Schools setting policies for bullying

This is the first of a two-part series looking at the issue of bullying in Bourbon County schools.

During November's USD 234 Board of Education meeting, the issue of bullying was briefly addressed during the "superintendent's report." Additionally, during a lengthy executive session, the board "discussed matters relating to actions adversely or favorably affecting a person as a student." After the meeting, board President Janet Braun declined discussed the executive session. Braun did confirm that USD 234 has a bullying policy currently in place and is continuing to look for ways to "strengthen it."

"I feel the schools should be safe," Braun told the Tribune. "Students should be safe from bullying, and we are working to create plans to be proactive against bullying as well as reactive."

Fort Scott High School Principal Bob Beckham said bullying is not a major concern at FSHS, but rather "student-conflict" issues which have cropped up are now the primary focus.

"We're talking about possible programs to help us be more proactive and provide more information to our kids about what it looks like and how we can help prevent it," Beckham said. "I think we have more student-conflict than we have bullying situations. What I mean is, I think we have more students get in disagreements with each other and that's not always bullying. Unfortunately, we do deal with issues and we deal with them on a case-by-case basis."

When asked to elaborate on the phrase "student-conflict issues," Beckham characterized this as students having "general disagreements with each other."

"I think any time you get 545 people in the same space, sometimes they disagree with each other," he said. "Part of our job becomes teaching them how to deal with disagreements in an appropriate fashion."

Beckham said one of the school's primary objectives is to help students resolve conflicts of all natures, as he feels bullying is one avenue of conflict.

"I think the best way to approach it is with knowledge," Beckham said. "And to teach kids appropriate ways to deal with that conflict. I feel like we do a pretty good job of that because we take time to talk to kids and listen to kids, and try to get to the bottom of what the source and the conflicts are."

Beckham, who is currently in his eighth year as principal at FSHS, said he plans on "following the lead of his superintendent" when it comes to addressing any future issues concerning bullying policies.

"Most of the situations we deal with are student-conflicts," Beckham said. "Where they disagreed on either a social media site or through a text message. All of the consequences (for students) would be based on the severity of the situation."

Fort Scott Middle School Principal Danny Brown said FSMS has multiple programs in place to address the threat of potential bullying within the school. Brown said earlier in the year a guest speaker named Mark Brown talked with students about bullying and bullying prevention.

"We run anti-bullying information (periodically) on our bulletin that's read each morning to our kids," Brown said.

Additionally, Brown said for one week each semester, the school has what a "No Name-Calling week." The school has its next No Name-Calling week scheduled in January. Brown said student activities taking place during the week include video presentations and the completion of a bullying survey. According to Brown, during week, students also participate in a "mix it up day" during lunch. For this, kids draw assigned numbers in order to be seated next to a random person.

"What it does, it kind of gets you out of your comfort zone from people you normally sit with," Brown said. "It's a chance for you to meet new people."

Positive Action With Students (PAWS) is a leadership group comprised of 12 FSMS students. With school administrators present, PAWS has formally addressed issues relating to student-conflicts.

"We try to meet with that group monthly if possible," Brown said. "And that's one of the things we always talk about, 'Hey, any bullying issues you see?' And they're always helpful in some of the things they point out -- where we can do a better job, or things that we don't necessarily see happening."

Brown also said the school has a program called Save One Student (SOS). For that program, each teacher at the school, during various points during the academic year, identifies and selects a student for the purpose of building a relationship and being a mentor to that student. Brown said 40-50 kids each school year are selected to participate in this program.

"We make an effort to build a relationship with a kid here in school that we feel like needs that kind of assistance," Brown said.

Brown said FSMS provides students with small group counseling. Further, Brown said the school posts anti-bullying tips in the hallway and keeps detailed records, logging minor bullying or student-conflict incidents.

"We try to do a lot of positive things," Brown said. "This is something we're constantly working on to improve."

The Uniontown USD 235 Board of Education at November's meeting approved a new bullying policy. According to information provided by the USD 235 Board of Education, dated Nov. 11, "the board of education prohibits bullying in any form by any student, staff member, or parent towards a student or by a student, staff member, or parent towards a staff member on or while using school property, in a school vehicle or at a school sponsored activity or event. For this purpose of this policy, the term 'bullying' shall have the meaning ascribed to it in Kansas law.

