ddd School Discipline Report

Bullying, Cyber-Bullying, Upfront Violence, Mental Health, Sex & Substance Abuse Problems in Schools

OMNI PUBLISHING COMPANY www.omni-pub.com April 2014 Vol. 1 No.2

FEATURE STORIES: Categories in this Issue: School District Utilizes Twitter and Sassy Language Alternative Discipline Addressing students with terms such as “Sugar” and “bae” (short for baby), Bullying the Wake County school system in North Carolina is using Twitter for Cyber-Bullying everything from spreading the word about snow days to encouraging Drugs reports of cyber-bullying. Mental Health News The school system’s Twitter account, @wcpss, has shot up in popularity School Principal during the past month, picking up more than 4,000 new followers on one School Superintendent night alone. Part of the increase stems from students’ clamoring for news Student Health Survey about school being canceled and part from the district’s tweets, which were Twitter called “sassy” by the international Buzzfeed website. Video

You Should Know Wake’s Twitter account got recognition in April from Buzzfeed for tweets

such as “But that ‘M’ in the word ‘confusing’ makes us want to keep you in class,” in response to a student’s misspelled plea for a snow day. There have been some complaints about using unprofessional language but the chief of communications responded by saying, we’re speaking the language of our followers.”

Preventing School Violence - Mental Health Services Left Wanting in Some States Mental health services provided by school counselors, psychologists and social workers are a key line of defense against school violence, experts say. But some of the biggest school districts in the Denver metro area don't meet the national recommendations for employing enough of those specialists.

In districts such as Denver Public Schools and Douglas County, the ratio of students to counselors exceeds 900 to 1, more than three times the national recommendation of 250 to 1. And counselors working in schools are stretched thin with multiple responsibilities that divert attention away from mental health. Samantha Haviland, Continued on page 6 Superintendent Stopped Calling Police for Non Violent Problems A couple of years after arriving as superintendent of the Broward County Public Schools, Robert Runcie turned the district’s discipline policies upside down primarily because of huge expulsion, arrest and drop-out rates for black and Latino students. He did away with calling in police for non-violent problems that could be handled by school officials in Fort Lauderdale-area schools that make up Florida’s sixth-largest school district.

Instead, he emphasized alternative approaches for the student body that is 29 percent Latino and 40 percent African-American. Students were referred to social workers and substance-abuse counselors. Detentions were held on Saturdays, in-school suspensions were used more, students were made to agree to behavior contracts and some were made to pay for any costs associated with misbehavior or to do community service. Continued on page 11 2 School Discipline Report www.omni-pub.com

ALTERNATIVE DISCIPLINE:

Reducing Student Suspensions and the Number of Students Sent to Alternative Programs The Fayette Equity Council has given the Fayette County School Board recommendations for reducing the number of children who are suspended or sent to alternative programs. Currently the Martin Luther King Academy serves the majority of students in the county who need alternative placements.

The Fayette Equity Council's ad-hoc suspension committee made the following recommendations:  Improve faculty and staff awareness of racial disparities in discipline, biases and cultural misunderstandings  Create an environment in schools that fosters respect and rapport among principals, teachers, staff and students  Include a review of suspensions on quarterly reports to the board  Implement PBIS at every school  Increase diversity in faculty and staff  Examine and change zero tolerance policies that appear to create increased disproportionality in referrals and suspensions among blacks and other students  Fayette County needs clear and precise definitions for all violations and resolutions  Identify creative alternatives to suspensions  Increase parental/family involvement

BULLYING:

Team Mascot to Participate in Anti-Bullying Program The Durham Bulls will launch a new anti-bullying program titled “Bully Busters” to raise awareness about bullying among local elementary school children. The Bulls organization will drive its anti-bullying message home using beloved mascot Wool E. Bull, who will star in free school assemblies that will take place through March in Durham Public Schools elementary schools. During each assembly Wool E. Bull will teach students how to recognize bullying behavior and explore what they should do if they witness or experience bullying.

Interim Superintendent Hugh Osteen said “Bully Busters” is a fun program that will catch the attention of elementary school students. At the conclusion of each assembly, students will be asked to take the “Bully Buster Pledge” at home with their families. Students who do will be rewarded with two complimentary tickets to a select Bulls game this spring. The Bulls will also provide teachers and counselors with a take-home activity book for students, further reinforcing the importance of the anti-bullying message.

Editor’s Note: Mascots from colleges and pro teams are being used all over the country to promote anti-bullying. They are very enthusiastic about helping schools promote anti-bullying.

Call to Take Artistic Stand against Bullying Students from schools throughout the metropolitan New Orleans area are invited to take an artistic stand against bullying during the second annual Anti-Bullying Quilt Initiative of The New Orleans Chapter of The Links Inc. The theme is “Bullying and Trash Talking: It’s No Joke.” The program allows students to creatively express their thoughts, fears concerns and resolutions concerning the issue, in hopes of putting a stop to bullying.

