Although it has gained much publicity in recent times, bullying has been an issue within school systems for many years.  Due to the increased suicide rates resulting from bullying, the state of Massachusetts has passed legislation requiring all public school administration and faculty attend anti-bullying training. 

AK Consulting Services, Inc. offers Anti-bullying/Cyberbullying workshops geared towards faculty and administration as well as to students.  As always, we conduct our workshops to suit our clients specific needs.  Services that we may suggest include, but are not limited to: 

• Facilitated discussion on what constitutes bullying, methods for which it can be prevented, as well as providing best practices for addressing instances that do constitute bullying/cyberbullying.   
• 11-point 4-Day Intensive Workshop (adopted from GLSEN - Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network).  Participants in this 4-day intensive program learn the ways for recognizing bullying behaviors, how they can become allies rather than by-standers, the creation of their own Peer-Lead Anti-bullying Task Force, and also to become facilitators so that they may then conduct their own workshops for middle-school students.

On our Links page you will find a link to a radio news story that covered a 4-day intensive that AK Consulting Services conducted in April 2010 at the Renaissance School in Springfield, MA.

For more information about our programs, please contact us by navigating to the Contact Us page. 

Best Practices in Bullying Prevention

(From stopbullyingnow.hrsa.gov):

1. Focus on the social environment of the school. In order to reduce bullying, it is important to change the social climate of the school and the social norms with regards to bullying. This requires the efforts of everyone in the school environment-teachers, administrators, counselors school nurses other non-teaching staff (such as bus drivers, custodians, cafeteria workers, and/or school librarians), parents, and students.

2. Assess bullying at your school. Adults are not always very good at estimating the nature and prevalence of bullying at their school. As a result, it can be quite useful to administer an anonymous questionnaire to students about bullying. A number of bullying prevention programs listed in the Resource Kit include these measures.

3. Obtain staff and parent buy-in and support for bullying prevention. Bullying prevention should not be the sole responsibility of any single individual at a school. To be most effective, bullying prevention efforts require buy-in from the majority of the staff and from parents. However, bullying prevention efforts should still begin even if immediate buy-in from all isn't achievable. Usually, more and more supporters will join the effort once they see what it's accomplishing.

4. Form a group to coordinate the school's bullying prevention activities. Bullying prevention efforts seem to work best if they are coordinated by a representative group from the school. This coordinating team might include:

• Administrator
• Teacher from each grade
• Member of the non-teaching staff
• School counselor or other school-based mental health professional
• Parents 

The team should meet regularly to review findings from the school's survey; plan specific bullying prevention activities; motivate staff, students, and parents; and ensure that the efforts continue over time.

5. Provide training for school staff in bullying prevention. All administrators, faculty and staff at a school should be trained in bullying prevention and intervention. In-service training can help staff members to better understand the nature of bullying and its effects, how to respond if they observe bullying, and how to work with others at the school to help prevent bullying.

6. Establish and enforce school rules and policies related to bullying. Developing simple, clear rules about bullying can help to ensure that students are aware of adults' expectations that they not bully others and that they help students who are bullied. School rules and policies should be posted and discussed with students and parents. Appropriate positive and negative consequences should be developed.

7. Increase adult supervision in "hot spots" for bullying. Bullying tends to thrive in locations where adults are not present or are not watchful. Adults should look for creative ways to increase adult presence in locations that students identify as "hot spots."

8. Intervene consistently and appropriately when you see bullying. Observed or suspected bullying should never be ignored by adults. All school staff should learn effective strategies to intervene on-the-spot to stop bullying. Staff members also should be designated to hold sensitive follow-up meetings with students who are bullied and (separately) with students who bully. Staff members should involve parents whenever possible.

9. Devote some class time to bullying prevention. Students can benefit if teachers set aside a regular period of time (e.g., 20–30 minutes each week or every other week) to discuss bullying and improving peer relations. These meetings can help teachers to keep their fingers on the pulse of students' concerns, allow time for discussions about bullying and the harms that it can cause, and provide tools for students to address bullying problems. Anti-bullying messages also can be incorporated throughout the school curriculum.

10. Continue these efforts. There should be no "end date" for bullying prevention activities. Bullying prevention should be continued over time and woven into the fabric of the school environment.

This information is based, in part on: Limber, S. P. (2004, Winter). What works and doesn't work in bullying prevention and intervention. Student Assistance Journal. 16-19.

 Highlights of Anti-Bullying Bill As Enacted by the Legislature 4-29-2010   

• Bullying defined as “the repeated use by one or more students of a written, verbal or electronic expression or a physical act or gesture or any combination thereof, directed at a victim that: (i) causes physical or emotional harm to the victim or damage to the victim’s property; (ii) places the victim in reasonable fear of harm to himself or of damage to his property; (iii) creates a hostile environment at school for the victim; (iv) infringes on the rights of the victim at school; or (v) materially and substantially disrupts the education process or the orderly operation of a school.

• Bullying and cyberbullying prohibited on public and private school grounds, property immediately adjacent to school grounds, a school-sponsored or related activity, function, or program, at a school bus stop, on a school bus or other school vehicles, through the use of technology owned by a school, and outside school if a hostile educational environment is thereby created at school.

• Retaliation against people reporting bullying prohibited.

• Public and private schools required to “develop, adhere to, and update a plan to address bullying prevention and intervention….”

• Descriptions of and statements prohibiting bullying
• Clear procedures for school staff to report bullying or retaliationo Provision for anonymous reports
• Clear procedures for promptly responding to and investigating reports of bullying or retaliation
• Range of disciplinary sanctions for perpetrators of bullying or retaliation
• Clear procedures to address the victim’s need for safety
• Strategies for protecting students who report bullying
• Procedures for notifying parents or guardians of both victims and perpetrators
• Procedures for reporting criminal activity to law enforcement
• Disciplinary provisions for knowingly false reports of bullying
• Strategies for counseling perpetrators and victims.
• Provision for ongoing professional development to build skills of all members of school staff

• Regulations to be issued by 9/30/10 will flesh out the duty of school staff to report bullying incidents they witness or become aware of to school principals.

• Annual notice of plan requirements must be given to students, parents, and school staff.

• Principals are responsible for implementing plans.