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By: Dr. Amy Grosso
According to StopBullying.gov, bullying in schools is defined as the “unwanted, aggressive behavior among school aged children that involves a real or perceived power imbalance.” To be considered bullying the behavior must be repeated and involve a power imbalance between the student doing the bullying and the one being bullied.
While bullying might seem like something everyone experiences during childhood, it is critical to understand bullying impacts those who have been bullied, those who do the bullying, and often the entire community. Schools have a huge responsibility in responding to and preventing bullying—but with it comes both challenges and opportunities.
Challenges with Bullying Prevention
Responding to bullying presents many challenges for schools. Not only do schools have to consider local policies and protocols, but many states are passing more laws on how schools must respond to bullying and often specifically cyberbullying.
- Perception of bullying: Every person has a perception of bullying. Even if we don’t realize it, we have preconceived ideas on the topic. Some of us might see bullying as a common part of childhood and do not understand why so much is being made of it. Others might criticize this generation as being “weak” for drawing attention to being bullied. All these perceptions impact educators’ response to bullying.
- Being reactive: Many of the laws and requirements for schools are geared toward how bullying is handled after it is reported. In addition, the behavior must meet the definition of bullying, specifically meaning it must be repeated and involve an imbalance of power. These requirements drive schools to focus on reacting to situations once behavior reaches the point of bullying. This type of reaction unintentionally causes students to not feel heard until the bullying reaches a crisis level.
- Anonymous reporting: While having the ability for students, staff, and community members to report concerning behavior anonymously, it is critical for schools to not depend on only tip lines for identifying and responding to bullying. There are signs of bullying before it would ever be reported by another person.
- Adults aren’t always the best example: When bullying is mentioned it is attributed to being a kid problem. The reality is bullying happens at every age and adults are not always the best examples for students. It is important to model the positive behavior you want students to engage in.
Opportunities Related to Bullying Prevention
While it can be overwhelming for schools to respond to bullying, there are things that can be done before bullying reaches a crisis point. Many of the things are not complicated and do not require specialized training.
- Teaching character lessons: As important it is for students to learn academics; it is just as important they can experience lessons on different character attributes. For example, teaching students healthy relationship skills and how to handle conflict provides opportunities for students to understand how to interact with others in a positive and respectful way. Character lessons go with choosing to be intentional about the campus climate. Schools don’t just talk about things; they are in practice each day.
- School climate: Researchers out of Yale University emphasizes the importance of creating a positive school climate to help prevent bullying. While schools need protocols on ways to respond to bullying, it is just as critical to develop a school climate that promotes positive behavior and provides a sense of belonging for students.
- Pay attention to early warning signs and risk factors: When a student is being bullied, both the student being bullied and the one that is doing the bullying are more than likely showing early warning signs before their interactions reach the level of bullying. Stopbullying.gov provides examples of risk factors and behaviors:
- Students who are bullying others: lack of support at home or see aggression as an acceptable behavior.
- Students being bullied: be seen as different than others or experience mental health concerns like anxiety or depression.
Supporting your students' safety
Technology can help support the role schools play in being proactive regarding student safety and bullying prevention. By identifying early warning signs, or low-level concerns and also having a way for staff to report, schools can recognize a pattern of behavior and intervene before a crisis. The patented StudentSafe™ technology from Raptor brings together the systems that help schools recognize, document, support and manage the wellbeing of individual students.
Learn more about how you can further support your students in Raptor’s free guide.
Dr. Amy Grosso
After completing her Ph.D. in Counseling and Counselor Education at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Dr. Amy Grosso began her career as a mental health counselor at Wake Forest Baptist Health. After accepting her position as the Director of Behavioral Health at Round Rock ISD, Dr. Amy’s accomplishments include:
- Creating the Behavioral Health Services Department, including the hiring and oversight of a team of social workers—and the first-ever social worker dedicated to supporting staff.
- Assisting the establishment of the Round Rock ISD Police Department and specifically designing how social workers work in conjunction with police officers.
- Overseeing the implementation of threat assessment and comprehensive suicide protocols.
Dr. Amy serves on the National Chapter Leadership Council of American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. She co-authored the book Schoolwide Collaboration for Transformative Social Emotional Learning, August 2021.
Related Resources
Guide to K-12 Student Wellbeing
Strategies to Recognize, Document, and Support Students in Distress
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