Since the Internet became a staple in most every school and home, some bullying formally refined to classrooms has taken a new face and isn’t always apparently for the faculty and staff.
Oxford School District recently launched a website to make reports of bullying on yourself, your child or another student in need.
Superintendent Brian Harvey said the district adopted a bullying policy several years ago and the site is an extension of that policy, not a response to any particular incident.
“After a review of the policy, I noticed that we did not have a formal process to deal with bullying concerns,” Harvey said. We created this new process so that students and parents could report incidents that fit the District’s definition of bullying.”
The site will also offer students and parents a way to make reports without being seen in the school and possibly labeled a tattletale.
“Being able to report anonymously is a definite advantage for students. It also allows the administration to being their investigation immediately,” Harvey said. “In order to have an effective school environment we must have a safe school environment. Unfortunately, bullying has always been a part of schools at all levels. We have to take steps to educate students and parents to report these incidents when they occur and we have to make sure that measures are in place so that teachers and administrators take these reports seriously and conduct proper investigations.”
Amelia Camurati is editor of HottyToddy.com and can be reached at amelia.camurati@hottytoddy.com.
