Wayland Schools' Innovative, Proactive Approach To Anti-Bullying

WAYLAND, MA—We hope you’ve noticed over the past year that we’ve been focusing on bullying and cyberbullying, a confounding national crisis that turns youths’ lives upside down with unimaginable angst and dread, sometimes with deadly consequences. With each story, we’ve heard poignant stories from Patch readers in Massachusetts and others who were bullied and overcame it, but also many who continue to struggle with the damage done by bullies to their self-esteem.

Many common threads emerged in emails from our readers: Teachers and other educators have suggested everything from first-period decompression time to classroom contracts with students on how they’re expected to treat one another. But for all the readers who said schools need to do more to foster an anti-bullying culture, as many said parents should talk more with their kids about bullying and keep closer track on their social media habits.

And in a loud chorus, they said Americans need to stop wringing their hands and work at all levels to create a world safe from bullying.

That’s one of the purposes of National Bullying Prevention Month, observed annually during October to bring attention to the problem and involve people in Massachusetts and nationwide in a conversation on how to create a world safe from bullying.

WAYLAND SCHOOLS DEDICATED TO ANTI-BULLYING INITIATIVES AND PROGRAMS

Principal Betsy Gavron and Assistant Principal George Benzie of the Wayland Middle School are amid their annual anti-bullying assemblies, during which each year they break down the language of the bullying legislation to clarify the standards students and adults are being held to and tie it into the school's BERT (Belonging Empathy Respect and Trust) values.

A seventh grade assembly was held on Sept. 26, an eighth grade assembly is planned for Oct. 3, and sixth graders will have an assembly on Oct. 17.

"Each winter our GSAs sponsor a Kindness Matters, No Name-Calling campaign and most students elect to sign a no name-calling pledge," said Gavron. "Additionally, Wayland Cares, our community service clubs, GSAs, and student led activism projects often engage in work that includes 'promoting kindness' or inclusivity themes."

The Claypit Hill school is rolling out its newly redesigned core values called CREATE (Care, Respect, Effort, Achievement, Trust, Exploration). Focusing on the first letter of the acronym, in the most recent All School Meeting, 5th grade CREATE team members shared personal stories of how students and staff members have cared for them at Claypit Hill. Educators also talked explicitly about racism and prejudice and let students know that jokes about race, skin color, country of origin, or religion are not funny and are not acceptable in the community. The students and teachers also talked about how people are more alike than they are different. Students were encouraged to care for each other, finding things in common with new friends and appreciating any differences.

To accentuate anti-bullying practices, the Happy Hollow school employs a professional acting group from California called Soren Bennick Productions. The group performs a show for K-2 and another for 3-5, presenting a show called "The Power of One."

"They leave us with large placards with their anti-bullying pledge written on it," said Principal Jim Lee. "The children across the school sign to stand up against bullying."

The PTO pays for the group to perform each year, and is still raising funds for its "Gift Your Child" fundraising program.

Brian Jones, principal at the Loker School, said they use a social-wide language document as a proactive way to build social-emotional growth for students. "We utilize our core social-emotional curriculum, Open Circle, twice per week to proactively help students navigate potential conflicts, develop empathy skills, consider the thoughts and feelings of others along with including others," said Jones, who added that the third and fourth graders participate in a program called "Just Like Me," which provides hands-on learning and guest speakers on special intellectual and physical disabilities. Through a Wayland Public School Foundation Grant, Boston Improv will be leading anti-bullying workshops at Loker School through improvisation.

"Through our school psychologist, students who are developing their social awareness skills and understanding how to treat others participate in 'Lunch Bunches' in small groups of students where they role play and actively construct their knowledge in an interactive manner," added Jones.

"Bullying/cyberbullying is a topic explicitly taught and discussed in all 9th grade Wellness classes," said Allyson Mizoguchi, Wayland High School's principal. "Bullying behavior, bystander behavior, the law, social media, and the school's responsibility are all subtopics. This also is a related topic when we delve into healthy relationships throughout our 10th and 11th grade Wellness curricula."

Mizoguchi also said that administrators visit all ninth grade seminars each fall to talk about a range of issues, including bullying and how to use the confidential reporting form on the school's website.

