Strategies for Dealing with Cyberbullying
in a School Setting
Prevention
School Policy
 Have clear roles for school personnel to play
 Establish committee that determine the specific needs of the school
 Purpose of policy is to protect students, staff, and educational environment of
school and that cyberbullying is clearly prohibited.
 Policy needs to address use of school’s internet system as well as use of
personal cell phones and computers while on campus.
 Policy needs to address cyberbullying off-campus
 Be aware of legal standards when crafting off-campus policy
 Need specific definition of cyberbullying and harassment
 Graduated consequences and remedial actions
 Procedures for investigating
 Clear statement that students will be disciplined if behavior results in
considerable disruption of educational environment
 Procedures for educating students, teachers, staff, and parents about
cyberbullying
Institute a general Internet Safety / Cyberbullying curriculum – trains
students in ways to navigate the internet and recognize cyberbullying.
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iSafe (http://www.isafe.org/) – general internet safety curriculum
CyberSmart! cyberbullying curriculum
http://www.nasponline.org/resources/cyberbullying/index.aspx
Seattle Public Schools cyberbullying curriculum
http://www.seattleschools.org/area/prevention/cbms.html
Committee for Children – Cyberbullying prevention modules
http://community.cfchildren.org/home
Teach basic internet protection strategies
 Block the sender of IM or text messaging
 Log off the computer and spend time letting situation cool down
 Not responding to hurtful messages
Establish mentoring program – pair older students with younger students
 Encourages students to be proactive in addressing cyberbullying
 Encourages leadership skills in older students
Monitor at-risk students for being cyberbullied
 Kids who are higher risk have poor social skills and other noteworthy
attributes such as learning disabilities, obesity, ADHD, anxiety, depression,
and Aspergers/Autism
Signs of Cyberbullying – Victim
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Suddenly stops using the computer
Appears anxious when IM or e-mail appears
Seems angry or depressed following use of computer
Appears uncomfortable about going to school or out in general
Avoids talking about what they are doing on computer
Becomes unusually withdrawn from friends and family members
Having been a victim of traditional bullying
Signs of Cyberbullying – Cyberbully
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Quickly closes programs or switches screens when someone walks by
Uses computer at all hours of the night
Becomes abnormally upset if can’t use the computer
Laughs excessively while using the computer
Avoids talking about what they are doing on computer
Uses multiple online accounts or account that is not their own
Intervention
 Develop intervention strategies for when cyberbullying does occur (Willard,
2007)
 Save evidence of cyberbullying
 Conduct a threat assessment
 Assess response options and determine appropriate responses
 Identify perpetrator
 Support the victim through school support and counseling options
 Provide guidance on how to remove or stop the cyberbullying
 Seek to use informal resolution strategies like contacting parent of
perpetrator, offer counseling or remediation in school, seek out underlying
cause.
Long-term Solutions – Digital Citizenship
 Eventual goal is to have students progress from an external motivation for
good behavior to an internal one. This will allow students to develop an
internal moral compass so they can behave as a digital citizen even in the
absence of external (school) authorities.
 Effort needs to be sustained for multiple grades with integration into existing
curriculum.
First Steps:
 Concentrate on school climate with school-wide intervention programs
focusing on anti-bullying and bolstering student self-worth.
 Adopting a collaborative problem solving approach to discipline and
particularly cyberbullying situations
 Ross Green (http://www.livesinthebalance.org/)
 Key is to involve students within the discipline system and ensure
their questions and concerns are heard.
Digital Citizenship
Components of Digital Citizenship (Ribble) – schools have the flexibility to modify
which elements are focused on based on their needs.
Recommended Group Framework for 9 Elements:
- Directly affect student learning and academic performance
- Affect overall school environment and students behavior (cyberbullying)
- Affect student life outside the school environment.
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Digital Access – full electronic participation in society
Digital Commerce – buying and selling of goods online
Digital Communication – electronic exchange of information
Digital Literacy – capability to use digital technology and knowing when and
how to use it.
Digital Etiquette* – standards of conduct expected by other digital technology
users.
Digital Law – legal rights and restrictions governing technology use.
Digital Rights & Responsibilities* – privileges and freedoms extended to all
digital technology users, and the behavioral expectations that come with
them.
Digital Health and Wellness – elements of physical and psychological wellbeing related to digital technology use.
Digital Security* – precautions that all technology users must take to
guarantee their personal safety and security of their network.
Important – integration of lessons within the school curriculum.
*denotes particular importance for cyberbullying
Parent Training - Advice
Communication with Parents
 Most parents trust their teens to do what’s right online.
 Roughly half of teens’ say their parents know some but not all of what they
do online.
 One-third of teens don’t tell their parents what they are doing online and
would change their behavior if they knew parents were watching.
 Parents are less likely to monitor teens’ activities as they get older.
 Teens more likely to hide what they do online from parents as they get older.
*** Open communication with your child is the best way to deal with cyberbullying.
If Your Child is a Cyberbully
 Establish very clear prohibitions about behaving in this manner.
 Warn against taking any action in retaliation or asking anyone else to engage
in retaliation.
 Immediately install monitoring software, and inform your child about this.
 Direct your child not to access the internet anywhere but at school or at
home. Take away cell phones and any other internet-enabled devices.
How to Prevent Cyberbullying
 Keep home computer(s) in easily viewable places, such as a family room or
kitchen.
 Talk regularly with child about on-line activities he or she is involved in.
 Talk specifically about cyberbullying and encourage child to tell you
immediately if he or she is a victim of cyberbullying, cyberstalking, or other
illegal or troublesome online behavior.
 Encourage your child to tell you if he or she is aware of others who may be
the victims of such behavior.
 Explain that cyberbullying is harmful and unacceptable behavior. Outline your
expectations for responsible online behavior and make it clear that there will
be consequences for inappropriate behavior.
 Although adults must respect privacy of youth, concerns for child’s safety
may sometimes override privacy concerns.
 Tell child that you may review his or her online communications if you think
there is reason for concern.
 Consider installing parental control filtering software and/or tracking
programs, but don’t rely solely on these tools.
When Child has been Victimized
Sending inappropriate language may violate “Terms and Conditions” of e-mail
services, Internet Service Providers, web sites, and cell phone companies.
 Consider contacting these providers and filing a complaint.
 Consider contacting the cyberbully’s parents.
 If the cyberbullying is coming through e-mail or a cell phone, it may be
possible to block future contact from the cyberbully.
 Contact your school - If the cyberbullying is occurring through your school
district’s Internet system, school administrators have an obligation to
intervene.
 Consider contacting an attorney in cases of serious cyberbullying.
 Contact police if cyberbullying involves acts of:
 Threats of violence
 Extortion
 Obscene or harassing phone calls or text messages
 Harassment, stalking, or hate crimes
 Child pornography
 If uncertain if cyberbullying violates your jurisdiction’s criminal laws, contact
local police, who will advise you.
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Resources:
 Stop Cyberbullying
http://www.stopcyberbullying.org/index2.html
 A Thin Line – MTV
http://www.athinline.org/
 National Crime Prevention Council
http://www.ncpc.org/
 Cyberbullying.us
http://www.cyberbullying.us/
 Wired Safety
www.wiredsafety.org
 Wired Kids
www.wiredkids.org
 Cyberbullying.ca
www.cyberbullying.ca
 Stop Bullying Now
www.stopbullyingnow.hrsa.gov
Prepared by Dan Florell, Ph.D. Eastern Kentucky University