"The administration shall propose, and the board shall review and approve a plan to address bullying as prohibited herein. The plan shall include provisions for the training and education of staff members.

"Staff members who bully others in violation of this policy may be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including suspension and/or termination. If appropriate, staff members who violate the bullying prohibition shall be reported to local law enforcement."

"The school district would be naive to think that none of those types of behavior occur," USD 235 Superintendent and Uniontown High School Principal, Randy Rockhold told the Tribune. "They occur. I have no idea why they occur, but they do. So our mission has to be to have a policy, practices and procedures in place so that we can intervene to the best of our ability. Bullying occurs, the prevalence of it is the issue."

Rockhold said Uniontown High School counselor Jeanne Camac speaks to students as part of a seminar class about topics relating to bullying and positive interaction. The 12 high school seminar classes are divided into groups by grade level, with an average of 13-15 students per class. Camac also works with Uniontown Junior High students on a weekly basis in a related capacity.

Camac said she has a new curriculum she will be implementing that touches on bullying.

"We have small group activities monthly," Rockhold said. "All of our staff members continually work on group activities, cooperative learning activities, and things like that. We're trying to teach people how to interact and how to work together to accomplish a common goal. So we feel like that's a real strong step in a positive direction."

Rockhold said the school has had guest speakers discussing bullying issues, and the school "tries to bring in outside resources as much as possible."

"We really try hard to develop cooperative relationships with our students, so that if there is an issue they will come forward," Rockhold said. He later added, "We've have had issues of bullying that have led to discipline."

On the third Wednesday of each month, Camac provides bullying information from the curriculum to the school's teachers. The teachers then discuss the information with students during the respective seminar classes.

"I think there is bullying in all schools," Camac said. "I think the big misconception is that if you have a smaller school you don't have bullying, and larger schools have more. But I don't totally agree with that, I think everybody has it. There's problems with the interpretation on what bullying actually is. And I think that's were the problem lies, as far as for it to be disciplined. I feel that through counseling we can work though a lot of that. It's there across the board. I think all schools have it, and I can't say that (school) size matters, because I don't feel that it does."

Camac said she believes the district has a sound bullying policy in place.

"If bullying gets brought up either to myself or to the two other administrators, then we get it taken care of." Camac said. "And we always tell the students we can't help them unless they do tell us that it is going on."

Camac strongly said incidents of bullying going unreported to teachers or school administrators is a major concern in general for most schools.

"Why I feel like sometimes bullying isn't addressed like people want it to be addressed, is because the kids don't tell adults," Camac said. "So maybe working with the students on feeling comfortable about themselves and strong enough about themselves to endure the ride of the bullying issue (would help). Because a lot of times it doesn't even have to be bullying. Any type of discipline sometimes is going to get worse before it gets better as far as the outcomes to the other people who were involved. And so as long as the student can be strong enough internally, have a positive self-image and believe in who they are -- those are the ones who will come forth and feel like if they have been bullied they will bring it up."

Camac said she thinks self-esteem and anxiety related issues play a major role with students not coming forward to report incidents of bullying.

"The students that have the low self-esteem who aren't confident in themselves are the ones that have a bigger fear of reporting bullying," Camac said. "Because they can't take, sometimes, the after effect of it until it gets better. They can't ride out the storm per say, until it gets better. It has to be reported to get solutions. And I think that is the weakest area in any school, is, it is not being reported."

Uniontown Junior High and High School have a combined 213 students currently enrolled. Grades 7-12 are housed in the same building.

"The school needs to be a place where kids can come and reach their full potential," Rockhold said. "Anything that threatens the safety of a student or personnel or anyone, it's not acceptable. We want our kids to come here and be supported and be successful. Our goal is to put our kids in a situation so that they can have a positive learning environment and become all that they can be."

Multiple attempts to reach USD 234 Superintendent Dianne Gross for this story were unsuccessful.