Powell River Board of Education trustees received an update last week from Gerry Brach and Theresa Verdiel detailing anti-bullying initiatives which are taking place in schools around School District 47.
“Bullying has been a topic of concern for Powell River schools for years,” said Brach, a school counsellor from Brooks Secondary School who has been chosen to be the district’s safe school coordinator. “We are constantly looking for ways to prevent it and address it when it does occur. Powell River schools take all reports of bullying very seriously.”
A big focus of the district’s approach to anti-bullying at the elementary school level is proactive approaches which help students to work on their self-esteem, communication skills, social responsibility, compassion and empathy.
Verdiel, special services coordinator for the district, outlined 18 programs or approaches that are used, which include awareness programs that teach students in an age-appropriate manner about dealing with bullying and helping students learn better self-regulation, discipline and emotional resilience.
Zero tolerance for violence in Powell River’s schools has been well received, according to Verdiel, who reported that she has seen the number of violent incidents reduced over the years.
Each school in the district has established student codes of conduct.
Brach continued the report, describing anti-bullying programs in place in the secondary school.
“We’re very fortunate to have our RCMP school liaison officer Chris Bakker,” said Brach. “He comes into the school on a regular basis and I see him always discussing with principal [Kathy] Rothwell different situations that arise.”
Additionally, Bakker and a number of other speakers have been invited to give presentations to students, staff and parents about staying safe on the Internet.
“There’s a lot of anti-bullying curriculum that’s taking place,” said Brach. From anti-bullying presentations in Health and Career Planning for grades eight and nine to adding Powell River Diversity Initiative’s film, Defining Diversity, Creating Community, to the Planning 10 curriculum, Brooks students are receiving the anti-bullying message from a variety of sources.
Brooks has a number of clubs that help foster and develop community. These include Gay, Straight,Transgender Alliance Group, and the Compassion Project, an experiential project for students that seeks to create safe, caring and connected schools and communities. There is also a Party program that educates students about staying safe, and a First Nations Leadership Group which includes training in social responsibility.
Last June, the BC government introduced a province-wide 10-point action plan designed to combat bullying in schools called ERASE Bullying Strategy (Expect Respect And Safe Education).
“It compliments a number of existing strategies that we already have in place,” said Brach. “It’s going to help develop some consistent policies and practices in all 60 school districts around the province.”
Part of the strategy includes anti-bullying training to identify and prevent harmful behaviour in school. It is being provided to approximately 15,000 educators and community partners over the next five years. Powell River is scheduled to participate in January 2013. Additionally, the strategy will help educators identify students who are living with domestic abuse.
The strategy also includes a website with information for students and parents about bullying and cyberbullying. A key feature of the website and a complimentary smartphone app gives students the ability to report bullying anonymously. Once a report is made a threat assessment team in the school district is notified by email. Since brought online on November 13, Brach reports there haven’t been any reports made.
“Our schools are very proactive in their efforts to educate students about the damage and the dangers of bullying and cyberbullying,” he said.
