Post by title1parent on Jul 30, 2010 6:08:48 GMT -5
www.suburbanchicagonews.com/napervillesun/news/2547960,6_NA29_County-forms-anti-bullying-task-force.article
DuPage Co. forms anti-bullying task force
July 30, 2010
By KATHY CICHON kcichon@stmedianetwork.com
At one unidentified DuPage County high school, some members of the football team began bullying another boy. They locked him in a locker, and he was only found later when a janitor heard him.
"The football players were dealt with at the school. They were not kicked off the football team," DuPage County State's Attorney Joe Birkett said. "My understanding is they were suspended briefly."
Fast forward to the following summer, he said. That boy saw a couple of the football players walking in his neighborhood. He grabbed a baseball bat and began to beat them, fracturing one of their skulls. He was subsequently brought into the juvenile justice system.
"His mother wrote me a letter, and she was justifiable outraged that the felony offense that these boys committed against her son when they locked him in the locker — which is a felony, a Class 4 felony, unlawful restraint — was dealt with at the school level, never reported to law enforcement, nothing was really done about it. And here her son was facing charges in juvenile court."
At another unnamed high school, two brothers were bullied and pressured to join a gang. They refused, and then their house was burned down.
"Again, there were some school sanctions, no reports to law enforcement, a home was burnt down. That's what can happen. It starts in the schools, and ends up tragedy. We don't want that any more," Birkett said. "We want to have a comprehensive policy in DuPage County where we're going to deal with bullying in a very professional and compassionate way. And there are going to be sanctions in appropriate cases. We're not talking about pranksters, we're talking about bullying and we're going to deal with it the way it should be dealt with."
On Thursday Birkett and DuPage Regional Superintendent of Schools Darlene Ruscitti announced the creation of a new task force to address the problem of bullying.
"The DuPage County Anti-bullying Task Force will work to develop a common definition of bullying, align policies and procedures with that definition, and identify best practices for our schools to holistically address this issue," Ruscitti said.
Concerns over bullying behaviors and the backlash from those who are subject to bullying are issues of great concern to the education and legal realm, so it was a natural partnership for them to collaborate to address this issue, she said.
"We'll be looking to our state-mandated social and emotional learning standards and recent Illinois legislation that requires school districts to tackle the issue of bullying in our schools," she said. "However, it is not legislation or mandates that are driving our work but the continued safety of our children."
The focus, she said, is to really do as much prevention as possible. Birkett said through the task force they want to create a model policy for every school in DuPage County to follow on how to handle various types of bullying.
"About 42 percent of children have been bullied while online, 25 percent have had it happen more than once. That's alarming," Birkett said. "We also know the second most prominent reason kids don't show up for school and ditch school is because they've been victims of bullying. No. 1 is depression. No. 2 is they've been bullied."
Recent studies show that more than 70,000 from 52 schools across 12 states revealed that bullying rates second only to stress as the single biggest problem facing students in the United States today, he said. Studies show that each day an estimated 160,000 students refuse to go to school due to bullying.
"And that includes DuPage County."
If an incident occurs at school, it will be reported to authorities when the bullying constitutes something that could be a crime, he said.
"When something happens at schools at a minimum the parents of the victim and the parents of the bully will meet with law enforcement and with prosecutors and make an informed decision along with school officials," Birkett said. "When school discipline is appropriate, it will be handled that way. And when it needs to be handled in the criminal justice system, it will be handled that way."
Ruscitti and Birkett serve as co-chairs of the task force, with former Attorney General Jim Ryan serving as honorary chair. Members include Dr. Bennett Leventhal of the Nathan S. Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research and Dr. Roger Weissberg, professor of psychology and education and director of the Social and Emotional Learning Research Group at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Other members include Anna Weselak, past president of the National Parent Teacher Association; representatives from school districts throughout DuPage as well as school superintendents, board members, principals, parents and attorneys from law firms representing the districts.
"Science has shown that the solution is an integrated community approach with parents, schools, legal authorities, social service and mental health agencies working together," Leventhal said.
Naperville School District 203 board member Terry Fielden, who is one of the 30 members of the task force, called the approach "a great idea.
"Actually I think it's a long time in coming," he said.
The district does have its share of discipline cases that involve bullying, he said.
"But we got pretty good cooperation with the Naperville Police Department to help us deal with this issue. With the SROs (school resource officers) in the district, it really helps a great deal."
Leventhal said bullying involves 40 percent of children in every community. Exposure to bullying leads to decreased school performance, increased violence and aggression in other settings, increases the risk of substance abuse and dramatically increases the risk of suicidal behavior and suicide, he said.
