Bullying: How Plainfield Schools Handle The Problem

PLAINFIELD, IL — Bullying is not a new problem, but the issue of bullying has evolved with technology like the rise of social media. As part of its National Bullying Prevention Month coverage, Patch contacted administrators of dozens of public school districts in Chicago area suburbs to see how they handle bullying in their communities.

Across the country, bullying is a problem that affects more than one in three students. Studies show that students who are bullied are at increased risk for anxiety, depression, poor self-image, mental health and behavior problems and poor school adjustment.

The Bullying Menace: What District 202 Parents Are Saying

Bullying is a problem in most communities, but Department of Education records shows that Plainfield District 202 has a better record on bullying than some communities. In 2015, the school system had six reported allegations of harassment or bullying, according to the Department of Education's civil rights data set. Six students were disciplined for bullying or harassment that year, four of them being white male students and two of them being Hispanic male students according to the data.

For comparison, Oswego's District 308 — a system with 10,000 fewer students — had 84 reported allegations of bullying in 2015.

Patch asked District 202 administration a series of question on how it defines bullying and how it addresses the problem. Below are the answers submitted by the district, which have only been edited for grammar and clarity. The answers come from Mina Griffith, assistant superintendent for student services at District 202.

What is the district’s policy with regard to bullying and cyberbullying?

Bullying, intimidation, and harassment on the basis of actual or perceived race, color, national origin, military status, unfavorable discharge status from military service, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender-related identity or expression, ancestry, age, religion, physical or mental disability, order of protection status, status of being homeless, or actual or potential marital or parental status, including pregnancy, association with a person or group with one or more of the aforementioned actual or perceived characteristics, or any other distinguishing characteristic is prohibited during any school sponsored activity, bus stop, or transmission from a school computer.

What is the discipline process for students who bully others?

If an investigation finds that a student bullied someone, there is a wide range of consequences depending on the severity or frequency of the bullying behavior. Consequences can include phone conference with parent/guardian, detention, in or out of school suspension, police involvement, up to expulsion or transfer to an alternative educational placement.

Other responsive consequences that are non-punitive include counseling, peer mediation, social work, restorative practices.

How many reported incidents of bullying does the district have this year/last year?

326 total reports of Bullying. 54 of the 326 investigations were founded as actual “Bullying” as defined.

What constitutes a reportable bullying incident?

ALL reports of bullying will be investigated. It is up to the individual (parent/guardian, student, staff) to decide what they believe is “reportable.”

How does the district define bullying?

Bullying is the deliberate, hurtful treatment that is repeated over time.

From our Bullying Policy:

Bullying includes cyber-bullying and means any severe or pervasive physical or verbal act of conduct, including communications made in writing or electronically, directed toward a student or students that has or can be reasonably predicted to have the effect of one or more of the following:

1. Placing the student in reasonable fear of harm to the student’s person or property.

2. Causing a substantially detrimental effect on the student’s physical or mental health.

3. Substantially interfering with the student’s academic performance or.

4. Substantially interfering with the student’s ability to participate in or benefit from the services, activities, or privileges provided by a school.

Cyber-bullying means bullying through the use of technology or any electronic communication, including without limitation any transfer of signs, signals, writing, images, sounds, data, or intelligence of any nature transmitted in whole or in part by a wire, radio, electromagnetic system, photo-electronic system, or photo-optical system, including without limitation electronic mail, Internet communications, instant messages, or facsimile communications. Cyber-bullying includes the creation of a webpage or weblog in which the creator assumes the identity of another person or the knowing impersonation of another person as the author of posted content or messages if the creation or impersonation creates any of the effects enumerated in the definition of bullying. Cyber-bullying also includes the distribution by electronic means of a communication to more than one person or the posting of material on an electronic medium that may be accessed by one or more persons if the distribution or posting creates any of the effects enumerated in the definition of bullying.

What measures is the district taking to be proactive about bullying?

Many measures have been taken and are being taken. We take this issue very seriously, and have for many years, way before the law required districts to do so. Embedding elements of Social Emotional Learning (SEL) into academic instruction is an initiative of the District Student Services Plan. The district has direct instruction in social emotional learning through our PE/Health curriculum as well as through other resources. We have invested in a suite of tools, content, instruction, and supports for staff through various resources. These resources include piloting Second Step social emotional curriculum at several elementary schools, school-wide bullying prevention assemblies, allocating additional social workers at each level, partnering with outside agencies to provide suicide prevention education and counseling services, as well at the purchase of Referral GPS to connect families with targeted resources outside of school based on their insurance and needs. The district has also invested in Panorama. Plainfield Community Consolidated District 202 utilizes the Panorama Student Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Survey to measure and track our students' attitudes, beliefs, and skills in key social-emotional competencies including Self-Management, Social Awareness, Sense of Belonging, Emotional Regulation, Grit, Growth Mindset, and Self-Efficacy. This helps us to ensure that our approach to staff learning and support of our students' social and emotional learning is on track. Panorama also connects staff with resources to support SEL in the classroom.

What is the district doing to help students who have been the victim of bullying?

The district has a variety of supports to help students who have been bullied. These supports include counseling and social work services, peer mediation, classroom and school based accommodations, and connection to outside support services.

Some schools use apps — Ok2Say, STOPIt, BullyTag, etc. — or some other system that allows students to anonymously report bullying. Does your district do this?

The district created our own anonymous phone and email reporting tools in 2010. We also created our own bullying investigation tool which allows us to track bullying reports by student across all of our schools. We find that most bully reports are done directly through school staff and very few are reported anonymously.

What kind of volume are schools seeing? Has that increased/decreased?

Bullying reports initially increased as we provided staff development on what bullying is and when to investigate. Since then, reports have decreased since the 2017-18 school year.