Basic guidelines are: all quilts must be 42” in length and width after stitching; appliqué (hand or machine) quilts must be over 60 percent appliquéd; embroidery (hand or machine) quilts must be over 60 percent embroidered; art/Innovative: quilts made from original or non-traditional designs, including mixed techniques, pictorial, painted, and other non-traditional techniques; other categories are pieced quilts and paper/foundation pieced; all quilts should have a backing, batting binding and borders. Submissions due April 4.Watch the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fULK5RBYyI8 3 School Discipline Report www.omni-pub.com

County School District Adds Four Bullying Liaison Positions The Polk, Florida, County School District has added four bullying prevention specialists to help deal with an increase in bullying reports across the district. The social workers will serve as the liaison among the district, schools, parents and the community to support the district's anti-bullying initiatives and make sure district policy is being followed. They will collaborate with the district's anti-bullying committee to prevent, identify and respond to bullying and harassment of students in their regions, including working with school administrators to investigate reported bullying incidents, according to district staff's presentation to the school board.

Each social worker will be paid on the teacher salary schedule, depending on the person's experience. The positions are slated to cost the district $229,028 in personnel costs annually. The district also added the position of family involvement liaison to operate a family involvement center in each of the school district's four regions. The liaison will develop and implement training and workshops for parents on how to help continue students' learning at home.

School Committee Expands Bullying Policy to Encompass Staff and Faculty The Springfield, Massachusetts, School Committee amended the school system’s policy for bullying , expanding beyond students to also cover staff and faculty as potential perpetrators or victims. The policy was not triggered by a specific case, but was adjusted to acknowledge that bullying does not always involve just students, officials said. Under a state model bullying prevention and intervention policy, the definition of “perpetrator” could include school staff including but not limited to “an educator, administrator, school nurse, cafeteria worker, custodian, bus driver, athletic coach, adviser to an extracurricular activity or paraprofessional.” Link to the Amended policy: http://www.sps.springfield.ma.us/webContent/Policies/BullyingPolicy.pdf

Helping the LGBT Community by Building Awareness With the National School Climate Survey reporting that as many as 64 percent of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youths likely to suffer from depression, suicide attempts and substance abuse, organizations across the state of Delaware are joining together to implement early-intervention services.

The Delaware Department of Services for Children, Youth and their Families in conjunction with Delaware Guidance Services for Children and Youth formed an informal task force two months ago to combat the problems LGBT youth face from their peers and society. The department and Delaware Guidance Services provide similar services in regard to suicide prevention so it was a natural fit for the two to work together on the initiative.

Over the past three years, the department has trained more than 12,000 students across the state in suicide prevention, but hasn't focused on any specific groups. Now it will promote LGBT training. The task force emphasizes the key to improving its success is to provide suicide prevention and mental health services that begin as early as middle school. State initiatives have been a part of implementing suicide prevention programs in middle schools over the past several years. Training resources available at: www.kognito.com

High School Students Develop Anti Bullying Program for Third Graders One by one, Tyler Mansfield and Aaron Dockins loaded cobble rocks into the backpack Diesel Garcia was wearing. The slight, quiet third-grader's shoulders sagged a little more as each rock settled into the bag. "How does that feel?" Mansfield, a senior at Uintah High School, asked. The older boys weren't bullying the much younger boy. Instead they were using the stones, the backpack and the Larry Hiller poem "Pocket Full of Rocks" to teach Garcia and his classmates at Ashley Elementary School in Texas a lesson about the harm that comes from harboring hard feelings toward others.

The lesson is part of the “Be a Buddy, Not a Bully” curriculum developed by Mansfield and fellow Uintah High DECA Club members Gabe Mayberry and Casey McClellan. The focus is to learn how to be kind to people. The younger kids learn the difference between tattling and reporting a bully. They're also taught a process dubbed "Stop, Walk and Talk" that encourages them to tell a bully to stop harassing them, to walk away if that doesn't work and to talk to an adult about what happened.

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The program also focuses on honoring acts of kindness by others, with students writing those acts on pieces of paper linked into chains. The program began in November in one school and it's been so successful, it's now being taught to every third-grade class in the Uintah School District's seven elementary schools.

CYBER-BULLYING:

Preventing Cyber-bullying – Research Based Tools Research into how to prevent cyberbullying is mounting, too; fortunately, it would appear that existing anti- bullying measures can be effective. KiVa, an anti-bullying intervention developed by Professor Christina Salmivalli from the University of Turku in Finland, has been shown to have a positive impact on cyberbullying.

In the US, meanwhile, professors Sameer Hinduja and Justin Patchin, co- directors of the Cyberbullying Research Center, have found that factors such as school climate, and the presence of peer-mentoring schemes and social skills training – all stock anti-bullying strategies – can also have an effect.

Although existing approaches will work, this does not mean that teachers should carry on completely as normal - research also suggests possible adaptations. Ditch the Label found that, in addition to strict policies at school and college, the children and young people surveyed wanted teachers to promote an awareness of the impact that cyberbullying could have on victims. They also wanted more online support when they encountered cyberbullying.

This last approach has experienced some success in Australia, where the government’s downloadable Cybersafety Help Button provides all internet users with access to cybersafety information and assistance - including counselling, a reporting service and educational resources for young people facing all sorts of online risks.

These are by no means major changes to what teachers are doing already. Indeed, schools need to realize that cyberbullying is not so different from other forms of bullying. The panic about it is disproportionate: although we still have much work to do, it is something that we are increasingly able to combat effectively.

