School District Confronts Cyberbullying in Community Presentation

Bullies aren’t limited to the schoolyard anymore. Social networking sites, email, texting, IM and other forms of electronic communication enable bullies to strike anytime, anywhere. In order to help you protect your children, the is holding a series of classes (for school staff) and a community presentation (for everyone) on Tuesday, May 31.

Tuesday's cyberbullying event for district staff begins at 3:45 p.m. at , and the community presentation begins at 6:30 p.m. The presentation will cover everything from harassment, intimidation and bullying policies and procedures. Topics cover everything from peer-led cyberbullying prevention to policy and success stories from educators across the United States.

Special guests of the event are Mary Heston and Marjie Knutsen from WiredMoms, a group that, according to their website, “is a coalition of moms & mom groups connecting families thru technology & innovations that make our lives easier." They will lead a community presentation from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. on cyberbullying.

In January of this year, Washington State passed a bill requiring certain language to be used for school districts’ policies on harassment, intimidation and bullying. At a School Board meeting in early May, many board members and school staff agreed that the policy was nothing new -- the Sumner School District had been operating under the procedures already.

The new policy was unanimously accepted by the School Board on May 25. It includes a new requirement for a Compliance Officer who will act “as the primary district contact to receive copies of all formal and informal complaints and ensure policy implementation.” It also includes a description of what constitutes bullying, intimidation and harassment, policies for training and prevention, and guidelines for interventions.

Look for more information on how to respond to harassment on the STARR Program page on the Sumner School District website.