"We can't wait. Forty percent of the children who start school in the next few weeks will either be victims or bullies. Forty percent of them. And their education and emotional lives will be at risk," Leventhal said.
DuPage Co. forms anti-bullying task force
July 30, 2010
By KATHY CICHON kcichon@stmedianetwork.com
At one unidentified DuPage County high school, some members of the football team began bullying another boy. They locked him in a locker, and he was only found later when a janitor heard him.
"The football players were dealt with at the school. They were not kicked off the football team," DuPage County State's Attorney Joe Birkett said. "My understanding is they were suspended briefly."
Fast forward to the following summer, he said. That boy saw a couple of the football players walking in his neighborhood. He grabbed a baseball bat and began to beat them, fracturing one of their skulls. He was subsequently brought into the juvenile justice system.
"His mother wrote me a letter, and she was justifiable outraged that the felony offense that these boys committed against her son when they locked him in the locker — which is a felony, a Class 4 felony, unlawful restraint — was dealt with at the school level, never reported to law enforcement, nothing was really done about it. And here her son was facing charges in juvenile court."
At another unnamed high school, two brothers were bullied and pressured to join a gang. They refused, and then their house was burned down.
"Again, there were some school sanctions, no reports to law enforcement, a home was burnt down. That's what can happen. It starts in the schools, and ends up tragedy. We don't want that any more," Birkett said. "We want to have a comprehensive policy in DuPage County where we're going to deal with bullying in a very professional and compassionate way. And there are going to be sanctions in appropriate cases. We're not talking about pranksters, we're talking about bullying and we're going to deal with it the way it should be dealt with."
On Thursday Birkett and DuPage Regional Superintendent of Schools Darlene Ruscitti announced the creation of a new task force to address the problem of bullying.
"The DuPage County Anti-bullying Task Force will work to develop a common definition of bullying, align policies and procedures with that definition, and identify best practices for our schools to holistically address this issue," Ruscitti said.
Concerns over bullying behaviors and the backlash from those who are subject to bullying are issues of great concern to the education and legal realm, so it was a natural partnership for them to collaborate to address this issue, she said.
"We'll be looking to our state-mandated social and emotional learning standards and recent Illinois legislation that requires school districts to tackle the issue of bullying in our schools," she said. "However, it is not legislation or mandates that are driving our work but the continued safety of our children."
The focus, she said, is to really do as much prevention as possible. Birkett said through the task force they want to create a model policy for every school in DuPage County to follow on how to handle various types of bullying.
"About 42 percent of children have been bullied while online, 25 percent have had it happen more than once. That's alarming," Birkett said. "We also know the second most prominent reason kids don't show up for school and ditch school is because they've been victims of bullying. No. 1 is depression. No. 2 is they've been bullied."
Recent studies show that more than 70,000 from 52 schools across 12 states revealed that bullying rates second only to stress as the single biggest problem facing students in the United States today, he said. Studies show that each day an estimated 160,000 students refuse to go to school due to bullying.
"And that includes DuPage County."
If an incident occurs at school, it will be reported to authorities when the bullying constitutes something that could be a crime, he said.
"When something happens at schools at a minimum the parents of the victim and the parents of the bully will meet with law enforcement and with prosecutors and make an informed decision along with school officials," Birkett said. "When school discipline is appropriate, it will be handled that way. And when it needs to be handled in the criminal justice system, it will be handled that way."
Ruscitti and Birkett serve as co-chairs of the task force, with former Attorney General Jim Ryan serving as honorary chair. Members include Dr. Bennett Leventhal of the Nathan S. Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research and Dr. Roger Weissberg, professor of psychology and education and director of the Social and Emotional Learning Research Group at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Other members include Anna Weselak, past president of the National Parent Teacher Association; representatives from school districts throughout DuPage as well as school superintendents, board members, principals, parents and attorneys from law firms representing the districts.
"Science has shown that the solution is an integrated community approach with parents, schools, legal authorities, social service and mental health agencies working together," Leventhal said.
Naperville School District 203 board member Terry Fielden, who is one of the 30 members of the task force, called the approach "a great idea.
"Actually I think it's a long time in coming," he said.
The district does have its share of discipline cases that involve bullying, he said.
"But we got pretty good cooperation with the Naperville Police Department to help us deal with this issue. With the SROs (school resource officers) in the district, it really helps a great deal."
Leventhal said bullying involves 40 percent of children in every community. Exposure to bullying leads to decreased school performance, increased violence and aggression in other settings, increases the risk of substance abuse and dramatically increases the risk of suicidal behavior and suicide, he said.
"We can't wait. Forty percent of the children who start school in the next few weeks will either be victims or bullies. Forty percent of them. And their education and emotional lives will be at risk," Leventhal said.
