State Mandated Bullying Policy

The Kansas State Board of Education has mandated that by January 8, 2008, all public schools in the state of Kansas must have in place a bullying policy and character education. The state boards concern is not wanting school bullying to increase, as it has in the past few years, or to escalate into violence against the entire school or specific students. Last February district counselors and high school deans met with Dr. Atha and Dr. Karlin to determine building and district strengths in regards to our bullying and character education programs. A committee was formed and the remainder of the school year was spent developing what we would use. Some things we do are common among schools and others are not.

Bernadine Sitts uses the Discovery Program for character education. All students and staff are instructed in the 6 P’s: prompt, prepared, polite, positive mental attitude, participate, and produce. You see these words in our classrooms and throughout our building. Classrooms spend twenty minutes a day doing a Discovery activity that is designed to promote trust, respect, and teamwork among students and staff. We strive to teach and practice dignity and respect as our school culture, hoping it will transfer to other cultures, such as home, sports teams, and so forth. We also have Discovery classes for a small-identified group of children. We run the Discovery class quarterly. The students are chosen for various reasons and attend based on a parent and student interview. School counselors also address the classrooms throughout the year discussing bullying, sexual harassment, communication, peer pressure, and conflict resolution. Bernadine Sitts Intermediate Center, along with Charles O. Stones Intermediate Center, the two middle schools, and the high school are using Discovery as their character education program.

Included on this site is the harassment report form. This form was adopted from Kenneth Henderson, and address bullying, harassment, and sexual harassment. Teachers and paras have been instructed about the form. The first week of school, all students were shown the form and informed about how the form will work. When the harassment form is used with a student, that information goes into the computer under the student’s name and will follow the student until they graduate from high school. No one has access to this information other than the principals and the counselors. This is because we work closely dealing with bullying situations. Note on the form that as parents, you will be informed at each step if your student has received a harassment form. The point of tracking bullying is to help schools identify students who show a pattern of bullying, and to identify those students who may be constant targets. This information will enable us to help both the bully and the victim.

School districts will also be required to have bullying policies in place for bullying that occurs on school busses and at school events. At BSIC, if a student is being bullied on the bus or at the bus stop, we encourage them to tell the bus driver. If the bullying does not stop they are told they may come to us or tell their parents. If they come to us, we contact the district transportation office. Parents may also do this.

One thing we stress continually in our building is the importance of reporting bullying whether you are being bullied, or see bullying happening. We work a great deal on emphasizing the difference between tattling and reporting. Reporting is when you are trying to keep yourself or another person/s safe. Tattling is when you just want to get someone in trouble. We encourage students to tell the nearest adult when they are being bullied or when they see bullying happening. Some students are scared or embarrassed to report at school, so please let the school know if your child is being bullied or is seeing bullying happening so that we may deal with it.

Students have been given a list of tips on staying safe on the street, when home alone, when being bullied, when they see fights or weapons, when they are online, and when they are being sexually harassed. We also display a similar list in classrooms, both in English and Spanish, along with a hot-line number they may call.

If you have any questions, please contact the school and speak with the principals or the counselors. One of our jobs is to help keep your student safe and happy at school.

Harassment Report

Name (harasser)______________________     Grade______     Date_______________

Type of Harassment:
Bullying _____ (This includes any gesture, written, verbal or physical act where the perpetrator demonstrates an intent to harm by engaging in repeated conduct that physically harms a student or damages a student's property; places a student in reasonable fear of physical harm or insults or demeans any student or group of students in such a way as to disrupt or interfere with the school mission or the education of any student).
Harassment _____ (Conduct based upon the actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, ethnicity, gender, disability, or sexual orientation of the selected victim, which has the effect of creating, in a reasonable person, an intimidating, hostile, or offensive environment, or which substantially or unreasonably interferes with or disrupts or has the potential to disrupt, an individual's education.  Includes:  Speech, Written, Visual, Defacing of Property and Physical Threats).
Sexual _____ (May include but not limited to sexually oriented communication, sexually oriented verbal "kidding", or harassment or abuse; subtle pressure or requests for sexual activity; unnecessary touching, e.g., patting, pinching, hugging, repeated brushing up against another person's body).

Description of Incident(s):  (do not use other student name(s) on this form)
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

Action Taken by School Officials:
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

_________________          _________________          _________________
Parent Signature                Student Signature              Administration Signature

CC:  Skyward/Discipline File/Counselor/Parent