Election 2011: District 68 Candidates on Bullying

April 5 is coming up fast. To help you get to know the candidates for the contested Woodridge elections, we asked the candidates for the and the a set of questions. We'll be posting the answers to those questions throughout the week.

What involvement should local schools have in preventing bullying? What can be done in Woodridge schools to address the issue?

 There is much that should be done by schools to prevent bullying. All schools should take bullying seriously and demonstrate to students that bullying, cyber-bullying, harassment and intimidation will not be tolerated. Woodridge District 68 has policies in place to prohibit and prevent bullying. Our administration and School Board support our students by providing a safe school environment and delivering consistent messages against bullying.

A few examples of this are our district’s anti-bullying policies that are fairly and consistently enforced; D.A.R.E. officers’ visits to our schools several times a year delivering bullying, cyber-bullying and violence prevention curricula; and the creation of a school culture in which students and staff know that bullying is wrong
and will not be tolerated.

Research demonstrates that levels of bullying are related to the willingness of adults
to intervene. This involves doing away with the old “kids will be kids” mentality. This can be achieved by continued training for teachers, administrators, guidance counselors and school nurses on how to recognize and respond to bullying, and educating parents on the signs of bullying and involving them in bullying prevention activities.

Bullying is an issue that negatively impacts the learning environment. District 68 is a Kindergarten through 8th grade district; this is the age where many of the children values are developed. The district staff must be diligent in identifying behaviors that could lead to bullying. District resources and parental involvement should then be utilized to correct such character. The district has a no tolerance policy which is well publicized to both parents and students. Both parents and students agree to the code of conduct. This policy is continually communicated using several methods. The district’s D.A.R.E. Program is one example of how this policy is communicated. The no tolerance policy is strictly enforced by each school with the support of the administration and school board. Educating students, communicating with the parents and enforcing the no tolerance policy are some of the best methods of preventing and reducing bullying in Woodridge schools.  

Schools need be as active and instrumental as parents in preventing bullying.  Schools can bring in outside speakers or acts to teach kids about the harm done by bullying, they can maintain top-of-mind awareness with both parents and students by sending home flyers or pamphlets on a set time schedule throughout the year and they can make sure that it is addressed with parents at the beginning of each school year at the curriculum nights.

Woodridge schools have an anti-bullying program in place.  The district takes this problem very seriously and is aggressive in dealing with any problems in this area that may arise.

Local schools should be very involved in preventing bullying. Bullying is something that can seriously affect a child’s self-esteem and hinder their ability to learn. As such, schools should have no tolerance for this behavior. By openly discussing the issue, we can hopefully make children feel comfortable enough to notify school officials and/or their parents so that the problem can be addressed immediately. School officials should also be on the lookout for such behavior so that they can intervene in those situations where a student does not feel comfortable enough discussing the problem.