School Bullying Council

A school official said Friday that local educators were “appalled” to learn that three male students were caught on video appearing to assault another boy in the bathroom of a middle school.

But School Committee members also defended the district’s anti-bullying programs while saying that bullying is not an easy problem to fix.

Bullying is an “ongoing battle,” said School Committee member Patricia Riley, one “we haven’t won, that’s for sure.”

“I wish there was a guarantee that you could do X, Y and Z, and nothing like this would ever happen,” Riley said. “If there is a formula for this, I wish I knew what it was. I think we’re appalled by the situation.”

In the video, obtained by The Enterprise, three students appear to restrain and attack another boy in a school bathroom at the Williams Intermediate School.

Superintendent of Schools Jacqueline Forbes said she has seen the video and police are working with school officials to investigate.

Bridgewater police and a school official both said Friday that the three alleged attackers in the video were suspended from school but they did not have further details.

Asked about possible criminal charges, Bridgewater police Lt. Tom Schlatz said on Friday, “No (criminal) charges have been filed as of yet. When the investigation is complete, if anybody deems it necessary, it will be done then.”

A student filmed the video about 2 p.m. Tuesday using his cell phone while concealing himself behind a urinal wall, said his mother, who provided the video and whose name The Enterprise is not publishing to protect her son’s identity.

The alleged victim is a special needs student, as is her son, the mother said.

In the video, it appears that one boy holds the alleged victim against the wall while another punches him in the head. A third boy walks up to the alleged victim and appears to punch him in the stomach area. The alleged victim then falls to the floor.

Forbes on Friday declined to answer any questions about the incident, the video or the suspensions and issued only the following statement:

“The Bridgewater-Raynham Regional School District is investigating a fight that took place at the Williams Intermediate School on Tuesday, May 17, at the close of the school day. The district is conducting an investigation into the allegation that this incident may be the result of bullying.

“The police have been notified and are working with us. The B-R Regional School District takes every allegation of bullying seriously. We investigate and will take appropriate disciplinary action in accordance with policy and statute.”

State law required all school districts to submit a bullying prevention and intervention plan before Dec. 31 to be reviewed by the Department of Education.

Bridgewater-Raynham met all deadlines and conditions, said Teri Williams Valentine, special projects coordinator for the Department of Education.

Bridgewater-Raynham’s 16-page plan mirrors most steps of the model produced by the state last summer, at times word for word.

But Quincy attorney Tina Smeaton, who is representing the mother and her son who recorded the incident, said while the district’s anti-bullying plan calls for zero tolerance, it hasn’t been followed.

She said the boy who filmed the alleged attack has been bullied by the same group of students for the last 18 months. Despite repeated notifications by his mother to school officials, Smeaton said, the bullying has continued and any actions by the school weren’t enough for the bullies to change their behavior.

“She didn’t feel her voice was being heard,” Smeaton said of the mother.

Smeaton said a meeting has been scheduled for May 31 between her clients, herself, Forbes and the school district’s attorney.

“The lines of communication are now open, which is great,” she said. “I’m hoping some changes come out of it.”

Pacy, the School Committee chairman, said the district has “clear policies” about bullying, which include suspension, but he added that the ages of those involved and specifics of the situation dictate what disciplinary action is taken.

Pacy said the behavior of the students in the video was “not acceptable” but they may have gotten caught up in the situation.

“I don’t condemn the students involved,” said Pacy, who as of Friday afternoon said he hadn’t seen the video. “I think it’s mostly their unawareness, reacting to the situation. But it’s not acceptable. Our parents, teachers and administrators have to make that very plain that it’s not acceptable.”

The Williams School, which includes grades 4 through 6, was the site of another bullying incident a year ago. Three students were suspended and ordered to write a report on Down syndrome after bullying a student on a school bus.

READ MORE about this issue.

http://www.enterprisenews.com/news/x1078554162/Bridgewater-school-officials-appalled-by-school-bullying-video

Palmer – Staff photo by Michael S. Gordon – Palmer High School guidance counselor Frederick G. Dileone, right, and students who worked on anti-bullying video from left: Nicole C. Prosperi, Troy R. Remillard, Grant E. Farr, Joseph H. Roberts and Lily G. Ghrear.

PALMER – “If it’s mean, intervene.”