DRUGS

SUV Seized after Forfeiture Returns to School as Police Car Drug dealers who try to take people for a ride in Bedford County Virginia could have their rides taken away by police. The most recent addition to the Sheriff's Office fleet is a 2002 Chevy Tahoe, seized from a juvenile drug dealer, and it is saving money.

The school resource officer at Forest Middle has been driving the truck for about three weeks and gets a lot of attention: the back bumper says it was unwillingly donated by a Bedford County drug dealer.

Exhibit Separates Fact from Fiction about Drugs The mobile drug abuse exhibit, housed in a customized trailer, was parked between Russell High and Russell Middle schools, and by 1 p.m. virtually every student at both schools had visited.

The girls and the rest of their class had just threaded through a gauntlet of gross-out pictures along with more thought-provoking educational messages in the exhibit, which the Kentucky State Police takes around the state so Kentuckians can learn the facts and consequences of drug abuse.

Among the visual shockers were before-and-after pictures of meth addicts, their initially healthy faces ravaged after years of ingesting the substance. A close-up view showed an addict’s mouth with blackened and missing teeth, the phenomenon known as meth mouth.

It happens because the drug, typically made by users in crude home labs, contains traces of the caustic chemicals used in its manufacture. Smoking it exposes tooth enamel to the chemicals. 5 School Discipline Report www.omni-pub.com

The traveling exhibit touches on marijuana, alcohol and other drugs, and also less noxious products such as caffeine-laden energy drinks. There is a mockup of a home meth lab, with pills and chemicals strewn on a grubby sink and a hazmat suit hanging in the corner, and a similarly realistic mockup of an indoor marijuana-growing operation.

The depictions are graphic because the exhibit serves as a dose of reality. Today’s students need all the help they can get sorting out drug-abuse fact from fiction, according to middle school vice principal Stacey Thompson. They are immersed in media and bombarded with factual — and not so factual — information on the web, on television and through their network of friends and associates.

District Amends Drug and Alcohol Policies In Fowler, Colorado, the Board and a drug task force committee made up of five community members have reviewed District drug/alcohol policies and procedures. This effort has resulted in several clarifications, changes, and has reinvigorated the collective effort to keep Fowler R4J students safe from drugs and alcohol.

District drug and alcohol policies are now posted on the District’s website (www.fowler.k12.co.us) under the School Board tab. Complete drug and alcohol policies will be attached to the student handbook, which each student and parent must read, understand, and sign every year.

Every student athlete and their parent/guardian are required to read, understand, and sign our athletic policy (R4J Policy JJIB-R-2 & 3). This policy lists additional expectations of our student athletes, and outlines punishment for athletes violating our alcohol, tobacco, and drug policies. It should be noted that the District has one of the most stringent athletic contracts in the state – requiring student athletes to sign a statement that they will not use drugs, alcohol, or tobacco for a full calendar year, not just when their sport, or school, is in session.

Much effort is made by District staff to keep schools and school-related activities drug and alcohol free. This includes staff observation of students (a recent staff in-service was devoted to identifying signs of being under the influence of controlled substances), video surveillance throughout school grounds, communication with law enforcement, random canine-drug searches when available.

After an exhaustive analysis of random drug testing, including interviews with other districts, researching current policies throughout the state, discussions with lab personnel, and attorney opinions, the Board has decided not to pursue such a policy at this time. However, the District does have the authority to request a drug test with reasonable cause. Additionally, parents can develop their own “random drug test,” especially if their child needs an extra reason to resist peer pressure… “No thank-you, my parents might test me next week and I want to continue participating in basketball, music, speech…”

Increase in Abuse Brings in Proponents for Alcohol and Drug Education In Seattle, Roosevelt High School administrators are facing an alcohol and drug abuse problem head on. After discovering that the problem is growing on campus, the school immediately brought in educators and proponents for alcohol and drug education.

"This year we saw an increase in discipline incidents from students abusing drugs or alcohol," said Principal Brian Vance, "From 12 last year to 24 this year." Half of those reported incidents were committed by freshmen.

Vance held an informational meeting for parents, students and teachers with top experts. Dr. Leslie Walker, Chief of Adolescent Medicine at Seattle's Children's Hospital, presented facts and answered questions. Also invited was a 17-year-old former addict who now tells his story to other kids. He and two others made a movie “Recovery,” which was shown to freshmen.

Preparing Students and Parents for Middle School Issues Involving Drugs and Alcohol In New Jersey, the Ho-Ho-Kus Board of Education recently sent a survey to middle school parents regarding overall wellness and alcohol and drug education. The belief is that middle schoolers and their parents should be prepared for some of the realities they will face particularly about drug and alcohol abuse. 6 School Discipline Report www.omni-pub.com

The principal said there were more than 80 parent responses to the survey and 97 percent of those expressed interest in moving forward with a dialogue to better prepare parents and students.

The school started that dialogue recently when they hosted a parent's night called Middle School Decisions and Dilemmas for 5-8 grade parents. Survey results will be discussed and attendees had the opportunity to ask questions about what they can do to combat drug and alcohol use.

Dr. Alexis Eckert, Middle School Principal, said it's been discovered that lectures from teachers or parents alone might not be good enough. The school plans to introduce students to different programs and voices, including discussing or hearing about real-life situations, such as parents who have lost children to drugs and alcohol and were "shocked" that their teens got on a path that "went out of control very quickly."

