School Discipline Report
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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