At this point in the school year, we are halfway through. Friendships have been made and broken at this point, and sometimes people can be just mean and hateful.
Regardless of an individual’s age, everyone wants to be liked; however, that will not always be the case. We have to teach our children that everyone may not like them, and that it is OK.
At any time in this day and age, we are constantly hearing about bullying. There are many different kinds of bullying: physical, verbal, social, sexual or cyberbullying.
According to the Tennessee Department of Education, bullying is defined as “involving unwanted, aggressive behavior that results in an imbalance of power. The behavior may be repeated, or has the potential to be repeated, over time. The imbalance of power involves the use of physical strength, or popularity to access embarrassing information to control or harm others. Bullying includes actions such as making threats, spreading rumors, attacking someone physically or verbally and excluding someone from a group on purpose. It can occur during or after school hours and can happen in places like on the playground or on the bus.”
Cases are reported frequently in classrooms and schools. The key to bullying is it is repeated.
As with everyday life students and individuals often have conflict. If you make me mad because you will not play with me at recess or you say something not nice about me — that is not necessarily bullying. That could be just a conflict or a disagreement, especially if it happens only one time.
Cumberland County Schools takes these concerns very seriously. As part of our federal reporting, we are required to report the number of bullying cases each year.
Cumberland County School employees complete a training each year on bullying. Topics in the video include a required brief assessment and obtaining a certain score.
Here is how it works: when an issue is reported to a teacher or administrator, it is documented with the details, and an investigation is to begin within 48 hours. Students are interviewed and when possible, they “say”/”share”/”tell” in their own words what happened.
At the school level during an investigation, all involved parties are questioned. Once the investigation is complete a determination of bullying or conflict is decided. At this point, discipline is determined based on the findings and severity.
Each school is to maintain a log monthly regarding these allegations. We can be more accurate by keeping track monthly. After the investigation is complete, families are notified of the findings and discipline. The basis for disciplining is based on Cumberland County School Board policy 6.300.
To assist our staff within the school system, each employee is required to complete and successfully pass a training module and test on bullying. The training covers what bullying is, identifying bullying behaviors and how to address it.
As I stated, Cumberland County Schools takes any allegation seriously. All reports should be investigated within 48 hours and families made aware of the outcome soon after. If you have a concern of bullying, please notify school administration.
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Rebecca Farley is the Cumberland County director of schools.