October was not only a month celebrated with costumes and candy, but also one of bully awareness. National Bullying Prevention Month, according to PACER, is a "time when communities can unite nationwide to raise awareness of bullying prevention through events, activities, outreach, and education."
I took a look into the Fort Collins community to see what schools do currently or did during this particular month to discuss bullying in their classrooms. My focus was on Dunn Elementary, an IB World School located at 501 S Washington Avenue.
Dottie Mark, a counselor at Dunn Elementary and Fossil Ridge High School, said, "We take it very seriously" when asked about dealing with bullying at Dunn.Mark discussed that there wasn't anything specific they did for the month of October to focus on bulllying, but the school constantly follows the guidelines of the Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports Initiative (PBIS). PBIS wants to help schools in Colorado to have effective school settings through academics and behavior.
Mark says PBIS teaches kids to "Stop, walk and talk." The guidelines and strategies of PBIS are taught to staff and students each year at Dunn.
Pictured: Main entrance at Dunn Elementary
One parent, Brian Reed, feels like bullying isn't even an issue for his kindergartner who attends Dunn.
"They pretty much don't put up with that there. I take my kid there everyday and I've never seen any problem," Reed stated on Monday after picking his daughter up from school.
Haley, who will be turning 6 on Wednesday, shared her opinion from her first-hand experiences.
"One time, Connor was so mean to me after school. He got so mad at me, so mad. Him is always mean to me," she uttered as she animatedly told her story.
However, when asked what she was taught to do if she was ever bullied, she referred to the 'Stop, walk and talk' phrase. Evidently Dunn's bullying system is having an impact.
While Dunn did not do anything specific for the month of October to raise awareness on bullying, they place a high priority on not tolerating bullying year round. Educating the staff/faculty along with the students of what to look for in a bullying situation and how to address it is what makes Dunn's approach to bullying so effective within the school community.
I think bullying is a really great issue to focus on with kids. It happens much more than we realize as adults. Kids should be taught from an early age on how to deal with bullies. Bullying can have serious implications and stopping it should be a top priority for schools. I also liked your interview with the father and his daughter. It's good to see that there is a protocol in place and kids (and parents) know it.
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