That’s the title and the key message of the latest anti-bullying video produced by a group from Palmer High School’s “Students as Technology Leaders” class with help from guidance counselor Frederick C. Dileone.

With more than 100 hits so far on YouTube, the students hope their message continues to spread, and that their video will encourage other teens to take a stand against bullying.

“The more people that see this, the better,” said sophomore Joseph H. Roberts.

Sophomore Grant E. Farr, freshmen Lily G. Ghrear and Troy R. Remillard, and junior Nicole Prosperi also worked on the three-month project, using a Flip video and still cameras to film life at Palmer High. Troy and Nicole were the actors in the 4-minute video, enduring staged “bullying” by their peers.

Acting was something new for Troy, but not Nicole, who is active in drama. The scenes depict what a bullying victim could experience – a garbage-filled locker, isolation in the cafeteria, hair pulling, a nasty text message, being thrown up against a wall.

The students said it was time consuming to piece together the footage, but Dileone said Joseph, who also was involved in last year’s video, “Bullying is a Worldwide Problem,” proved to be indispensable with his computer skills.

Word about the video is spreading in the Palmer High community, and Dileone hopes it will be shown to students in seventh- through ninth- grades. The younger grades typically have the most problems with bullying, he said, although the students agreed that they don’t think Palmer has as many issues with bullying as other school districts.

The district started the anti-bullying initiative before the death of Phoebe Prince in South Hadley. The freshman from Ireland hanged herself last year after intense bullying by a group of students, who were charged in connection with tormenting her. Their cases were resolved last week in court proceedings in Hampshire County.

Dileone said the Palmer High videos are part of superintendent Gerald A. Fournier’s commitment to anti-bullying efforts in the district. These efforts helped the district receive a grant for security cameras at the high school. They should be in place for next school year.

The first video highlighted the back stairwell, with ominous shots of it, where bullying was said to occur by the students. That will be one of the places the security cameras will be installed.

While the first video focused on the definitions of bullying, this video focused on the responsibility of the bystander, Dileone said. “We tried a different approach,” he said.

Lily said working on the project was a lot of fun, and that she learned a lot in the process. Dileone said they used statistics from the 2009 I-Safe Foundation about bullying, such as: 20 percent have been made fun of, 6 percent were threatened with violence, 4 percent had items stolen, 160,000 students miss school daily because of bullying, and 18 percent have had rumors spread about them.

The statistics are interspersed with scenes from Palmer High – Nicole cornered in the rest room, Troy being threatened with a volleyball.

The eighth-grade poster contest winners also were highlighted in the video. They included: Marilyn Mahan’s “No bulls, just peas!,” showing peas in a peace sign; Julia Waite’s “Why bully when you can be friends” showing a handshake; and Larissa Giard’s “Bullies are animals,” depicting a bull. They all received amazon.com gift certificates.

Viewers are told who they can turn to if they are being bullied – friends, teachers, staff, parents, guidance counselors, nurses.

And, it ends with the message: “How can you help someone today? Don’t be a bystander, intervene.”

Said Dileone, “It may not be seen by some students as a popular role to assume when responding to bullying, but Palmer High School is committed to changing that thought process.”

http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2011/05/palmer_high_school_students_cr.html

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    Bullying – Netsafe talks about internet (6:44)

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Schools are being urged to take a lead in tackling the trend in
bullying videos being shared online.

In the past week there have been two high profile cases of
fighting at schools, captured on mobile phone cameras and published
on the internet.

Australian schoolboy Casey Heynes became an international hero
for standing up to a bully, while in New Zealand an attack in
Wanganui, captured on video, left a schoolgirl unconscious and
bleeding from the head.

Lee Chisholm, from internet safety group,
Netsafe , said it is a
worrying trend.

“Children use those interactive technologies for self
publicity… they want to stand out, they want to make an impact,”
she told TV ONE’s Breakfast.

“The links and pathways that enable us to make long term
decisions are still developing in adolescents – they’re very much
living in the moment.”

She said many schools already have policies in place to tackle
bullying, and video-sharing websites have made it simple for
schools to request for clips to be taken down.

But that’s often after the event, when the videos have been
spread virally.

She would like to see schools be pro-active in their approach to
misuse of new technologies.

“It’s up to the school community to think about what’s happening
in their school and question it,” she said.

