essex), a sponsor of the bill.

In September, Rutgers University freshman Tyler Clementi, 18, jumped off the George Washington Bridge, supposedly after a sexual encounter with another male was caught on his roommate’s webcam and streamed live. 

The bipartisan bill passed in November with a significant majority in both the Assembly and the Senate.

“It requires the schools to pay attention, they can’t ignore the issue,” said Assemblywoman Mila Jasey (D-Essex), a sponsor and major advocate of the bill. 

More than 160,000 children a day do not go to school for fear of being bullied, according to the 2009 Report of the New Jersey Commission on Bullying in Schools.

The 2009 National School Climate Survey by GLSEN found that in-school victimization not only leads to a feeling of insecurity in school, but hinders academic success and motivation. Students also are likely to miss more days or school or certain class periods, according to the survey.

“This is the kind of thing that will not only bring comfort to scores of vulnerable individuals, but will save lives,” said McKeon.

Gerardi said that the Caldwell-West Caldwell district has been able to offer parent workshops and student assemblies that address anti-bullying with the support of such organizations as the Home and School Association, the Municipal Alliance, the Caldwell-West Caldwell Education Foundation and other local service clubs.

At the North Caldwell School’s last board of education meeting earlier this week, Superintendent Linda Freda gave an overview of the district’s anti-bullying programs and policies in anticipation of the new legislation. Freda said the district’s two elementary schools each provide grade-appropriate social developmental lessons, beginning in kindergarten.

West Essex Middle School held anti-bullying seminars for seventh and eighth grade students with John Halligan in December. Halligan’s son, Ryan, committed suicide in 2003 as a result of being bullied. 

http://caldwells.patch.com/articles/new-jerseys-new-anti-bullying-legislation-the-strongest-in-the-nation