The middle school students will have a presentation from the Center for Drug and Alcohol Awareness Family Service Center. Eckert said the presentation is "a fantastic interactive" program that will capture students’ attention.

New Threat: E-Cigarettes or Vaporizers with THC Derivative Teens in the Conjeo Valley, California, and beyond have a new way to bring drugs onto campus. E-cigarettes, or vaporizers, which simulate cigarette smoking and deliver varying amounts of nicotine, are legally allowed on school campuses because they do not fall under 1989’s Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act.

E-cigarettes, depending on the brand, can look similar to cigarettes in shape and size. They operate by vaporizing “e-juice,” a solution containing nicotine, and they create a mist that is inhaled. The practice of using e-cigarettes is referred to as “vaping.”

The term e-cigarette generally refers to reusable devices with components like filters that can be removed and replaced, but they are also called “vaporizers” or “vapes,” said Thousand Oaks High School Principal Lou Lichtl, who’s seen some, though not many, on campus.

But the nicotine level is just the first of several concerns. “I think that the more important piece is we don’t know what other chemicals are in there,” Lichtl said. Further, there’s no guarantee it’s only e-juice in the devices.

“It could be a THC derivative,” Conejo Valley Unified School District Superintendent Jeff Baarstad said, referring to tetrahydrocannabinol, the chemical responsible for most of marijuana’s psychological effects. Switching out nicotine-laced e-juice with a THC product only takes a step or two, and how-to videos are easily found on YouTube. But detecting the switch is more difficult. Because e-cigarettes emit a mostly odorless vapor, the smell doesn’t give it away.

Schools and law enforcement are looking for ways to detect e-cigarettes that have drugs in them. Thus far, most students who have been caught with the devices at Newbury Park High School were detected by police K-9 units, said Principal Athol Wong. Both e-cigarettes and those with cartridges containing THC have been found on campus, she said, adding the trend isn’t widespread.

“We did get in ahead of it,” added Lichtl, explaining the school provided training for teachers and staff regarding what to look for and gave them the opportunity to see the devices up close. But recognizing the vaporizers is only part of the solution. Education is another.

MENTAL HEALTH:

Preventing School Violence - Mental Health Services Left Wanting …Continued from page 1 president of the Colorado School Counselor Association, recently testified before a state legislative committee in response to safety concerns after a December shooting at Arapahoe High School. The shooting was one of two 7 School Discipline Report www.omni-pub.com

startling episodes of student violence over the past two months. A Standley Lake High School student last week set himself afire in a suicide attempt.

Haviland, who was a student at Columbine High School during a shooting that left 13 people and the two gunmen dead, said discussions around school safety often miss a key component in preventing violence — mental health support.

"When you are talking impact and where do we prioritize in order to prevent school violence — we have the drills in place, we have the locked doors in place, but we do not have the mental services in place," she said. "School violence has a correlation to mental health. It's not a logical response for a kid, when they are suicidal or angry, to go on this mass killing. That's not a logical thing." There are two issues – staffing and teacher training.

Staffing guidelines: Counselors are the first stop for students who need help with academics and basic social and behavioral problems. Social workers and psychologists work with students who have more intense needs — special education, drug and alcohol counseling, pregnancy and truancy.

Recommended staffing guidelines are 250 students to one counselor, 1,000 students for every psychologist and 400 students per social worker, according to the health policy database for the National Association of State Boards of Education.

At Arapahoe High in Centennial, the ratio of students to school counselors is 568 to 1, an increase from the 450 to 1 during the 2009-10 school year. The campus — part of Littleton Public Schools — has one psychologist who serves its nearly 2,300 students and no social worker, according to data obtained by The Denver Post through an open-records request.

Standley Lake High School in Westminster, where a 16-year-old set himself on fire last week, has 337 students for every counselor. The number is below the national average of 471 students for every counselor, but is higher than the recommended ratio. The campus, part of Jefferson County Public Schools, has one social worker and no psychologist.

Finding the money to reduce the high number of students served by mental health personnel is an issue. Administrators of cash-strapped Colorado school districts say years of budget cuts have left them struggling to pay for necessary mental health staff and services that could help curb violence. Since the 2009-10 school year, districts across the state have lost more than $1 billion in state funding.

Training, services: Districts across Colorado have programs on bullying and suicide prevention, and some offer training for teachers and staff on identifying mental health needs. Others work with community partners that offer counseling services for students.

The state does not specifically provide districts money for mental health services, but instead funds them based on student enrollment. School districts then divvy up the money to pay for programs and staff.

State lawmakers passed a nearly $20 million mental health package in May in response to the Aurora theater shooting that killed 12 people in July 2012. The package focused on community programs and did not directly provide money to school districts.

Nationally, President Barack Obama presented his proposed budget to reduce school violence after the Sandy Hook shooting that caused the deaths of 20 children and six adults. The budget proposal includes $130 million to train teachers and staff at schools to recognize early signs of mental illness and get students help. But politically charged debates over the president's call for gun control as part of his plan to improve school safety have often overshadowed discussions about mental health.

