• Bullying Awareness and Prevention

    No student shall engage in or be subjected to harassment, violence, threats of violence, or intimidation by any other student that is based on any of the specific characteristics. Students who violate this policy will be subjected to disciplinary sanctions.

    A student, parent or guardian, or staff member may file a complaint of harassment, intimidation, or bullying pursuant to Board policy. Please complete the Bullying/Harassment Incident Report Form and submit it to the school principal. Results of the investigation will determine the disciplinary action taken. A complainant that falsely accuses someone will also be subject to disciplinary action. 

    What is bullying? 

    As defined in ACS Policy 6.10.2, bullying is a continuous pattern of intentional behavior that takes place on school property, on a school bus, or at a school-sponsored function including, but not limited to, cyberbullying, or written, electronic, verbal, or physical acts that are reasonably perceived as being motivated by any characteristic of a student, or by the association of a student with an individual who has a particular characteristic, if the characteristic falls into one of the categories of personal characteristics set forth in ACS Policy 6.10.2.2. Those characteristics include students' race, sex, religion, national origin, or disability. The entire policy can be viewed in the student section of the ACS Policy Manual. 

    Types of Bullying
    • Verbal: Saying or writing mean things.
    • Social: Sometimes referred to as relational bullying, involves hurting someone's reputation or relationships.
    • Physical: Hurting a person's body or possessions.
    • Cyber: Bullying which takes place over digital devices.

    Why be concerned?

    Why should staff members and parents be concerned about harassment and bullying? Consider these national statistics.
    • Every seven minutes, a child is bullied in school.
    • 60-percent of boys who were known to be bullies in middle grades have gone on to be convicted of at least one criminal offense by the age of 24. 
    • Young people who become violent before the age of 13 usually commit more crimes. Often, they commit more serious crimes for a longer time. 
    • Each year, as many as 160,000 children nationwide stay home from school each day for fear of being bullied. 
    • 43-percent of students who responded to a survey are fearful of being harassed in the bathroom. 
    • In bullying incidents that were reported by students, an adult (teacher, staff, or other) intervened four-percent of the time. Peers intervened 11-percent of the time, and no one intervened 85-percent of the time. 

    What can staff members do?

    • Be proactive.
    • Implement a school-wide code of conduct. 
    • Have clear consequences for inappropriate behavior. 
    • Have a no-tolerance policy regarding harassment, bullying, or retaliation. 
    • Teach students appropriate social skills, conflict resolution, and anger management techniques.
    • Remain diligent in teaching and reinforcing skills. Don't take the band-aid approach and think that just because a lesson is taught, that the job is done. 

    Resources