How District 15 Handles Bullying

PALATINE, IL — As part of its ongoing coverage on bullying, Patch contacted administrators of dozens of public school districts in Chicago area suburbs to see how they handle bullying in their communities. Across the country, bullying is a problem that affects more than one in five students.

Within District 15, the second elementary school district in the state, 76 total reports of bullying were made to the district in 2018. Those reports came from kindergarten through 8th grade students.

Patch also reached out to suburban parents to get their input on how bullying has affected their son or daughter. Responses from District 15 parents have been posted on Patch.

Studies show students who are bullied are at increased risk for anxiety, depression, poor self-image, mental health and behavior problems and poor school adjustment. Patch posed questions earlier this month to District 15 administrators regarding bullying to see what policies and procedures are in place for handling the issue.

District 15 Chief Communications Officer Morgan Delack shared the following responses:

Q: What is the district’s policy with regard to bullying and cyberbullying?

A: District 15 has a no tolerance policy with regard to bullying and cyberbullying.
Our policy provides effective practices that ensure the safety and dignity of students and staff, maintains a safe learning environment and teaches students positive behavioral skills to become successful in school and society. You can read our full policy 7:180 online. CCSD15 also has a dedicated webpage about bullying that can be found online here.

Q: What is the discipline process for students who bully others?

A: Students are encouraged to immediately report bullying to a trusted adult, or through our online TipLine. The TipLine is anonymous if the submitter does not wish to identify him or herself. Once a report is made, the school administration begins an investigation. The parent(s)/guardians are provided the opportunity to meet with the Building Principal or school administrator to discuss the investigation, the findings of the investigation, and the actions taken to address the reported incident of bullying.

Appropriate school support personnel with experience and training on bullying prevention may be included in the investigation process. Along with discipline measures, interventions to address bullying may also include, but are not limited to, school social work services, restorative measures, social-emotional skill building, counseling, school psychological services, PBIS-related interventions, and community-based services.
The CCSD15 Bullying Prevention and Response Plan is on the D15 website.

Q: How many reported incidents of bullying does the district have this year/last year (could also break this down by grade level)?
2019 - 10 total year to date
K = 1
1st = 2
2nd = 1
3rd = 0
4th = 0
5th = 8
6th = 22
7th = 17
8th = 14

2018 - 76 total for the school year
K = 2
1st = 2
2nd = 3
3rd = 3
4th = 5
5th = 2
6th = 1
7th = 1
8th = 2

Q: What constitutes a reportable bullying incident? How does the district define bullying? In other words, when does it rise to the level of being reportable?

A: According to our policy, bullying includes any severe or pervasive physical or verbal act or conduct, including communications made in writing or electronically, directed toward a student or students. Cyber-bullying means bullying through the use of technology or any electronic communication like email, text messaging, or instant messaging. Individuals ability to report an instance of bullying, perceived or otherwise, is not limited. Individuals may report any instance of bullying if they believe it occurred.

Q: What measures is the district taking to be proactive about bullying?

A: The district uses a system called Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports to proactively prevent and respond to behaviors like bullying. School teams engage in active teaching of school expectations, collect and monitor student data for trends, adjust practices, like supervision patterns, revising student expectations, acknowledging student positive behavior, and supporting students with interventions. As part of the PBIS system, we use an explicit, research-based prevention and anti bullying program called “Expect Respect.”
From our website, “District 15 schools are committed to the PBIS Bully Prevention model that gives students the tools to reduce bullying behavior through schoolwide positive behavior support. The Expect Respect program teaches students and staff how to prevent and respond to bullying. Schools are currently implementing the Expect Respect program and provide refresher information during the year.”

Q: What is the district doing to help students who have been the victim of bullying?

A: The Expect Respect program explicitly teaches both students and adults how to support
victims when experiencing a bullying incident. The program teaches students how to provide assistance to victims in the moment and how to report incidents to an adult. Adults are taught how to respond to victim and bystander reports of bullying. CCSD15 provides a variety of positive support to victims based upon the unique needs of the situation and individual such as mentoring, adult check ins, restorative conversations, and others.

Q: Some schools use apps — Ok2Say, STOPIt, BullyTag, etc. — or some other system that allows students to anonymously report bullying. Does your district do this? What kind of volume are schools seeing? Has that increased/decreased?

A: We use an online bullying/safety tip line which can be accessed on the district webpage at
this address: https://www.ccsd15.net/TipLine as well as our mobile application. This allows for anonymous reporting from any interested party.
TipLine submissions:

■ September: 38 across 20 schools
■ August: 24 across 20 schools
■ May: 27 across 20 schools
■ April: 36 across 20 schools

Reporting has been up since last year, when the schools began teaching use of the TipLine as part of our “See Something, Say Something” Curriculum. We notice an uptick in use of the TipLine when a lesson has been taught at school.