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Schools

"If It's Mean, Intervene"

Bullying was the topic Thursday night at an event held by Simsbury Public Schools aimed at promoting a positive school climate.

Parents and guardians of Simsbury elementary school students tackled the topic of bullying at an informational work session at Tariffville Elementary School Thursday evening. 

The event was two-fold — it offered a session for background information on bullying as well as a hands-on workshop for parents and guardians to share their own ideas with each other and school administrators. 

Dr. Jo Ann Freiberg, an education consultant for the state Department of Education, spoke to the crowd on creating a safe, positive environment in the schools in an effort to reduce bullying. 

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“The ultimate remedy is a school climate where everyone feels they belong and they feel safe,” she said. 

Everyone can be mean from time to time, but whether it's within a family or a school system her motto is: “If it’s mean, intervene.”

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The quality of relationships that children have, Freiberg said, is important as well, be it between children, between children and teachers, or between adults. 

“Kids follow our lead,” she said. “Kids will treat others appropriately when we do.”

Freiberg pointed out five areas that correlate to how connected a child feels at school: how close a child is to people at school, whether the child is happy in school, whether the child feels a part of the school community, whether he or she feels that the adults treat the students fairly and lastly, whether he or she feels safe. 

Children who can say and feel all these five elements are true, Freiberg said, “do really well academically.”

Attendees were divided into several groups where they discussed three topics: what is working in the schools, concerns and the next steps the schools should take. 

Among the programs that are working in the schools were incentive programs that reward children for good behavior, principals or teachers addressing issues quickly, and parent involvement that instills good manners and behavior. Concerns included playground and bus behavior, identifying children “at risk” at both ends of the spectrum, lack of parent awareness, and how parents can know when to pursue a conflict. 

Attendees were given the opportunity at the end to provide feedback on the next steps that the schools should take in creating an environment that diminishes bullying. A script on how to address issues with students was one suggestion, as well as sending out resources to parents, being assertive with children and finding a way to gauge children’s “connectedness” in the schools. 

One parent asked Freiberg what the first steps should be if a child tells a parent he or she has been bullied. Freiberg suggested asking the child to explain what happened, and always keeping the lines of communication open. She said although the children will not want the parents to contact the school, it is important for the school to receive that information. 

“We need to be the ears and then communicate back to the school,” she said. 

Overall, parents and guardians in attendance said they appreciated the district arranging the event and shining light on a topic that is at the forefront of national news. 

“I thought it was great to see the administration being proactive,” said attendee and parent Joanna Hamilton. “It provided a safe environment for parents to find a safe environment for children.”

Tricia Laubscher agreed. 

“It was phenomenal,” she said. “It was very positive."

Laubscher said she hoped the event lays the groundwork for concrete steps to be taken by schools and parents to increase awareness and to begin a more open dialogue on the topic of bullying.

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