Phoenixville Superintendent Responds to Mounting Bullying Threat

With bullying anxiety at a fever pitch in the Phoenixville area, and nationwide, Superintendent of Schools Alan D. Fegley released a letter to parents on Monday that emphasized the seriousness with which the district takes the matter and outlined new strategies for addressing it.

“Bullying is a widespread and serious problem that can happen anywhere, to anyone,” began the April 16 missive, which Fegley characterized as a response to an that documented the travails of an eight grader and her mother as they’ve dealt with severe bullying within the Phoenixville school system.

“I want to personally thank this parent for bringing this particular incident to my attention,” the Superintendent wrote. “We cannot deal with issues if we do not know they exist.”

To enable a more direct line of communication between district administration and victims of schoolyard abuse, Fegley announced the creation of a “Stop Bullying Hotline.” Any student, parent, staff or community member who wants to report an instance of inappropriate behavior can leave a message at 484-927-5015, or email stopbullying@pasd.k12.pa.us. Fegley said he and Assistant Superintendent Regina Palubinsky will personally monitor the messages.

Fegley added that the hotline is not the first of the district’s efforts to curtail the problem. They began implementing the Olweus Anti-Bullying Program in January at the middle school—and plan to expand it to the high school next year—and received an $8,000 grant from the Phoenixville Community Health Foundation in March to support broader anti-bullying efforts.

He admitted that these measures won’t eliminate bullying immediately, but allowed a cautious optimism.

“I know we will not immediately eradicate bullying with any or these processes and procedures,” the letter closed, “[but] working together I am confident we can eliminate bullying from our schools.”