New guidelines to be put in place to address bullying

Superintendent Diana Rigby wants to make sure students feel safe at school.

As a result, in accordance with an anti-bullying bill, which was passed by the Massachusetts Legislature and signed by Gov. Deval Patrick in May, Rigby said in a recent interview that she and local administrators would meet to determine what the guidelines would be at the district level to address bullying.

A call was made to the superintendent's office Wednesday and it was confirmed from the secretary that no guidelines have yet been put in place.

Two recent e-mails were sent to the superintendent, but Patch did not receive any response by press time.

The problem of bullying in schools came to the forefront after Phoebe Prince's suicide became public in January. The 15-year-old South Hadley High School student was the victim of harassment at school and outside via text messaging and social networking sites prior to her death.

As a result, The Massachusetts Legislature proposed an anti-bullying bill. The bill specifies bullying as "the repeated use by one or more students of a written, verbal or electronic expression or a physical act or gesture or any combination thereof, directed at a victim that causes physical or emotional harm to the victim or damage to the victim's property; places the victim in reasonable fear of harm to himself or of damage to his property; and creates a hostile environment at school for the victim." (This does not include all the clauses in the law pertaining to the definition of bullying.)

Further, the law goes on to state: "School districts, charter schools, approved private day or residential schools and collaborative schools shall establish a bullying prevention and intervention plan in compliance with this act …"

In the recent interview with Patch, Rigby said the district has always had a standard of respect and caring in the school communities.

Asked whether cyber bullying was an issue the district took seriously and whether officials would respond, even if the cyber bullying occurred off school grounds, Rigby seemed to convey that the district would take a proactive approach when it came to the issue.

"Any behavior that interferes with students learning and their safety, we investigate and intervene to make sure the behavior does not continue," she said. "When (cyber bullying) occurs, the problem is then brought back into the school where kids are socializing."

As more and more students use the Internet on a regular basis, Rigby said it was important that parents monitor their children's use of technology, while teachers should inform students on how to use the Internet appropriately.