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Comment –Political leaders have chosen academics over mental health when funding choices are presented. Until the public is educated as to the benefits educationally of having good mental health services the budget problems will persist. Link: http://www.nasbe.org/healthy_schools/hs/

Signs of Suicide Training Presented to Educators When a student says something like, “Sometimes I feel the world would be better off without me,” or, “I wish I wasn’t here anymore,” peers, teachers and parents need to know how to react appropriately to potentially save a life from suicide.

School guidance counselors, teachers and others who work with youth were taught about evidence-based practical risk management to assess, prevent and respond to signs of suicide and self-injury at a workshop promoted by the Massachusetts Attorney General. It promoted the S.O.S. program (signs of suicide) evidence- based practical risk management to assess, prevent and respond to signs of suicide and self-injury.

Link: http://www.mentalhealthscreening.org/programs/youth-prevention-programs/sos/high-school.aspx

In-School Interventions – Behavioral Problems In Framingham, Massachusetts, the public schools have announced a new initiative to provide in-school intervention to students with behavioral health issues. The launch of the Rapid Access & Intervention Team (RAIT) is a collaboration between the district, Wayside Youth & Family Support Network, and Advocates, Inc. It is being funded by the MetroWest Health Foundation.

RAIT will provide staff in the schools to respond to students experiencing a behavioral health crisis during the school day, according to the district, which calls the program a “proactive intervention to reduce the need for a higher level of care such as a psychiatric hospitalization or out-of-home placement.”

Links: http://www.waysideyouth.org/ and http://www.advocatesinc.org/

Stillness Sessions Have Benefits for Students All schools should introduce a daily “stillness” session to give pupils time for reflection away from the frantic pressures of modern life, according to a leading headmaster. Children should be required to keep quiet for around two minutes each day to give them respite from social media and school work, said Anthony Seldon.

He said that the decline of old fashioned religious assemblies had robbed many pupils of the ability to “reflect during the school day” just as large numbers of children faced unprecedented levels of stress. Dr. Seldon, the master of Wellington College, Berkshire, a boarding school in the UK, said anxiety levels and rates of depression had increased in recent years because of the pressure to meet exam targets. Pupils’ concentration has also been eroded by the “incessant chatter” of modern life, he said, with children spending a large amount of time on social media websites such as Facebook and Twitter.

But speaking before of a conference on child mental health, Dr. Seldon said schools had a duty to give pupils time to think free of daily work, mobile phones and the internet. Wellington College has introduced a “mindfulness” program for pupils and staff that involve two-minute “stillness” periods each day – a time for silent reflection. Pupils aged 13-to-15 also have a weekly 15-minute stillness session led by their teacher.

Dr. Seldon, who has previously pioneered initiatives such as happiness and well-being lessons to improve children’s mental health, said: “Mindfulness or meditation has been shown to be an invaluable tool to help bolster young people’s resilience to psychological stress. It also boosts concentration, depth of thought, happiness and achievement. It is the most simple and natural technique to learn – indeed it is not really a technique at all. It is all about being yourself, making the most of yourself, and making the most of the opportunities that life presents to you. It promotes trusting relationships, healthy living and psychological and emotional security.”

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NEWS:

End of Zero Tolerance? According to Marc Brackett and Diana Davcha of the Yale University Center for Emotional Intelligence there is a gradual reversal of zero tolerance policies in schools — something the American Psychological Association eight years ago evaluated as ineffective and harmful to children.

Zero tolerance policies have failed to curb violence, drug abuse and, more recently, bullying, because they don’t address the underlying causes of behavior, of which there are many.

What does make a visible dent, though, is teaching students emotional skills. Research shows that when an entire school community commits to learning emotional skills from a proven curriculum, everybody benefits: positive indicators, like student engagement, relationships between and among students and teachers, and kind behavior, go up.

Negative indicators, like anxiety, conflict and bullying, go down. And the bonus: academic achievement improves — students work better when they feel better. Young people, whose brains are still developing and whose behavior has yet to settle into firm patterns, need the opposite of zero tolerance — they need skills development, second chances and support from people who care. Emotional skills can and should be taught.

Police Investigate Scope of Cheating Newport Beach police have been working with the district for nearly a month to investigate the scope of the cheating. While the students could face criminal charges for their actions, none have been filed yet. The exact date of the board meeting has not been determined. If the board decides to expel the students, they are prohibited from returning to any Newport-Mesa school for a year, according to district policy.

Victims of School Violence – The Size of the Problem A disturbing study published in Pediatrics, a peer-reviewed journal, suggests that more than 90,000 children each year end up in emergency rooms all over the country after becoming victims of school violence.

"I think it should be disturbing for anyone who is charged with the welfare of kids -- doctors, parents, teachers at school," said Dr. Probodh Hammady of Maricopa Medical Center.

According to the study's own author, Dr. Siraj Amanullah, of the Alpert Medical School at Brown University, and experts like Dr. Hammady, the number cited in the published study could actually be much larger, because some children are not inclined to report the aggressor.

"Kids are fearful of retaliation," said Hammady. "That's why it's so important for parents to communicate with their children."

Three Third Graders Caught Smoking Marijuana in School Officials in Sonora have not disclosed how they plan to discipline three third-graders who were caught smoking marijuana inside a school bathroom.

Leigh Shampain, joint superintendent of Sonora and Sommerville elementary schools, told The Union Democrat officials do not discuss specifics of disciplinary cases and that this is the first time anything like this has come across his desk since he began the job. Two of the third-graders at Sonora Elementary School were 8 years old, the other 9.

