Increase complaints of Bullying in Schools!

In the past few weeks, Prairie Center Against Sexual Assault has received an alarming amount of complaints from students and parents about bullying in schools throughout Illinois. It appears that the schools have anti-bullying policies in place, however, the policies are not being followed.

We have a solid program in several of our elementary and middle schools in our service area called "Steps To Respect". We have been offering this program and training for schools since 2006. Our finding is this...the schools that have strong support from school administration, school faculty and staff, and a consistent approach in dealing with bullying incidents- are the most successful in reducing bullying in their schools. This does not happen over night- it is a process. Each school has to be committed to creating a better school culture that helps students feel safe and that can enhance a better learning environment.

Our biggest obstacle is changing individual attitudes about bullying. Adults need to realize that this is NOT "kids being kids" and kids can't just work it out on their own if they don't have the skills to do so. Kids need to realize that bullying is NOT acceptable behavior and will NOT be tolerated in school or in life. Bullying is a REAL problem and it needs a REAL solution.

We are recruiting new elementary schools for the 2011-12 school year to participate in our "Steps To Respect" program. This program includes intensive training for school administration and faculty/staff and an educational session for parents. For more information, please call: Prairie Center Against Sexual Assault at 744-2560 or email: development@prairiecasa.org

2009-10 School Year off to a Good Start!

We have added more schools this year to our Steps to Respect anti-bullying program. We welcome Blessed Sacrament School, St. Joseph's School, Springfield Ball Charter and New Berlin!! We appreciate the support of United Way of Central Illinois- adding more schools is difficult without the funding.

If you need information on this program, please contact Shelley Vaughan at Prairie Center Against Sexual Assault- 217-744-2560.

Congratulations to the Winners of the 2008 Anti-Bullying Poster Contest

1st Place- Category 6-8: Ashley Lascody- St. Aloysius School
1st Place Winner- Category K-3: Emily Ducaji- Christ The King School

1st Place Winner- Category 4-5: Kolten Miller, North Elementary School

Thank You, US Bank!

As stated in the last post- US Bank helped sponsor the Anti-Bullying Poster and Essay Contest conducted in January and February! Prairie Center Against Sexual Assault received a grant from US Bank to help support their Bullying Prevention Initiative in the local schools.

US Bank is a wonderful example of how local community businesses can help organizations like Prairie Center succeed in their mission. More info to come on this... Thanks again, US Bank! You rock!

Steps to Respect Program underway at local schools!

We are pleased to announce that the Steps to Respect program is going strong at the following schools: McClernand Elementary and Christ The King (Springfield, IL) and Carrollton Elementary (Carrollton, IL)...we have been receiving positive feedback about the programs- and actually just finished up with our Anti-Bullying Poster and Essay contest sponsored by Prairie Center Against Sexual Assault and our good friends at US Bank. (Winners will be posted in April). The winners of the contests will receive a $50 savings bond from US Bank and their winning entries will be published. Thanks to all the students who participated! It was tough on the US Bank judges to choose from all the great artwork and essays.

We are also working with St. Aloysius (Springfield, IL) and North Elementary School (Taylorville, IL) on setting up this program for their schools in the 2008-2009 school year. We have several other schools interested in participating and the waiting list is growing...we hope our funding will come through again this year so we can continue to offer this program to new schools and sustain the programs at the schools already involved to help create safer learning environments.

We appreciate the support of the staff, teachers, parents, and the community for our Bullying Prevention Initiative...it takes all of us to make this work.

Who Is A Bully?

Bullies come in all sizes and shapes. Some may be taller or bigger than everyone. Some may in trouble all the time or some may be popular kids who are in the “in crowd” with lots of friends.
Bullies are often insecure so they pick on others to make themselves feel better.

Why does a person act like a bully?
- They may be having problems at home or struggling with school.
- Sometimes they may be seeking attention from parents or teachers.
- Maybe they observe their parents or older siblings get their way by being angry or pushing other people around.
- He or she may be experiencing bullying themselves by another kid or a sibling.
- Their parents may not have taught them not to hurt others.
- Or maybe they are exposed to a lot of violence in movies, TV, and video games.

Have you heard about peer pressure? Peer pressure is a powerful thing. You may notice that sometimes a person is nice to you when he/she is alone but will join in when his/her friends start teasing you. People often do what their friends are doing due to peer pressure. They might think they're just having fun and not realize they are bullying someone.

