District Administration - November/December 2011 - (Page 35)
Create an Anti-Bullying Program with Resources You Have
School leaders essentially already have what they need to keep students safe and secure, but they need to define their approach to decrease bullying.
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By Kenneth S. trump
ullying haS Captured the news headlines and the attention of legislators, educators and special interest advocates over the past three years at a greater rate. high-profile teen suicides have raised questions about the role bullying may have played in student deaths. States have enacted new antibullying laws and parents are turning more often to principals to resolve bullying incidents occurring in school and in cyberspace. School administrators and safety officials agree that bullying is a serious issue worthy of reasonable attention, awareness and action. anti-bullying strategies should be one component of a comprehensive and balanced approach to school safety. dealing with lowerlevel aggression and behaviors constituting bullying early on can prevent bigger safety problems down the road. But in a climate driven by emotion, heightened media coverage and the politicization of bullying, how can school leaders genuinely
Steven Goldstein of Garden State Equality gives a hug and a kiss to New Jersey Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri Huttle, a sponsor of the bill, in November 2010 after the Assembly approved an “anti-bullying bill of rights” that advocates stated would be the nation’s toughest.
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