Bullying is a serious issue. Our program works!
This school implemented the Bully B’ware Productions Program “Take Action Against Bullying” and followed up with building a strong, safe school culture and climate based on the common belief systems of the staff, parents and students. This was a 5 year implementation program with strong committed leadership in the school. The results are listed below.
Year 1
School history and stats.
- Inner city designation, with usual community profile in economically challenged community
- Kindergarten –grade 6 – 300 students
- Up to 27 different languages spoken throughout the community
- Predominantly eastern European population, high e.s.l.
- Windows were boarded up during summer months to prevent breakages
- High incidents of vandalism, graffiti
- 35% transient population
- playground fights a common occurrence
- litter everywhere
- 34 out of school suspensions Dec. – June of that year
- $2200.00 in window breakage costs
Year 2
- 35 % transiency
- community school programs throughout the summer and school year, low cost, school open for community to access
- number of suspensions reduced to just over 20
- instituted a “zero tolerance”
- reviewed with students behaviour expectations
- began “Caughtcha” rewards program for students caught doing random acts of kindness of deeds of good citizenship
- developed school song
- had the school painted (outside)
- ran a program Friday nights for at risk teens
- reduced window breakage cost from $2200.00 to just over $300.00
- started community kitchen program
Year 3
- transient population reduces slightly, for the first time we have a Korean group of new Canadians
- work with Community Transition group to introduce new Korean families to our cultures and behavioural expectations for kids
- Solicit corporate sponsorship
- Revisit the formal Bully B’ware program. Out of school suspensions drop to less that 10
- Very few playground fights
- Transition to a Kindergarten to grade 5 school is complete
- Begin a leadership program with students grades3-5
- Office referrals for incidents of bullying drop from 92 to 39
- Vandalism to the building increases throughout the summer due to extensive renovations
- Vandals caught and restitution made in the form of community programs (girls offered a dance program to students)
- Litter problems evaporate
Year 4
- Renovations completed
- School is profiled in the magazine portion of the CBC National as a “safe school”
- Student pride shows through
- Less than 5 suspensions, only 2 from bullying incidents
- Community school programs increase every year in popularity
- Bullying incidents are more non-violent: relational among the boys and girls: harder to detect, more incideous
- Students/parents encouraged to report
Year 5
- Very few
- Vandals responsible for one act of vandalism (over 50% of the total cost of all vandalism) caught and held responsible; restitution in the form of offering a community program for students (baseball)
- Bullying at a maintenance level
Interesting Facts I’ve Learned
- The culture of the school must change, which could change the culture of the community
- The leader must believe that this is an important issue
- Follow-up and follow through with students and parents is key to this working
- Parents and the community must know what the behaviour expectations are in the school, and what the consequences are
- Children from other schools who arrive with reputations as tough kids will change when the culture of the school surrounding them is positive, solid and in place – they will rise to the level of behaviour expected, and they will be surprised
- Learning capability goes up when students feel proud and are not frightened
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