I wanted to give parents an update on a number of steps we have taken since the last school year to address issues of peer relationships and bullying. Our division heads and I will be giving more detail about these steps at Parent Night, but I wanted to sketch them out here as well.
First, this summer all of our faculty read the bookThe Bully, the Bullied, and the Bystander, by Barbara Coloroso. This is widely considered one of the masterworks on this topic. We discussed the book and its implications at opening faculty meetings, and we will come back to its content throughout the year.
Second, the faculty and administration had a day long workshop with Dr. Susan Swearer from the University of Nebraska -- Lincoln. A widely recognized national expert on bullying, she taught the faculty about what bullying is and is not; what conditions foster bullying behavior; how bullying can lead to future behavioral problems for both the bully and the bullied; what schools can do about bullying; and how zero tolerance policies and punishment are ineffective, counter-productive, and foolish. Dr. Swearer will continue to be a resource for us throughout the year. We are hoping, too, that she will return to us to conduct sessions for parents and students.
Third, we have just conducted a bullying survey amongst our fifth - eighth graders so that we can get some data on what sorts of behavior are going on here and so we can have a baseline against which to judge the effectiveness of the anti-bullying programs we have instituted. For grades K-4 the name of the program isSecond Step(http://www.cfchildren.org). The Upper School program isStories of Us(http://www.readymade.com.au/index).html) Susie Wheeler and John Melton will be describing these programs at Parent Night, and John will be writing next week in more depth about the Upper School’s efforts.
Something else we have decided to do is to utilize weekly the services of a consulting child psychologist named Laurie Lewis. She has served as a teacher and counselor at a number of independent schools, most recently practicing in New York and New Jersey. She will help us navigate some of the related social and bullying issues, focusing on four main areas for us:
- consultation with faculty and administrators on matters pertaining to the psychological, social, behavioral, and learning needs of a child or group of children;
- initial and rudimentary psychoeducational, psychological, and neuropsychological assessment, of course only with the prior permission of parents;
- education for children, faculty, administration, or parents about topics related to the psychosocial needs of the children;
- and short term counseling or psychological support services, again only with parental permission.
Since having the services of a consulting psychologist will be new for us, Dr. Lewis’ role will be evolving over the course of this school year.
Finally, I have appointed a peer relationship task force. The group will be getting together for the first time in a couple of weeks. Initially their charge will be to learn about the best national thinking on bullying, to develop and recommend a comprehensive anti-bullying policy, and to plan parent education sessions on bullying and peer relationships. The Task Force consists of division heads John Melton and Susan Wheeler; teachers Emily Cranwell and Susan Walter; trustees Connie Alderfer, Rodanthe Hanrahan, and Sharon Liu; CSPA President Jenny Benson; and parents K Guinness, HP Ketterman, and Brenda Scribner. I will chair the group. I will communicate again about these issues once the task force has reached some conclusions. As always, feel free to speak with your child’s teacher, division head, or me if you have any questions or concerns.