By MICHAEL RODRIGUEZ
Managing Editor
editor@sbnewspaper.com
In acknowledgement of growing bullying concerns, a committee comprised of San Benito CISD officials and community members have proposed the utilization of a handbook to serve as a learning tool in hopes of deterring such behavior.
SBCISD Staff Development Coordinator Melonie Flores said the handbook is the result of a goal set by the School Health Advisory Council (SHAC) last year, which was to compile bullying policies and procedures into one manual.
“The majority of the committee are parents, and they’re the ones who made the recommendations to the board. We (SHAC) go over any type of health concerns, from nutritional, educational, mental illness, counseling, anything having to do with a child’s wellness, and make recommendations to the board. And so the parents shared stories of back in the day when they were bullied, and their children and grandchildren’s experiences. They felt it was an important topic to get something in place.”
The result was a comprehensive, 18-page manual detailing prevention measures and defining the various faces of bullying, including verbal, physical, and psychological cases. Not to mention gossiping, social aggression, shunning and cyber-bullying. Warning signs including the roles and responsibilities of students, parents, staff, administrators and counselors are also detailed.
What’s more, found within the handbook is what district officials referred to as a critical component, an anti-bullying contract in which the student will be asked to sign upon receiving it. Detailed in the contract is a commitment in which it is the student’s responsibility to not bully peers and to report any cases witnessed. Upon signing, the student agrees that he/she understands that bullying will result in disciplinary action.
“They put all their ideas together, policies and procedures relevant for the manual, and then principals and assistant principals came in and added to the research already conducted by the parents,” Flores noted.
All that awaits the handbook’s utilization is school board approval.
“Each campus will at least get one handbook, and there will be a PowerPoint presentation they can then share with both students and staff,” said SBCISD Planner/Evaluator Ruben Franco. “There’s also a component database to track bullying incidents to much more easily identify students who have been persistent violators of the bullying policy. This is to generate better statistics.”
“It’s a combination of a learning tool to document and define possible preventive measures that can be taken and interventions that can be provided. It’s just expanding on policies that we have,” Franco concluded.
To see this story in print, pick up a copy of the Aug. 7 edition of the San Benito News. Or view our E-Edition by clicking here.
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