The Menace Of Bullying: What Coventry Parents Are Saying

COVENTRY, RI — An informal survey of Patch readers in New England reveals great concern among parents about the extent and severity of bullying their children experience in school and online. Almost nine in 10 parents said their child had been bullied at least once, and nearly half said the bullying had occurred frequently.

In Coventry, six parents responded to the anonymous survey, all of whom said their child was "frequently" or "occasionally" bullied. While Coventry has a zero-tolerance bullying policy, all of the parents said they were not satisfied with the school's response.

"Harassment, intimidation and bullying are prohibited in the public schools of Coventry, Rhode
Island," the district's policy reads.

Parents left little doubt as to the consequences of unchecked bullying, saying their children dread going to school and their grades have suffered, that they have been forced to change schools, that they have been physically harmed or suffered from low self-esteem, anxiety and depression. Some parents said they knew of bullied children who had committed suicide.

One parent said their elementary school-aged child was bullied so severely that their life was threatened.

"Two of my children have been bullied to the point that one was told how the student was going to shot and kill her. This same student told explained to my son how he should go home and commit suicide. Yet the school suspended the student for two days and told us that if we didn’t feel safe we should move our children to a different school in the district. This all in an elementary school."

And while most parents said school officials in their communities have adopted policies intended to curb or stop bullying, many believe those policies are poorly enforced — if they are enforced at all. Parents used terms like "ineffective," "inadequate" and "a joke" to describe them.

The regional parent survey, timed to coincide with National Bullying Prevention Month in October, was posted on more than 100 Patch sites in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island. The survey is not scientific, but could be considered a broad indicator of parents' feelings about the seriousness of bullying in their schools and communities.

Take the Patch bullying survey

As of Tuesday, Oct. 15, more than 430 parents has responded to the Patch survey. The key findings were:

• Nearly 89 percent of parents said their children had been bullied at least once, and nearly half — 47 percent — said bullying had been frequent. Only 11 percent said their children had never been bullied.
• Bullying took many forms, from teasing and name-calling to exclusion from groups to physical harm such as punching or kicking. Nearly a third of respondents said their children had experienced some sort of physical harm.
• Bullying took many forms, from teasing and name-calling to exclusion from groups to physical harm such as punching or kicking. Nearly a third of respondents said their children had experienced some sort of physical harm.