"We are gearing up to administer the Metrowest Adolescent Health Survey in November," said Mizoguchi. "In preparation, we will run an advisory session highlighting key data points for discussion, including bullying and cyberbullying. This month is also Domestic Abuse Awareness Month. Our Mentors in Violence Prevention club is preparing an advisory session for the end of October on healthy relationships, power, and bystander behavior."

A PUBLIC HEALTH ISSUE

Once viewed as a childhood “rite of passage” that toughened kids to handle the pressures of adulthood, bullying and its more insidious digital twin, cyberbullying, is seen by many experts as a major public health issue — on par with heart disease, cancer and diabetes — with devastating and often long-term effects like the loss of self-esteem, heightened anxiety and depression.

We want to hear from you. Do you have a story to tell about bullying or cyberbullying, a suggestion about how to stem it or an event to publicize? Comment at the end of the story, or email charlene.arsenault@patch.com and copy bullies@patch.com. You can post Bullying Prevention Month and many other events right on Patch.

Statistics vary, but an aggregate of 80 different studies on bullying suggests one in five American students between 12 and 18 is bullied at some point during their middle or high school years. Traditional bullying — name calling, public humiliation, isolation, physical violence and that sort of thing — occurs most often, with 35 percent of kids reporting they’ve been targeted in one of those ways. The studies cited by the PACER Center, which established National Bullying Prevention Month, show that 15 percent of kids surveyed report being cyberbullied.

And though it occurs less often, cyberbullying — which has resulted in a disturbing string of suicides by adolescents and teenagers — is especially hard to stop. While experts say most cyberbullied kids don’t kill themselves, the long-tailed internet makes a taunt live longer than one flung on the schoolyard. Kids can escape traditional bullying in the safety of their homes, but because social media is so intertwined with how kids communicate, they never really escape it.

READ: Bullied To Death: When Kids Kill With Words

And because cyberbullies have the stealth of anonymity, “empathy tends to fade to zero,” NoBully.org founder Nicholas Carlisle told Patch.

He was knocked around 40 or so years ago as an awkward 12-year-old. The torment persisted through high school, but as tough as it was, his experience was markedly different from the torture kids endure today, he says — and it’s not just that he was attacked in a physical as opposed to online space.

“Online, you can’t see the whites of their eyes,” Carlisle said. “If you can see someone, that’s often a break upon people’s aggression — not always, but it does seem to have some break upon crossing the line.”

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The full consequences of bullying on the brain aren’t fully understood, but kids who are targeted by bullies in childhood and adolescence are at increased risk for psychological problems that can stretch into adulthood, according to experts. In the moment, bullied kids may be unable to sleep or suffer a range of stomach issues and headaches. Later on, they’re at risk for depression, anxiety, and alcohol and drug use.

OCT. 24 UNITY DAY

Among the marquee National Bullying Prevention Month activities is Unity Day, observed on Wednesday, Oct. 24, when everyone is encouraged to wear and show orange to send a message that no child should ever experience bullying.

“Orange provides a powerful, visually compelling expression of solidarity,” Paula Goldberg, the executive director of the PACER Center, said in a statement. “Whether it’s hundreds of individuals at a school wearing orange, store owners offering orange products or a community changing a landmark to orange, the vibrant statement becomes a conversation starter, sending the supportive, universal message that bullying is never acceptable behavior.”

Here’s more about Unity Day:

THE BULLY MENACE: WHAT’S AHEAD

During October and beyond, several experts have agreed to answer readers’ questions about bullying, ranging from how to keep their kids from becoming targets to what to do if their kids are the bullies. We’ll also delve into some of the issues surrounding bullying —

Take a look back at some of the stories in our series:

• America’s Shameful Truth About School Shooters And Bullying
• They All Failed Changed Child: Malden Bullying Detailed
• Bullies, Their Targets The Same In A Surprising Number Of Cases
• ‘Everyday, I Wear Your Words,’ Teen Tells Bullies In Video
• Teen’s ‘I Wear Your Words’ Video Inspires Nashville Songwriters
• Bullying Of Mallory Grossman, 12, Spelled Out In Wrongful Death Lawsuit
• Poetry Teacher Helps Bullied Kids Open Their Tortured Minds
• Why These Kindergartners Start Each Day With A Simple Handshake

If you have a question or want to share your story, please email bullies@patch.com.

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