Ankeny School District Task Force Says it Will Take the 'Entire Community' to Stop Bullying

According to members of a special school district task force, bullying is alive and well in Ankeny schools.

But it can be curbed, they say, if the entire community is willing to come together to stop it.

Members of an Ankeny school district bullying task force appeared before the board of education Monday night to present their findings about bullying in district schools, as well as the first steps they feel can be taken to stop it.

“Bullying is a systems issues,” said Ankeny associate superintendent Matt Adams. “When I say that, I’m looking at those fundamental solutions – from the way the community, board, parents and students respond in order to shift the culture. It’s going to take all of us.”

The bullying task force was one of several put in place at the beginning of the school year. It is comprised of many district representatives, including teachers and administrators.

During the meeting, the board was told 70 percent of Ankeny students reported seeing someone bullied at least once per week. This included individuals who were teased about appearance and teachers and community members who favor certains group.

Adams, along with several other members of the task force, asked the board Monday night to consider approving a new bullying policy to be implemented districtwide. The policy would replace the district’s existing one, and would make the definition of bullying easy to understand and easier to enforce throughout district schools.

“Kids need to feel safe – and that has to be there for learning to occur,” Adams said.

Included in the task force’s recommendations are the following:

1. Placing a telephone number – or hotline – on the district website where parents and students can report bullying.
2. Provide more education to district staff members.
3. Improve communication with those who have been bullied as well as their families.
4. Increase marketing and awareness.

Members of the task force also requested to spend more time together as a group. They also suggested adding more members to the group in order to conduct further research on the culture of bullying in Ankeny schools.

“This is just a start. We know there is a lot of work to it but this will get the ball rolling,” Adams said. “We need to teach kids that when it comes to bullying, we don’t do that (in Ankeny).”

No action was taken at Monday's meeting.