The Menace Of Bullying: What District 15 Parents Are Saying

PALATINE, IL — An informal survey of Patch readers in Palatine whose children attend schools in District 15 included personal details of bullying incidents among their children. According to the survey's results, all responding parents said their children have experienced bullying or cyber bullying, including this school year. When asked how many students have bullied their child, 80 percent of parents specifying District 15 said two or more students have bullied their child.

In addition, when asked what kind of bullying their child has experienced, the same percentage of parents said their children have "been teased or called names" and have "been physically bullied/hit, kicked or pushed." This doesn't include addition forms of bullying some of the parents said their child has experienced.

When asked what impact they think bullying has had on students in their child's district, these District 15 parents didn't hold back with their responses. Several parents mentioned children hating or not wanting to go to school because of the bullying, while others mentioned the negative impact it has on their child's confidence or self-esteem.

One parent wrote, "My son in particular wanted to hurt himself." When asked about the kind of bullying prevention they've seen in their child's school district, that same parent wrote, "Nothing and I have addressed the school board, superintendent, and support staff multiple times," and called the district's bullying/discipline policies "a joke" due to not practicing "anything that they write down."

The other parents have similar feelings, according to their responses.

"Whatever they are they don't work," one parent wrote, while another wrote, "All words, no action!"

One parent wrote about a student threatening another with a knife, adding that "Nothing was done" as the policies are "Too lenient."

"A specific child has been bullying my child since 5th grade (my daughter is now in 7th)," one parent specified in a response. "Everyone is well aware of it, yet the bully gets no consequences. I was hoping being in the Jr high would help, but they are in 3 of the same classes (how does that happen when the 6th grade classroom teacher specifically asked that it didn’t happen)."

The regional parent survey, timed to coincide with National Bullying Prevention Month in October, was posted on dozens of Patch sites in Illinois and in the Midwest. 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 Friday, Oct. 18, more than 460 parents responded to this regional Patch survey. The key findings were:

• Nearly 71 percent of parents said their children had been bullied at least once, and nearly 65 percent had been bullied this school year.

These informal findings should be compared to statistics compiled in more scientific surveys, which note that:

• Bullying affects 1 in 3 U.S. schoolchildren (NoBully.org)
• 59 percent of U.S. students experience cyberbullying (Pew Research Center)
• 160,000 kids stay home from school every day to avoid bullies, National Association of School Psychologists

The Menace Of Bullies: Patch Advocacy Reporting Project

As part of a national reporting project, Patch has been looking at society's roles and responsibilities in bullying and a child's unthinkable decision to end their own life in hopes we might offer solutions that save lives.

Do you have a story to tell? Are you concerned about how your local schools handle bullies and their victims?

Email us at bullies@patch.com and share your views in the comments.

Selected Stories From The Project

• Bullied To Death: When Kids Kill With Words
• I Could Have Been Mallory Grossman
• Bullied Over Homemade T-Shirt, Kid Inspires University Of Tennessee Design
• America's Shameful Truth About School Shooters And Bullying
• Cyberbullying Most Often Affects Girls; These Women Are Trying To Stop It
• Bullying Kids: Straighten Up, Or Your Parents May Have To Pay Up
• Teen Who Killed Himself Wasn't 'Worthless,' Family Tells Bullies
• Menace Of Bullies: Why This Woman Resigned Her 6-Figure Job
• Survivor Of Bullying And Suicide Writes Frankly About Both
• 'I Will Be Your Friend': First-Grader's Shirt Fights Bullies
• Girl-To-Girl Bullying: Why It's Different, Difficult To Confront
• Cyberbullying In This Michigan City Carries $500 Fine, 3 Months In Jail
• Bully Upstander: Whatever He Said Caused Bullies To Back Down
• Bullying Caused 11-Year-Old To Attempt Suicide, Mother Says
• The Menace Of Bullies: Most U.S. States Take On Cyberbullying
• Cyberbullying Is Now Against The Law In Michigan
• Shooting Incident Linked To Bullying At School, Mom Says
• Girls More Likely Than Boys To See Bullying As Harmful: Study
• 13-Year-Old Hangs Herself, But Bullying Killed Her
• Teen Tells Bullies In Video: 'Every Day, I Wear Your Words'
• 'The Hero Myth': Why Expecting Kids To Fight Bullies Is Harmful
• 'Mr. Anti-Bully': Reformed Bully, 12, Sets Mistake Right
• Mallory Grossman Bullying Detailed In Wrongful Death Suit
• Malden Schools Were Non-Compliant Through Bullying Saga: DOE
• Mom Speaks About Bullying Heartbreak: 'I Feel I Failed Him'
• Why These Kindergartners Start Each Day With A Handshake
• The Bully Menace: 'The Hurt Never Goes Away'
• Bullies And Their Targets The Same: Digital Self-Harm Rising
• Williamsburg Poetry Teacher Helps Bullied Kids Open Tortured Minds
• Bullying Tougher To Confront When It's Bias-Based: Researchers
• The Bully Menace: 13 Age-Appropriate Reads
• Teen's 'I Wear Your Words' Video Inspires Nashville Songwriters

From No Bully, Patch News Partner

• School Shootings: Eradicating Bullying Must Be Part Of Safety Plan
• Is Screen Time Hurting My Child?
• Preschool Children: Online And Dangerous
• What Every Young Child Needs To Know About Being Online
• Patch Partners With No Bully To Help Eradicate Bullying
• Meet 14-Year-Old CEO On Mission To Spread Kindness, Stop Bullying
• Cyberbullying Is Now A Crime In Michigan: Is Criminalizing A Good Idea?
• Hitting A Homerun With Kindness With The Phillies

From The Experts

• 'The Anti-Bully': Talk And, Especially, Listen To Your Kids
• The Bully Menace: Patch Experts Offer Tips To Parents
• Anti-Bully Experts Offer Tips On Sometimes Deadly Encounters
• Understanding The Bully: They're Often Victims, Too, Experts Say

What We've Learned

• 10 Key Takeaways From Patch's The Menace Of Bullies Series
• The Bully Menace: What Patch Has Learned About Bullying