Bullying has been a problem in schools
since the beginning of recorded time, and teachers, parents, and administrators
have tried a variety of methods to eliminate bullying behaviors. Bullying still exists, however. This article is geared towards
administrators, but it is helpful for teachers to know the process as well. Here are the steps I take as an administrator
to reduce bullying behaviors:
Step #1 – Conference with students and
counselor
Step #2 – Conference with students and
principal, and parent phone call
Step #3 – Conference with each student,
each student’s parent, and the principal
Step #4 – “No Contact Contract”
Step #5 – Disciplinary Consequences
Disciplinary consequences can be
In-School Suspension (ISS), or Out-Of-School Suspension (OSS) from one to ten
days for each violation.
Step #6 – Referral to Juvenile Justice
authorities or other local law enforcement
Step #7 – Recommendation for long-term
suspension or expulsion
These steps are given to the students
when they are on Step #2. The steps
reduce bullying behaviors because they are implemented on every student that I
have to deal with. This consistency
produces results. Every step is
documented, so that when I have to involve outside agencies (or district-level
administration) I have written records that I have tried various interventions
to stop the bullying behaviors.
Forms of documentation include:
*Witness statements filled out by both
parties involved (and witnesses of the bullying behaviors)
*Discipline referrals filled out by
faculty members who reported or observed the bullying
*”No Contact Contracts” filled out and
signed by student (and parent)
*The school’s anti-bullying policy
(including the intervention hierarchy listed at the beginning of this article)
*Transcripts of conferences between
student, parent, and administrator (be careful about what you say in these
documents, because some states allow these documents to be taken from your
custody and used in court)
Documentation is the key to success!
