School district aims to reduce bullying
Tavares
GREG JONES | Staff Writer
gregjones@dailycommercial.com
Lake County school officials want to educate the public about bullying in schools in an effort to reduce abuse.
The district has no plans to change its policy.
Aurelia Cole, chief of administration for the school district, said school officials will share bullying reports with principals and assistant principals.
"We want to ensure this policy is being carried out to the highest extent possible," she said.
Students may continue filing bullying reports. Reports can be filed anonymously.
The district had 43 documented incidents of bullying this past school year. School officials say they want to reduce that number.
"What we plan to do is work with the IT department to make this form is available in a share folder, so schools can have access," Cole said. "The reason is we are trying to eliminate any problems that will (hinder) addressing bus or campus bullying complaints that impact students from other school campuses."
Cole said a bullying incident could involve students from more than one school, so sharing information is important.
Cole said she'll increase communiction between her staff and the district transportation department.
"We will speak to them more frequently to ensure cameras are working on buses and especially buses where we have already had reports of bullying problems," she said. "So we are probably have our security manager in charge of that, too, because we want to make sure these cameras are working."
She said the security manager will work with school principals to ensure cameras are installed.
School Board member Rosanne Brandeburg asked Cole to see how the district can include student-uploaded YouTube videos into the bullying policy to address cyberbullying.
"We need to have language that says, 'If I'm bullying Dr. (Susan) Moxley, and Mrs. (Kyleen) Fischer is taking the video and she uploads it, there needs to be repercussions for Mrs. Fischer," Brandeburg said. "She wasn't doing the bullying, but she got it taped and sent out. Now a days, it is not enough someone just takes a picture and sends it or writes something nasty. With all these smart phones those things are instantaneous."
Friday, August 03, 2012 - www.dailycommercial.com/080312bull