Sometimes when people are bullied when they are younger, they grow up and become a bully themselves. Some bullies set out to hurt someone and others don't even realize that their behavior is hurtful.

Remember the golden rule: Treat others the way you want to be treated. Respect others and accept the differences you see in others. We are all different in some ways but we all want to be accepted and liked.

Don't Let This Happen at Your School

Here's a recent article on school bullying....

Bullied student brought knives to school, police say
By Russell Lissau Daily Herald Staff

A student brought a set of steak knives to a Gurnee middle school earlier this month to defend herself against bullying, police said Thursday.

The six knives were found in the 14-year-old girl's locker at Viking Middle School, Deputy Police Chief Kevin Woodside said. She didn't hurt anyone or directly threaten other students, he said.
The incident underscores the need for parents to talk with their children about bullying and to develop strategies for dealing with bullies, Woodside said.

Additionally, if you suspect your child is being bullied, talk to school administrators about the problem, Woodside said. "Get it out in the open," he said. The student was arrested Dec. 12 after police learned the girl, who is from Wadsworth, brought the knives to school, Woodside said. They were found in her backpack in her locker, reports indicated.

Other students had told school officials about the knives, police said.
The teen felt she was being bullied, Woodside said. Several students were involved, he said, but it was not clear exactly how many. The girl was charged as a juvenile with possession of weapons and referred to juvenile authorities. She was released to her mother after her arrest, police said. Court information was not available.

Woodside said the girl faced disciplinary action at school, too, but Gurnee Elementary District 56 Superintendent John Hutton declined to discuss the incident or the girl.
Hutton said the arrest has spurred him and the school board to develop an anti-bullying program for District 56 that could be implemented for the 2008-09 school year.

"Bullying is something that all schools are dealing with," he said. "One (incident) is too many."
The program could start at the middle school, then expand to the district's three other campuses, he said. About 2,200 students attend classes in District 56. Ideally, the program would be aimed not just at potential bullies or victims, but also other students who don't act when bullies strike, Hutton said.

By doing nothing, bystanders validate and encourage bullies, he said.
Bullying is against the law in Illinois. Menacing or intimidating a student in such a way that it interferes with attendance is a misdemeanor that could result in jail time and fines.

Illinois schools are required under a 2006 law to implement bullying-prevention programs -- covering intimidation, student victimization, sexual harassment, sexual violence and other topics -- for students in all grades. District 56 hasn't created such a program yet because the General Assembly didn't provide funding, Hutton said.

http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=103157&src=3

What is bullying?

Bullying happens when individuals or group of people continues to hurt, frighten, threaten, or exclude another person on purpose. It’s often a repeated activity, with a particular child singled out over and over again.

Bullying involves an imbalance of power, where the child who bullies has more power (due to factors like age, size, or higher social status) than the targeted child.

There’s not just one profile of a child who is bullied—any child can be singled out for any reason.

Prairie Center Against Sexual Assault Launches Bullying Prevention Initiative

Prairie Center Against Sexual Assault has joined the campaign against bullying in schools in a combined effort with Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault and Committee for Children.

Earlier this year we launched the first Bullying Prevention Initiative in our service area to assist schools in setting up bullying prevention programs using a whole school approach.

Our intent is to assist school districts within our service area in the implementation of bullying prevention programs and provide on-going support as needed. It is important for school officials to recognize the problem of bullying in their schools and reach out for help from organizations like ours who can assist them. Prairie Center staff have been trained and are ready to reach out to the communities we serve.

We are currently partnering with McClernand Elementary School and Christ The King (Springfield) and Carrollton Elementary School (Carrollton) to implement Steps To Respect- a Bullying Prevention pilot program (created by the Committee for Children) during the 2007-2008 school year. Prairie Center has also entered into the initial stages to work with North Elementary School in Taylorville to implement a bullying prevention program at their school.

Parents, teachers, students, and principals are recognizing the critical need for bullying prevention programs in their schools. We can help schools create a new school culture where everyone participates in efforts to end bullying. Our center will work with the schools on developing steering committees, creating bullying policies, and provide training for staff and parents.

Prairie Center is ready to work with schools to develop a coordinated system of supervision involving the whole school community of administrators, teachers, support staff, students, parents, law enforcement, and community stake holders.

Parents, educators, and students are encouraged to call Prairie Center to seek support and information about bullying. For more information about the Bullying Prevention Initiative, call Shelley Vaughan, Associate Director of Development and Education- at 217-744-2560.