PTA General Meeting

September 5, 2006

HSES cafeteria

Special Feature Presentation: Bullying

Kelli Dicks spoke to the group of over forty staff, teachers, and parents who were in attendance. Kelli noted that with more members of the PTA, the bigger the voice we have for advocating for the students. PTA is an advocacy group. Past PTA accomplishments for HSES include: a bigger cafeteria due to the size of the school, additional guidance counselors, cultural arts program. Fundraisers help to pay for these programs. Some committees include Hospitality – back to school luncheon, dinner during student-teacher conference and the School Spirit committee – ice cream social, back-to-school night, which is this Friday, Sept 8^th this year. Included in your membership fee, the PTA produces a directory of the HSES students.

The PTA executive board meetings are generally held the second Tuesday every month. The website (http://www2.hcpss.org/hses/HSESPTA/HSPTA.html) includes the minutes to the executive board meeting minutes. All are welcome to attend the meetings. To contact the PTA or Kelli the email is hsespta@yahoo.com.

Special Topic: Bullying

HSES Guidance Office

Ms. Susan Castelbaum

Ms. Bettina Hartgrove (shared with Pointer’s Run)

Ms. Nancy Hammer – school psychologist

The bullying policy is going home in the school folders on Wed, Sept 6^th. The communication is to make parents aware of Hollifield’s bullying policy. Investigations from last year noted that children felt safe in school. Most of the bullying incidences were reported during the bus rides to and from school, and during lunch and recess. Please encourage your children to fill out the forms to report a bullying incident. The form lists the traits for bullying. Ms. Hairston-Jones has developed a bullying pamphlet which will be given to parents at the back-to-school nights. She has also created a powerpoint presentation on bullying for bus drivers.

The presenters this evening are Ms. Maria Brickley and Dr. Gina Santoro. Both are school psychologists at Howard County schools (Running Brook Elementary School and Oakland Mills Middle School) and have a private practice in Millersville.

“a student is being bullied or victimized when he or she is exposed, repeatedly and over time to negative actions on the part of one or more other students. Negative actions can include physical contact, words, making faces or dirty gestures, and intentional exclusion from a group. An additional criterion of bullying is an imbalance in strength (an asymmetric power relationship). The student who is exposed to the negative actions has difficulty defending himself or herself" (Olweus, 1995).

Key components to the definition include three things that need to present for the behavior to be considered bullying (known as PIC criteria):

(1) Purposeful, (2) Imbalance of power (social, physical, etc) and (3) Continuous.

Some additional facts:

In order to stop bullying behavior there is a need to empower bystanders who typically make up 80% of the population. Bystanders need to be taught how to face the bullying behavior directly and if not directly they need to tell to an adult or teacher that you trust. Empowering bystanders increases the supervision.

Characteristics of Bullying Behavior:

Physical aggression

Social aggression (e.g., Exclusion clubs)

Verbal aggression

Intimidation

Sexual Harassment

Racial/cultural harassment

Cyber bullying

Howard County School System has a specific policy concerning bullying behavior as part of the Code of Conduct. All schools must implement a policy in their schools to handle bullying behaviors. There are specific forms that are to be filled out by administration. The form is used to report the instance to the State and to Board of Education. Incidences of bullying need to be reported on a quarterly basis.

What you can do as a parent:

Look for the signs your child is a victim on bullying. These signs may include: drop in grades, increase in avoidance or withdrawal, skipping school, avoiding certain places or events, psychosomatic or real health problems, adjustment problems, change in eating or sleeping habits. You are looking for multiple signs and a change from regular behavior.

Some tips for parents who believe their child has been bullied. First listen to your child. Other tips include: assess your child’s safety, keep emotions in check, let your child know that bullying is not OK, contact a school administrator, ask your child questions, reward positive and caring behavior, set clear limits and expectations, use caution if you contact the parents of a student who is bullying (if a child is bullying at school is often a victim at home), and spend time together as a family.

The presenters also had tips for communicating with the school. They suggested that the parents: ask about the school’s policy, inquire about school supports, request increased supervision during school hours, make a specific request and give a timeline, and follow up on the request.

School-Based Interventions for students with bullying behavior:

#1: Increase supervision, change bully’s faulty behavior through patterns, increase the bully’s empathy for others, and clearly define a policy at school

School-based interventions for students that are victims of bullying behavior:

provide individual or small group intervention, assertiveness training, increase opportunities for victims to change their image, and provide strategies for coping

School-based interventions for bystanders:

Provide school-based intervention, explain the difference between tattling and reporting/telling, teach problem-solving skills, and teach how and when to seek adult help

What’s in it for me? “WIIFM”

(1) Remember PIC criteria,

(2) Bullying is not OK, and

(3) Maintain open communications with your child and with the school.

Contact information: maria_brickley@hcpss.org, gina_santoro@hcpss.org