State to Open First Public Recovery High School The state task force formed by Governor Chris Christie plans to take swift action this year to help curb the rate of heroin and opiate overdoses, which in New Jersey have surpassed traffic accidents as the number one cause of accidental deaths. 10 School Discipline Report www.omni-pub.com

Pamela Capaci is the director of a nonprofit focused on preventing substance abuse, Prevention Links. She says New Jersey’s proximity to sea ports and its abundance of pharmaceutical manufacturers set the scene for a “perfect storm” of heroin and opiate abuse.

The state task force is proposing several reforms, including the “recovery school.” Capaci says the school will function as any other academic public high school and will fulfill all state educational requirements. “It is an educational institution first and foremost,” she added. “In our state and in the other states where they exist, they have to meet the core curriculum standards. The only thing we’re doing different really is bringing in the support that is needed to help sustain long term recovery as well as creating a peer culture that is not a drug use culture.”

New Jersey’s first “recovery school” will occupy parts of Union, NJ based Kean University, which donated space for the purpose. Capaci’s hope is that if the Union County School is successful, more recovery schools can be built throughout the state.

SCHOOL PRINICIPAL:

Responsive Learning Reduces Discipline Problems Four months after Stewartsville Elementary Principal Susan Mele started at the school in 2010, a student came to her after being hit by another child. She asked who it was, but the child didn’t know the other student’s name.

Those incidents accumulated into many of the 164 discipline referrals and 40 suspensions throughout the 2010-11 school year, leaving Mele little time to be an instructional leader as she had intended. After attending a week-long seminar that summer, she found a solution — responsive learning. The method melds traditional academic learning with a more social classroom setting that, she and the guidance counselor learned, fosters better relationships between classmates.

The school implemented an in-class, 20-minute morning meeting every day at the start of the next school year. During the meeting, students greet each other and share whatever is on their minds.

“Kids will share about their grandma’s died or that their cat has died, or they got a new cat or they’re moving, or dad’s gone to Afghanistan. … Then the other children in the group get to ask questions or make comments,” she said.

Following the meeting, the students participate in an activity related to their schoolwork. For example, one teacher passed out blue index cards with a present tense verb on it and red index cards with a past tense verb. The students had to find their match.

“In doing that, they had to talk to one another and they had to interact, which again builds that relationship with kids,” Mele said.

Following the activity, the teacher gives a morning message, which could be talking about a day-specific topic, like Groundhog Day, or an issue, such as a problem on the playground and how to fix it.

For the 2011-12 school year, discipline referrals dropped by more than half to 76, and suspensions to 22. The next step, initiated in 2012, focuses on the teachers’ language, “the power of our words,” along with a method called interactive modeling that shows students how to accomplish a task by giving detailed instructions. The goal has been to teach them how to form a community.

Tosha Weddle, who has taught at the school for nine years, said she’s seen a significant difference in the school since the teachers were trained in responsive learning. She sees a change, not only in discipline, but also in how the students interact with each other. At lunch, her class previously would have been dispersed throughout the room, she said, but now she sees all her students sitting next to each other. In the 2012-13 school year, referrals dropped to 42 and suspensions to 15. The school was featured in the “Responsive Classroom” newsletter this winter for its progress. 11 School Discipline Report www.omni-pub.com

Educating Students, Staff about What Bullying Actually Is Wearing her pink shirt with pride, eighth-grader Alyssa Santillana enters the halls of Memorial Middle School to see student after student wearing the exact same shirt. It may seem like a coincidence, but for these students it is part of a campus-wide initiative to help keep students safe.

“We want everyone to feel safe when they come to school,” said Santillana. “It’s important that they be able to be who they are and focus in class.”

The shirts are part of the first day’s activities for the school’s celebration of Anti-Bullying Week. This February, students, teachers, administration and staff participated in a new activity each day to raise awareness of the different things students can do to help stop bullying on their campus.

Along with showing their support with pink shirts, students also kicked off the week with a campus-wide pep rally. This is the second Anti-Bullying Week the campus has hosted this year.

The anti-bullying message doesn’t end with the week. It’s part of an ongoing program the school has implement the past four years to help encourage students to become more proactive when it comes to reporting any incidences they see on campus and learning how to identify when bullying may be present, said Delia Padilla, counselor at Memorial. They do this by frequently announcing different statistics during announcements and designated one day each month as anti-bullying day. Each day showcases a different theme and assists in keeping anti-bullying awareness at the top of mind throughout the year.

“We let our students know that we don’t tolerate bullying and that there will be consequences if they choose to participate in this type of behavior,” said Padilla. “We do that by educating our students and staff about what bullying actually is and by enforcing our anti-bullying protocol. It’s a team effort, but everybody has come together to make a difference.”

Santillana shares the sentiment that it’s a team effort to help keep the school safe. She states that students can do their part by speaking up whenever they see any activity on campus.

To help this initiative grow on campus, both Santillana and Lopez are working with additional students, teachers and administrators as part of an anti-bullying committee. The committee works together to identify areas for improvement and get students’ input on ways they can help the campus become a safer place.

