Story posted Wednesday, February 3, 2010
District 57 Addresses Bullying
By RICHARD MAYER Assistant Managing Editor
"Bullying in this district is no more of an issue than at any other public school setting in the area or throughout the country," said Mt. Prospect Elementary School Dist. 57 Supt. Dr. Elaine Aumiller.
During a recent Lions Park Elementary School PTA meeting, school social workers Gail Valentini and Lisa Ryno talked to about 30 parents over what their child can do if they become a victim of bullying.
According to Lions Park PTA Co-President Lara Kowalski, three aspects of bullying discussed included the child who is being bullied, the bully, and bystanders.
Strategies discussed included ignoring the bully, responding back with humor, or even complimenting them.
"The emphasis was if your child overreacts with a bully, or cries, that is what the bully is really looking for," said Kowalski. "They didn't talk about specific grades, but as kids get older the counselors said there are more ways to bully."
"When a situation arises, we proactively deal with it," said Aumiller. "We want it to be an educational experience and teach them and guide them through and hopefully they learn and not repeat that behavior."
To ensure those students do not repeat their behavior, Aumiller said social workers conduct follow-up interviews with those students.
"Every case is evaluated on its own merit," said Aumiller. "Typically when an incident occurs, administrators will interview all kids involved, and do an assessment on what the consequences should be based on history."
Aumiller added parents of all children involved are immediately contacted and follow-up measures, such as talking to a social worker, are put into place for children to deal with any resounding issues.
According to Aumiller, consequences a bully could face range from receiving a timeout and sitting in the principal's office, missing recess or an after school activity, a half-day or full-day in-school suspension, or an out-of-school suspension for a case very severe.
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