New Anti-Bullying Plan in Place

This month, the Westborough School Department completed an anti-bullying plan required by the Massachusetts Department of Education (DOE) from all school districts in the state.

The Westborough Public Schools Bullying Prevention and Intervention Plan was developed by a special sub-committee of administrators and school committee personnel to meet the new state mandate.

Westborough has had comprehensive guidelines in place since 2004. In order to meet the new state guidelines, the district updated elements of its policy. This includes cyber bullying and an anonymous reporting web program.

School Committee Chairperson Ilyse Levine-Kanji said this will be a valuable tool.

"Kids who are bystanders are now empowered. They will be more likely to help and intervene when they see bullying. It will encourage reporting of the negative behavior," she said.

The DOE provided each district in the state with a template to use as a guide for consistent policy on the issue of bullying. In addition to following the template, Westborough School District officials conducted open discussions.

At a public hearing on Nov. 15, feedback and input was encouraged from parents and teachers. The administration used this contribution as a resource for preparing the new plan. The new Westborough plan is a separate document from the currently published anti-bullying policy which appears in all student handbooks and on the school district Web site.

Citing the Mutual Respect Code of Conduct approved two years ago, Superintendent Marianne O'Connor said Westborough has stayed in front of the bullying issue for many years. She said the district "led the way with professional development for teachers to assist the children to develop positive personalities and attitudes and will continue to do so."

Levine-Kanji also praised district efforts to discourage bullying.

"What makes us special are the Character Ed programs that the teachers conduct in the classroom. Making the students better citizens will go a long way to curtail bullying. This is more effective than any written policy," she said.

To learn more about the Westborough School District policies, log onto the district Web site. For more information on teaching children about bullying, go to www.stopbullyingnow.hrsa.gov/kids/.