“It’s great to be a part of the committee, because I feel like we have a voice,” said Lopez. “We are not only saying it’s wrong to be a bully, but we are actually doing something about it. We really do promote that we want a safe campus and it’s something we share with our friends and classmates.”

With students and staff at Memorial working together, it is no surprise that the campus has seen so much success with the program. Since its implementation, reports of bullying have significantly gone down. It’s a large step toward reaching their goal of creating a 100 percent bully-free campus.

SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT:

Superintendent Stopped Calling Police for Non Violent Problems…Continued from page 1 The overhaul seems to be working, Runcie said. Suspensions are down 66 percent, expulsions by 55 percent, and arrests by about 45 percent. Latino dropout rates nationwide are decreasing — a study of high school graduation rates found 78 percent of Hispanics graduated high school in 2010, an increase from 64 percent in 2000.

About 700 Broward County students have gone through the district’s new discipline program, with only 25-30 repeating it. Like Broward County, other school districts with significant Latino student populations have been rethinking their approach to school discipline. In 2013, the LA Unified School District, 73 percent Latino, revised its school discipline procedures. School districts in Baltimore, Chicago and Denver have reformed their discipline policies, moving away from “zero tolerance” and towards more creative solutions that work. 12 School Discipline Report www.omni-pub.com

Violence and Threat Risk Assessment Protocol Stopping incidents like the shootings at Columbine and Sandy Hook elementary before they happen is the focus of the recently created Violence and Threat Risk Assessment Protocol. The three local school boards have signed off on the document, which focuses on ways to assess potential risks of threat or violence among youth.

Grande Prairie Public Schools Assistant Superintendent James Robinson put the protocol together. He says it has already been used a few times within their school district.

"There's different stages in the protocol," he explains. "Level one response is the analysis and intervention that happens at the school level and then it elevates and brings our partners in at stage two of the protocol. We recognize that in almost all of the cases assessment of threat of the worrisome behavior is something that's managed in the stage one assessment at the school level."

Robinson says in the rare cases that they reached level two assessment, they were a success thanks to the strength of their partner agencies like the RCMP, AHS, and Child and Family Services to offer assistance. Over 160 people have received training to help identify potential at risk behavior in schools, and provide the necessary support to the affected parties.

See more at: http://hqgrandeprairie.com/news/local/news/v/Local/340747/School-districts-sign-Violence-and- Threat-Risk-Assessment-Protocol#sthash.SyJASuDl.dpuf

STUDENT HEALTH SURVEY:

Survey Provides Answers and Guidance on Substance Abuse and Bullying “Is Your Teen Using,” “Drug Fact Sheet,” “Tips for Teens: The Truth About Marijuana” and “7 Ways To Protect Your Teen From Alcohol and Other Drugs’’ are just a few of the brochures that were available to parents who attended a recent forum on the 2012 Metrowest Adolescent Health Survey results.

Like teens in 25 other towns in the Metrowest area, Hopkinton middle and high school students face challenges and choices on their road to independence. Some try alcohol or drugs or both, and for some dependence on mind-altering substances could become a lifelong problem. Some are under stress, and for some that stress can lead to depression and even suicide.

How many students are at risk? Since 2006, the Metrowest Adolescence Health Survey has been providing that answer, noted Bruce Elliott, wellness teacher at Hopkinton High School. And with those answers, he said, parents and teachers can help children deal with the risks. The survey this year involved 40,000 students in 25 Metrowest communities with 95 percent participation in Hopkinton – 748 students in grades 6 through 8, and 1,069 students in grades 9 through 12. The questions came from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the Massachusetts Youth Risk Behavior Survey.

Survey results provide guidance to parents and teachers so they can help students avoid those risks through initiatives which include the curriculum Michigan Model for Health (K-12), youth services, a high school improvement plan and Youth Commission forums such as this one, Elliott noted.

There is an obvious trend in Hopkinton, Elliott said. The percentage of students using alcohol or drugs increases along with the grade level. For instance, 3 percent of middle school students reported drinking alcohol in the past 30 days. That percentage increased to 28 percent at the high school level. Sixty-five percent of high school students said they’d attended a party where drugs and alcohol were available. The use of inhalants at all grade levels is low, said Assistant Superintendent Mary Ann DeMello, but an increase is indicated and something they want to evaluate. Showing a decrease this year is the percentage of students reporting bullying, though at 31 percent it’s still considered too high. What is surprising, she said, is where the bullying takes place – in the classroom and hallways. “That is one area where we need to put strides in place very quickly,” she said. 13 School Discipline Report www.omni-pub.com

During a question and answer period, she explained that it’s sometimes difficult for a teacher to tell if something is meant to be a joke or is bullying. “We’re working against a tide of social negative banter which is seen as normal,” she said. “A lot of teachers are confused. When do they step in? When is this joking and when is it not?’’ A major concern is the stress level of students, with 10 percent of students at the middle school level reporting their life is “very” stressful, a percentage that increases to 29 at the high school level. Nine percent and 18 percent, respectively, reported feelings of hopelessness, 8 percent and 15 percent, respectively, reported self- injury (defined as cutting, burning or bruising oneself on purpose). - See more at: http://hopkinton.wickedlocal.com/article/20140208/NEWS/140206651/12423/NEWS#sthash.eIqfx3bI.dpuf

