Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Anti-bullying Resources
BPS Anti-Bullying Hotline: (617) 592-2378
Recent news events have emphasized the tragic impact that bullying can have on young people. The City of Boston and the Boston Public Schools continue to take steps to ensure that students are safe and respected in and out of schools. This page contains information, resources and links to help students, families, educators and others recognize, prevent and end bullying.
What is bullying?
Bullying is aggressive behavior that is intentional and that involves an imbalance of power or strength. Typically, it is repeated over time. A child who is being bullied has a hard time defending himself or herself. Bullying can take many forms, such as hitting or punching (physical bullying); teasing or namecalling (verbal bullying); and intimidation using gestures or social exclusion (nonverbal bullying or emotional bullying).
Bullying also can happen online or electronically. Cyberbullying is when children or teens bully each other using the Internet, mobile phones or other cyber technology. This can include:
* Sending mean text, email, or instant messages;
* Posting nasty pictures or messages about others in blogs or on Web sites;
* Using someone else's user name to spread rumors or lies about someone.
Source: stopbullyingnow.hrsa.gov
City of Boston Anti-bullying Campaign
In February 2010, Mayor Thomas M. Menino launched Boston’s anti-bullying initiative (with an emphasis on cyberbullying) and created a new anti-bullying hotline. Students who feel they are being bullied or know someone who is being bullied should call the anti-bullying hotline at 617-592-2378.
The anti-bullying campaign also included increased outreach efforts to parents to raise awareness about bullying as well as additional training for staff who work directly with youth to help them identify and prevent bullying. The Mayor also launched an anti-cyberbullying contest seeking artistic submissions (posters, poetry, videos, etc.) promoting healthy online behavior. The winning submission will be used in a public awareness campaign.
At the event, students from TechBoston Academy debuted a public service announcement (PSA) they created aimed at ending cyberbullying. Watch the PSA below.
Letter from Superintendent Johnson to Families
April 2, 2010
Dear Boston Public School Families,
While the entire BPS community works hard every single day to ensure that students accelerate their academic achievement, the safety and well-being of our students is a top priority. Bullying and cyber-bullying affect a student’s ability to focus on learning and to succeed in the classroom and beyond. These inappropriate behaviors are a concern to all of us who work with children and young adults. Recent events in the news remind us of the tragic impact that this harassment can have on students, and we will continue to take our work to address all reports of disrespectful behavior.
In February, Mayor Thomas M. Menino established an Anti-Bullying Hotline for the City of Boston. While we strongly encourage you and your child to report instances of bullying and cyber-bullying to administrators and staff at school, we also understand that families, and students in particular, may feel more comfortable calling the hotline in some instances.
We have also been engaged in a collaborative effort with Safety Services to work with administrative teams on effective responses to bullying. We will continue these sessions until staff from every school has received training. In addition, we are strictly enforcing rules around cell phone use, as much of the online activity during the day occurs on mobile devices. School bus drivers will continue to report incidents to schools that take place on the bus. While it is essential that all reported instances are treated with the utmost seriousness, we also believe that proactive measures are critical to prevention. We will continue to improve our efforts to educate students about bullying and connect teachers and staff with age-appropriate curricula that address respect and positive school climate.
On the reverse side of this letter, we have included information that may help you recognize if your child is being bullied, as well as strategies for how to help him/her make healthy decisions in response to teasing and intimidation, whether a student is a victim or a bystander.
If you would like to learn more about what you and your child can do at home and in school to address bullying and cyber-bullying, please visit www.bostonpublicschools.org/antibullying. You can also register on our website for the May 1st session of Parent University, where we will offer an informative Internet safety workshop for families.
Thank you for your continued partnership in ensuring that our students always treat others with respect and have the knowledge, skill, and confidence to succeed in college, career, and life.
Sincerely,
Carol R. Johnson
Superintendent
Resources
BPS Bullying Fact Sheet For Parents
BPS Cyberbullying Fact Sheet for Students
BPS Anti-bullying, Violence Prevention & School Climate Curriculum
Translations of Superintendent's Letter and Fact Sheet for Parents
Carta para las Familias sobre Anti-Acoso escolar o “Anti-Bullying”
Lèt Pou Lafanmi sou Zak Kraponnay (Anti-Bullying)
Anti-Bullying Carta as Famílias
Waraaqaha Lidka Tahdiida Boosta baa Lagu Dirayaa
Karta Anti-Bullying pa Famílias
Thư gửi các gia đình ngăn ngừa việc bắt nạt (hà hiếp)
Links to Additional Resources
Massachusetts Bullying and Cyberbulling Prevention
This page is managed by Robin D'Antonia, Ed.D, an educational consultant who has been doing bullying prevention trainings for staff and teachers in Boston for a number of years.
Massachusetts Aggression Reduction Center
The Massachusetts Aggression Reduction Center (MARC), housed at Bridgewater State College, brings low- or no-cost services to K-12 education, law enforcement, and other professional caregivers for children in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Stop Bullying Now
Created by the United States Department of Health and Human Resources, the Stop Bullying Now website contains kid-friendly information, games and webisodes to help children learn how they can help stop bullying. A separate section for adults contains information for parents and educators.
Boston Public Schools Cyber Safety Campaign
The Boston Public Schools Cyber Safety Campaign is a student-developed campaign to promote safe and healthy Internet use. This site contains numerous resources, including those featuring the popular Cyber Safety Heroes, that can be downloaded for free or ordered for use in the classroom and at home.
Massachusetts Department of Public Health Bullying Prevention Guide
Direct from the Field: A Guide to Bullying Prevention is a comprehensive guide that was developed to help teachers and administrators create unique bullying prevention programs that meet the needs of their specific school communities.
Resources for Protecting Privacy on Social Networking Sites
Facebook Safety
This section of the social networking site Facebook contains information and answers to a variety of safety questions related to Facebook and includes a "Safety for Parents" and "Safety for Teens" section.
MySpace Safety
This website, targeted to parents, provides information about the popular online community MySpace and offers tools and tips for ensuring your child's safety online.
Avoiding and Responding to Problems on Facebook
This document, written by Elizabeth K. Englander of the Massachusetts Aggression Reduction Center (MARC), contains specific instructions for changing your Facebook settings to increase your privacy on Facebook.
Twitter Safety
This page contains tips and resources for protecting your privacy on Twitter and preventing cyberbullying and cyberharassment.