“It’s up to the board of trustees and school management to think
about it too. Schools have a lot on their plate but certainly
online education is something they need to tackle.”

She said students also have a role to play.

“The biggest thing that actually stops bullying, in recent
Australian research, is peer and bystander intervention.

“Those people who see what’s happening and don’t take part and
stand up for those who are being targeted.”

Chisholm said video-sharing sites, like YouTube, do have certain
terms and conditions and are responsible about taking clips down
that breach the code.

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http://tvnz.co.nz/technology-news/schools-urged-prevent-online-bullying-videos-4089143

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Mobile phone footage shows a fight between two boys at a Sydney school with one boy being thrown to the ground.

World famous: Bullying victim Casey Heynes. Picture: Channel Nine.
Source: Supplied

Enough is enough: Casey Heynes takes action against another student. Picture: Facebook
Source: The Daily Telegraph

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IN just one week, Casey Heynes went from having one friend to 230,000.

The 16-year-old became a global Internet sensation after he was filmed picking up a bully in the schoolyard and throwing him to the ground after being repeatedly punched in the face for being “overweight”.

During an interview with A Current Affair , Casey said he had been bullied almost every day at school and even contemplated suicide a year ago when the taunts became too much.

“I started putting myself down and all the crap just kept piling on,” he said.

“That’s when I contemplated suicide.”

A Year 10 student at Chifley College, St Marys, Casey said he was being targeted by a new gang of Year Seven students last Monday when he was attacked by Ritchard Gale.

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World wide fame for Casey

Standing up against the wall with nowhere to move, Casey was punched repeatedly by Ritchard until he snapped – lifting the Year Seven bully over his shoulders and throwing him to the ground.

Victim of bullying a hero in web attack

The footage was captured by another student, who filmed the incident on his mobile phone and then posted it on YouTube.

Casey Heynes gets suspended over bully attack

Casey said his outburst was a “build-up” of more than three years of being attacked verbally and physically by other students.

“They used to slap me on the back of the head and said I was a fatty and to lose some weight.

“I’ve been duct taped to a pole before as well. They target me because I don’t retaliate.

“I’ve never reacted that way before but everything built up inside me for three years…I just had enough. All I wanted is for it to stop.”

His celebrity status peaked once again after his interview last night, with social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter – which have more than 230,000 followers – labelling him “a hero”.

One blogger, Wayne McCoy, said minutes after the television interview: “you have inspired alot of kids who have and are being bullied. you have changed lives. well done mate. hopefully the bullies will learn thier lesson.”

Others, like Aidan Blackley, said: “Good on ya!!! ur a legend”.

Casey said he had been overwhelmed by the amount of people who backed him after last week’s footage went viral.

“I’ve never had so much support before,” he said.

“Nobody touches me and teases me anymore.”

Both Casey and Ritchard were suspended by the school following the incident, as well as the student who filmed it on their mobile phone.
 

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/casey-heynes-breaks-silence-over-bully-video-from-chifley-college-and-thoughts-of-suicide/story-e6freuy9-1226024997247

Police said the victim was a 13-year-old boy from Downingtown, but they did not say whether he was injured.

They indicated that two 13-year-old girls and a 13-year-old boy were the alleged attackers. The boy and one of the girls are from West Chester; the other girl lives in Downingtown.

Patricia C. McGlone, director of public information and development for the Downingtown Area School District, said in a statement Friday the video showed students fighting on a bus, with one of them wearing a Downingtown Middle School sweatshirt.

After watching the videotape, Indeglio was able to identify the pupils. Their parents were alerted, and the matter was turned over to the state police for investigation, McGlone said.

The fight happened while the bus was traveling on Shadyside Road near Marshallton Thorndale Road, the report said.

The district moved quickly to term the incident bullying.

“The students involved in this incident were disciplined expeditiously according to district policies,” Superintendent Lawrence Mussoline said. “The Downingtown Area School District does not tolerate inappropriate behavior in school or on our school buses.”

Neither McGlone nor Indeglio could be reached Friday to determine the exact disciplinary measures taken. Authorities did not release the identities of the three minors.

McGlone said the middle school sent home a letter to parents Friday. The letter described the bullying and steps administrators had taken.

“In a school of over 1,300 students, there are a very small percentage of reported bullying incidents,” the letter said. “However, we take the issue very seriously.”

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/pennsylvania/116971178.html