“Reports of stress range from 22 percent to 39 percent during the high school years and the highest in 12th grade,’’ the survey shows. Elliott said the district hopes to do something that will bring down stress levels. The survey also shows communities what they’re doing right, and Hopkinton schools have done a good job building a positive relationship with students. More than 80 percent of students reported they feel happy and safe in the classroom, feel close to the people at school and are treated fairly by teachers. Information on the 2012 Metrowest Adolescent Health Survey Results can be found at: http://hopkinton.wickedlocal.com/article/20140208/NEWS/140206651/12423/NEWS/?tag=2#sthash.KiNeHD49.dpuf

TWITTER:

Students Write Anti-bullying Resolution Focus on Sub Tweeting Two students of Park city Utah High School were asked to write anti-bullying resolutions for the city council. Based on what was happening in their school they focused on "sub-tweeting," a form of Internet bullying when a person uses Twitter to send out a tweet that insults, spreads a rumor or teases another person without mentioning them by name but is clearly about someone in particular. The council approved of their resolution.

Anonymous Twitter account – Seeks Secrets and Confessions A new trend on Twitter has Texans living in the Panhandle parents, and many high school students, concerned about cyber-bullying. Right now a Twitter account, @txpanhandle2, has over a thousand followers and some parents and students are saying those followers are bullies. "It's like bullying on a massive scale. It's the whole panhandle area," mother of two Highland Park High School students, Jennifer Campbell said.

The page isn't the first Twitter account of its kind created by an anonymous high schooler. Several similar pages have been deleted by Twitter for vulgar, inappropriate tweets, all about Panhandle towns, high schools, and students. The page asks followers to submit messages of "secrets" or confessions" about their school to be published for all to see. People who have seen some of the tweets say that they are horrible and mean.

Editor’s Note: School authorities should immediately monitor the tweets and if abusive make copies and report the local police and encourage a parent of a victim to report the tweets to twitter. They also should make sure all students know how to block the offending account. Both parents and students should be aware of the consequences of cyber-bullying – school sanctions, legal liability and possible criminal sanctions.

Using Twitter to Send Positive Messages Anonymously Often the story is about how Twitter is used in cyber-bullying, but @powellhighcomps is not one of those cases.The account, set up by someone connected with Powell High School, shares direct, positive messages about students and faculty at the North Knox County school. The 140-character tweet is sent with full anonymity.

"It makes me feel good. It shows me that everyone could be nice. Shows there's good out in there in the world," sophomore McKensie Cruze said. She received one of the unknown tweets earlier in the week. "Just positive reinforcement for people to brighten their day. Things people said about them that are good," she added. The person who set the account wants to remain anonymous. The individual is not a faculty member, but is connected to P.H.S. Teachers said since @powellhighcomps started, there has been a change in morale in the school. Since this account was set up, similar programs were set up in other schools nearby.

14 School Discipline Report www.omni-pub.com

VIDEO:

Videos that Should Not be Missed These videos, with topics ranging from testing, bullying and substance abuse, should not be missed!

Cyber-bullying PSA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQ3LQul7_hE

The Bullying Experiment https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EisZTB4ZQxY

Case Study Underage Drinking in Schools https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAH-qGc97Ig

Heroin in America - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRYOwGFP4kM

Increase Test Scores – Conscious Discipline https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=joKlezHEHvg

YOU SHOULD KNOW:

Facts for School Administrators, Teachers and Parents These are facts that school administrators, teachers and parents should know.

Snapchat: The popular app enables users to send photos to their friends in a message that "disappears" after just seconds. However, those photos don't really truly disappear forever, and those who receive them can easily take a screen shot or even a photo of what is sent to them. This app tends to lull people into a false sense of security, because they believe what they are sending people will go away almost instantaneously.

Instagram: Instagram gives users two options: private or public. Either way, bios are visible to all and can be where predators start looking for underage victims.

Decrease in anti-LGBT Language: 2011 National School Climate Survey (pdf) demonstrates a continued decline in anti-LGBT language over the years, and for the first time the 2011 survey shows a significant decrease in victimization based on sexual orientation, although overall levels of anti-LGBT language and experiences of harassment and assault remain high. The survey has also consistently indicated that a safer school climate directly relates to the availability of LGBT school-based resources and support, including Gay-Straight Alliances, inclusive curriculum, supportive school staff and comprehensive Featured DVD anti-bullying policies. Sandy Hook School Shooting: Lessons Learned for School Administrators and Reporting of Bullying Incidents: Many schools that are Teachers required to report bullying incidents to the state do not do This 75-minute DVD contains must-have so and this undermines any statistics reported by the state information about saving lives. One of the about bullying. This applies to Charter Schools as well. heroes of the Sandy Hook tragedy was the Principal whose emphasis on emergency Suicide – 3rd Leading Cause of Death among Young drills saved lives. DVD Price: $80.00 People: According to the Centers for Disease Control and Order online at: www.omni-pub.com or by Prevention (CDC), suicide is the third leading cause of phone at: 800-387-9441 death among young people with approximately 4,400 deaths every year. The CDC estimates at least 100 suicide (Purchase of DVD includes CD with final attempts for every suicide among young people. More investigative reports.) than 14 percent of high school students have considered suicide; nearly 7 percent have attempted it.