Bully Prevention Plan Revised and Analyzed by School Committee

It has been about three months since Norton has implemented the Bully Prevention Plan in public schools, and though the effects are still being analyzed, the School Committee has revised the policy to be more inclusive.

Changes were made in the policy to make sure that students are protected from not only students, but the staff as well. The policy modification also clarified that those inciting others to bully are equally culpable as those doing the bullying.

“It doesn’t matter who does it, it’s not OK,” said superintendent Dr. Patricia Ansay.

Ansay said that the school is collecting monthly counts of incidents and analyzing results. A survey was also sent out to students

“What we need to do besides just having this policy is educate the kids that they have to come forward. And if they are afraid to do it, they’ve got to go to an adult and bring an adult into the situation,” said committee member Tom Golota. “Even as adults we need to stop it,” he added.

Though bullying isn’t a big issue at lower education levels, elementary school principals Danielle Klingaman and Riita Bolton know that prevention has to start at a young age.

“Our role is more about educating students about bullying,” principal Danielle Klingaman said. Riita Bolton, principal of added that programs are in place to educate students, such as Bullyguard and Second Step.

Student Council vice-president Kady Ferguson said that bully prevention is only half of the solution, and that apologies for past incidents are just as important. And she has seen a lot of that lately. President Sara Pisdadian agreed, noting that even if the person hasn’t changed, the apology means the world to the person being picked on.