Expect
Respect
Parent Kick-Off
October 8, 2013
Presenters: Tricia Link and Julie McAllister
SWAT
Stop Walk
Away Talk
The Logic: Why invest in Bullying
Prevention?

The National School Safety Center
called bullying the most enduring and
underrated problem in U.S. schools

◦ 58% of students perceived teasing,
spreading lies or rumors, or saying mean
things to be problems.
◦ Only 25% of teachers perceived these
behaviors to be problems.
(Beale, 2001)

Nearly 30 percent of students report
being involved in bullying as either an
aggressor or a recipient
(Cook, Williams, Guerra, & Kim, 2010; Nansel, et al., 2001;
Swearer & Espelage, 2004)

Victims and recipients of bullying are
more likely to skip or drop out of
school.
Nansel et al. (2001). Bullying Behaviors Among U.S. Youth. JAMA

(Berthold & Hoover, 2000; Neary & Joseph, 1994)

Victims and aggressors of bullying are
more likely to suffer from
underachievement and sub-potential
performance in employment settings.
(Carney & Merrell, 2001; NSSC, 1995)

Students on the autism spectrum are
more likely to be victimized than their
non-disabled peers
◦
(Little, 2002)
Staff are likely to underestimate the extent
of harassment and bullying. One study
showed:
85% of LGBT students report being
verbally harassed, 40% report physical
harassment, and 19% reported being
physically assaulted in the past year
because of their sexual orientation
(GLSEN, 2009)

40-60% of students with intellectual
disabilities report being bullied. But not at
a level of intensity or chronicity that differs
from typically developing adolescent
( Christensen, Fraynt, Neece & Baker, 2012)
2
What is Bullying?
“Bullying” is repeated aggression, harassment, threats or
intimidation when one person has greater status or power
than the another.
All bullying behavior is disrespectful,
not all disrespectful behavior is
bullying
What Does it Look Like?
• Physical aggression
• Cyber bullying
• Repeated acts of isolation • Rumors
• Name calling (race, gender, • Threats
SES, disability, sexual
orientation, etc.)
3
What Reinforces Bullying?
•
Bullying is behavior, not a trait,
or diagnosis, or a person.
“Always with the ‘ing”
•
What rewards Bullying Behavior?
◦ Likely many different rewards are
effective
◦ Most common are:




Attention from bystanders
Attention and reaction of “recipient”
Self-delivered praise
Obtaining objects (food, clothing)
◦ Bullying is seldom maintained by
feedback from adults
4
What is S.W.A.T.?
S.W.A.T. is a curriculum that teaches
students how to deal with disrespectful
behavior within the framework of a
school-wide PBIS system
 S.W.A.T. stands for STOP WALK AWAY
TALK

Why Should Students Use S.W.A.T.?
Teaches students how to stand up to
behavior that they feel is offensive or not
wanted
 Empowers students
 Promotes self-advocacy and selfdetermination
 Decreases disrespectful behavior related
issues in school

When Should Students Use
S.W.A.T.?





When students complain about disrespectful
behavior, receiving criticism or being teased
When students do not know how to handle
conflicts well
When a student seems to react to others
teasing or instigation
When students seem to have poor
interactions and frequent conflicts
When students witness or are informed of
any situations that students feel disrespected
or offended
SWAT Student Curriculum

Contains 6 lessons
1. Students are taught the stop/ walk/ talk
response
2. How to reply when someone delivers the
stop/walk/talk to you
3. How to respond to gossip
4. How to respond to inappropriate remarks
5. How to respond to cyber-bullying
6. Generic practice lesson with other specific
problems behaviors that may surface in school
How to Use SWAT




“Stop”- Students will be taught to look directly at
the student, put up a stop signal, and in a clear
voice tell the student to stop!
Walk Away- If a student gives another student the
stop signal and the behavior continues, he is to
walk away
Talk- If a student has tried the stop signal and it
doesn’t work, he needs to talk to an adult
It is the adults job to assess the situation by
asking specific questions then either praise
or practice the “stop, walk and talk” steps
Scott Ross, University of Oregon
10
Adult Script with the
Reporting Student

Script
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
“Thanks for talking to me”
Ask “who, what, when, where”
Assess for child’s safety
“Did you tell _____to stop?
“Did you calmly walk away”
Praise student or Practice
Adult Script with the Accused

Used when the student follows SWAT or
if there are safety concerns
1. “Thanks for talking to me”
2. “Did _____tell you to stop?”
3. “Did _____walk away?”
a) Yes: “how did you respond?”
b) No: Practice “Stop. Breathe. Leave.”
Scott Ross, University of Oregon
13
Evaluation and Monitoring
Student surveys and behavioral data
Student Surveys
Located on the Counselor web-page by grade level
In Your School…
Disagree
I feel safe
 Other students treat me respectfully?
 I treat others students respectfully?
 Adults treat me respectfully?
 I treat adults in my school respectfully?
1
1
1
1
1
In the past week
 Has anyone treated you disrespectfully?
 Have you asked someone to stop?
 Has anyone asked you to stop?
 Have you seen someone else treated disrespectfully
2
2
2
2
2
3
3
3
3
3
Agree
4
4
4
4
4
No
No
No
No
5
5
5
5
5
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
4th Grade

In the past week has anyone treated you
disrespectfully?
42%
58%
4th Grade

In the past week have you seen someone
else treated disrespectfully?
51%
50%
Monthly Review
How Can Parents Help?
Bullying is not a noun – we need to change
the language from “bullying” to disrespectful
behavior.
 Learn how to respond when your student
reports disrespectful behavior

◦ Say “thanks for telling me”
◦ Ask “Did you tell _____to stop?” “Did you
calmly walk away?”
◦ Praise and Practice “Stop, Walk, and Talk”

Talk to your child’s teacher if you have
concerns
Let’s Practice

Script
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
“Thanks for talking to
me”
Ask “who, what,
when, where”
Assess for child’s
safety
“Did you tell
_____to stop?
“Did you calmly walk
away”
Praise student or
Practice
Let’s Practice

Script
1. “Thanks for talking
to me”
2. “Did _____tell you
to stop?”
3. “Did _____walk
away?”
a)
b)
Yes: “how did you
respond?”
No: Practice “Stop.
Breathe. Leave.”
I. The Logic (recap)
Bullying is “behavior” … not a trait
 Bullying happens much more than we think/see, and is a
major barrier to effective education
 Bullying is maintained by social rewards from other
students (recipients and bystanders):
◦ Not consequences from adults
 Bullying will continue as long as it continues to be
rewarded.
◦ Even if we teach appropriate behavior and punish
bullying
 Preventing bullying requires that students remove the
social rewards that maintain bullying behaviors.

22
Resources
Adapted from the National Center on
PBIS
 www.pbisillinois.org
