Bullying Prevention

Bullying Prevention at Lawnton Elementary School

At the beginning of every school year, I review bullying with our students, having them understand what bullying is defined as, what it looks like, what it sounds like, and what it would feel like. Then, we discuss what it means to be an upstander, as opposed to being a bystander.

During our bullying prevention lessons, students learned the difference between being mean, and being a bully. We define bullying at Lawnton Elementary and within the Central Dauphin School District as being:

• Purposeful
• Repetitive (happens 3 or more times)
• Dealing with an imbalance of power
• Used to intimidate someone

Students were taught to be Upstanders and stand up to bullying behaviors by telling the bully "stop" or turning to an adult for help. We discussed the Stop, Walk, and Talk method on standing up to bullying.

Bullying at Lawnton, and within the Central Dauphin School District is defined as "purposeful, hurtful behavior that occurs repeatedly (3 or more times) and is done in a way to intimidate, control, or gain power over another person. This is usually done to a person who has difficulty defending themselves."

An upstander is a person/group of people who stand up to the bullying behaviors, calling it out, and interrupting it from happening.

A bystander is someone who sees the bullying behaviors and does not do anything to address it.

Bullying Prevention Protocol

Each Elementary School in the CDSD will implement the following Bullying Prevention Strategies:

1. Clearly define, teach and reinforce expected school behavior.
2. Post expectations and school rules throughout buildings and classrooms.
3. Have a Bullying Behavior Level Chart available for staff and students to use as a reference.
4. Inform students of the process and procedures for reporting a bullying situation.
5. Teach students through morning meetings, assemblies, guidance lessons, etc., appropriate response strategies to use in bullying situations.
6. Hang posters throughout the school building that define bullying, provide prevention strategies and suggest positive reaction strategies.

Procedures for Reporting:

1. A bullying situation is reported by student, staff, parent, etc.
2. Principal or counselor will document the reported situation.
3. Follow up will occur based on the situation and severity of report. District Discipline Policy will be followed if needed.

Helpful Links...

Central Dauphin's Policy on Bullying - Link to School Board Policy

Center for Safe School Bullying Resources - Center for Safe Schools Website

Stop Bullying Now - Stop Bullying Now Website