Nearly two months ago, a light was extinguished in my home. Due to bullying at this school. Since this time the actions of the schools administration and board have been nothing more than, “Not our fault!” Even after another of his classmates was lost nearly a month later, they continued to do nothing of consequence. Instead, their entire focus has been on shifting blame.
After the second student was lost and before his family could even bury their child, the school administration immediately went on the offensive with an asinine Facebook post about family problems, mental problems, and inadequate support systems. Essentially they blamed the families and the boys for what happened. Even specifically saying in their self-serving post that they held none of the blame.
Finally I read in the Lonoke County Democrat that they approved funds for a “CyberBully Hotline” to allow students to anonymously report bullying in their last meeting. This action essentially says, “We didn’t know. So, not our fault.” Which is total and utter balderdash. They had known for months. They had known since their January meeting when my brother brought this to their attention. They just did NOTHING!
This Hotline is nothing more than a cover for their incompetence. What purpose is served by a technical mechanism to promise anonymity in a school with roughly 300 students? As soon as any action is taken on any report, it will be readily apparent who reported it. And if no action is taken, what purpose would it serve? “Designed to fail” has never been more appropriate a term. Why would the administrators want a bullying program that is designed to fail? Because they know who the bullies are. They look them in the eye every morning in the mirror.
And as I read this article further, I noted that not one, not two but, NINE educators and staff members are fleeing this incompetently run district. I think that speaks much more than a cosmetic software purchase. If the parents of CHS students want real change, they are going to have to push for more. If the board wants real change they are going to have to look deeper than what the fox is telling them about the condition of the hen house.
What kind of change? I can make a few suggestions for the school board:
Hire an independent bullying counselor from outside that reports directly to the board and no administrator. Have regular meetings with this counselor and heed their recommendations for policy and reports on personnel performance.
Revamp disciplinary rules to assure that bullies cannot use “Zero Tolerance” and other asinine policies to make the administration and school accomplices in their bullying.
Remove the requirement that a disciplinary action requires a certain threshold to be appealed to the board. A minor injustice is still an injustice.
Create and maintain a bullying database that correlates bullies and their victims and uses a score card of events to determine if someone is a proven bully, made a one time mistake, or was actually the victim forced into responding in self-defense. Make the proven bullies change their schedule to avoid the victims and not vice-versa.
Once proven bullies reach a certain threshold on the score card remove all extra curricular activities from their schedule and ban them from school property except during regular class schedules for the remainder of the semester.
Once someone is a proven bully, refer ANY physical altercations to law enforcement for possible criminal prosecution.
Mandate that all school staff members follow the mandated reporters law. Failure or even delay in reporting should be grounds for immediate dismissal and a complaint lodged with the state to de-license that staff member.
Yea, a lot of suggestions here. I am sure that some more experienced than me can find flaws or ways to improve my suggestions, that is why they are suggestions. Some of these are not even my ideas but blatantly plagiarized from ideas discussed in social media about the district. Any one of these would be much more significant and relevant changes than I have seen so far out of this school district.
