Stop Bullying Now is a Great Free Resource for Schools

March 20, 2012 by

As anyone who has conducted even a moderate review of the literature knows, bullying has a tremendous impact on our students and the ability of schools to teach. The pain, suffering, anguish and other negative effects of school bullying not only have a significant effect on school safety, but on school climate, culture and academic achievement as well.

We know that many school children are truant from school each day, we have seen far too many instances of students who commit suicide at and away from school due to bullying and we have many examples of students who drop out of school due to bullying. When combined with the rare instances where victims of severe bullying take hostages at school or carry out school shootings, these negative and sometimes dire situations add up to a significant school safety issue.

Whether operating from a standpoint of school crisis prevention or from the standpoint of enhancing academic achievement it makes sense to evaluate the frequency and severity of bullying in any school and then to address the determined risk level appropriately. Schools are often limited in fiscal resources to address bullying, emergency preparedness and other school safety issues. Fortunately, there are many excellent free resources for American schools.

One example of this in the area of bullying prevention are the resources available from the United States Department of Education on bullying, including the Stop Bullying Now Campaign available to schools at no cost from the United States Government. This program has received excellent reviews from a number of experts in the field of bullying prevention and is worth consideration for schools that lack funds to purchase evidence based bullying prevention programs such as the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program. Effective bullying prevention strategies are an excellent way to improve school safety, school climate, school culture and to enhance student achievement.  If you are looking for a quick list of tips that can be used to respond to bullying if you are a student, or what to do if your child is being bullied, there is a good summary of options in the article “How to Handle Bullying” from the InformEd blog.

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Gunman on Motorcycle Kills four in Shooting at a Jewish School in Toulouse, France

March 19, 2012 by

A gunman riding a motorcycle opened fire Monday morning as students and parents entered a Jewish school in Toulouse, France killing three students and a teacher. Another student was wounded in the deadly attack.

French authorities are searching for the gunman who reportedly chased students into the school while firing two different guns. Authorities are investigating to see if the attack has any connection with two separate shootings of French soldiers that occurred in the region last week according to the BBC. Though the attack has not been determined to be an act of school terrorism at this time, the incident bore similarities to past school terrorism events around the globe.

A teacher, a three year old, a six year old and an older student who was the child of a teacher at the school were killed in the attack that left students, staff, parents and the Jewish community stunned. School violence in general has become more problematic in French schools in recent years with a number of reported instances of students and staff who wear either a crucifix or a Star of David being attacked by Muslim students. However, this deadly attack was far more violent than these more common acts of violence, which have generally been carried out by students.

As in the U.K. and many other parts of Europe, French schools have been experiencing more acts of overall violence than has traditionally been the case making school safety a much larger concern.

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28 killed and 28 injured in school bus field trip in Switzerland

March 15, 2012 by

A catastrophic crash involving a charter bus transporting Dutch and Belgian school children and their chaperones left 22 students and six adults dead with 14 more students in hospitals and another 14 students injured. This tragic mass casualty event was described with terms like “carnage” and “devastation” by emergency responders who worked for more than two hours to free the last survivor from the wreckage.

This horrific case demonstrates how school safety concerns go beyond the schoolyard and in this case can even extend to another country.

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