Part II
Presented by:
Dr. Susan Lipkins
Dr. Karen Siris
April 16, May 14
bullyinterventionexperts@gmail.com
Bullying is a type of harassment
 an intentional act of
aggression, based on
an imbalance of power, that is meant to harm
a victim either physically or psychologically.
 usually occurs repeatedly and over time,
however sometimes can be identified in a
single event.
Spotting “the bully”
 Bully may possess a superior trait
Attractive
Athletic
Sociable

Bully leads by intimidation
Others follow to avoid becoming
the next
 Bully gains power by the amount of followers
MORE FOLLOWERS = MORE POWER
The Bully/Victim Cycle
 Identification with the Aggressor
 Victims who have been repeatedly bullied often
have an increase in aggression
 When they are put in a position of control or
power they identify with the bully and do onto
others what has been done to them
 Thus the victim becomes the bully
TYPES OF BULLYING BEHAVIORS
 PHYSICAL
 Hitting, punching, tripping
 Kicking, pushing, scratching
 Damaging/stealing property
 VERBAL
 Name calling, teasing,
taunting
 Making offensive remark
 Making discriminatory
remarks
 Verbally threatening,
intimidating
 SOCIAL/EMOTIONAL/
RELATIONAL
 Excluding or threatening to
exclude
 Spreading rumors, gossiping
 Ostracizing, alienating
 Using threatening looks or
gestures
 Extortion
 CYBERBULLYING
Use of the internet or cell
phone to harass and intimidate
Cyberbullying vs.
Face to face bullying
 Anonymity
 Accessibility
 Bystander
 Punitive Fears
 Victims of cyberbullying often do not report in
fear that their computer or phone privileges
will be taken away.
Gender Differences
Males
 tend to use physical aggression such as hitting, pushing,
slapping, and elbowing another child
Females
 tend to use the tactics of social alienation and
intimidation, such as exclusion from play, manipulation
of friendships, gossiping maliciously, or writing malicious
notes
 Males and females both use extortion
Familial Aspects
 Mirroring - how we learn
 Child is observing mom, dad or sibs as the
bully and identifying with them
 Child is victim of bullying at home and
perpetrator of bullying in school
 Child is being bullied at home by siblings
or parents and is a victim
Psychological Aspects
 Human nature?
 Conditioning
 Genetics
 Alleles - The short allele of the MAOA
gene induces fear of social rejection, ...
those with this allele show greatest
conformity to group norms to avoid
rejection.

(http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2853930/)
School Aspects
 Bullying incidents are too often unnoticed
or ignored
 No clear rules and consequences
 Culture of “tattling” rather than “telling” or
“ratting” rather than “reporting”
 Little principal involvement with students
 Poor cohesiveness and communication
among staff members and between the
staff and the principal
 Lack of respect among all constituents
School Risk Factors
 Lack Of Clear Expectations, Both Academic
And Behavioral
 Lack Of Commitment Or Sense Of Belonging
At School
 Academic Failure
 Parents And Community Members Not Actively
Involved
School Protective Factors
 Communicates High Academic And Behavioral
Expectations
 Encourages Goal-Setting, Academic
Achievement And Positive Social Development
 Positive Attitudes Toward School
 Fosters Active Involvement Of Students,
Parents And Community Members
WHAT SCHOOLS CAN DO
 Schools need to implement bullying
prevention and intervention strategies
that fit their school culture
 Establish a district policy to prevents
and intervenes in all forms of bullying,
cyberbullying and harassment
Social and Emotional Learning
 Children need safe, supportive, and empowering learning
environments so they can thrive in school, at home, and in
their friendships. Emerging scientific evidence indicates
that helping children to become emotionally literate –
developing the skills of recognizing, understanding,
labeling, expressing, and regulating emotion – is possible
and beneficial. It requires support from all the adults
involved in the education of children (teachers, school
leaders, and parents), evidence-based practices, and
continuous skill-building opportunities from preschool
through high school.
• Dr. Marc Brackett, Yale University, 2011
Positive Culture (what we do in schools) =
Positive School Climate (how we feel in schools)
All adults in school:
Display warmth, positive tone,
interest and involvement
talk to each other and students with respect and
understanding
alert other staff members if they are displaying
unacceptable behavior toward a student
structure activities to minimize opportunities
for exclusion
Establish a system of rewards that positively
reinforces Pro-Social Behaviors
• Rewards should be given to those adults
and students who truly and
meaningfully achieve anti-bullying goals
• Reward bystanders for intervening or
reporting bullying.
• Reward teachers for establishing bullyfree classrooms.
• Reward support staff for reporting
appropriate information; i.e. as is done
with tip lines.
HOW?
 Commit to training all constituents of
the school community in prevention
and intervention strategies
 Establish a bully intervention
team (BIT) at the school building level
to insure adherence to the district
policy….
Bully Intervention Team
Who: Principal, mental health
professionals, guidance counselors,
teachers, non-teaching staff (aides,
bus drivers, custodians)
What: Create a bully intervention
plan that includes methods for
prevention and intervention.
Bully Intervention Team:
 Creates anti-bullying policy
 Creates a reporting system that uses a “DECISION
TREE” with specific plans of action when
incidents are reported
 Develops and publicizes hierarchal consequences
for bullying behaviors
 Develops intervention strategies and trains
stakeholders
 Reward pro-social behaviors that support the
policy
Training to Report – WHO?
students
administration,
security personnel,
teachers
coaches,
bus drivers
aides
custodial staff
parents
Develop Specific Systems to
Report
 Develop a 24/7 district-wide anonymous,
online system and a telephone hotline;
publicize the system
 Create “suggestion boxes” in each classroom
and at other locations that give students the
opportunity to communicate their concerns.
 Primary goal is to create a culture where
students feel comfortable reporting to a
responsible adult
Telling vs. Tattling
 Tattling
“When you tell on someone to get them in
trouble.”
 Telling - Reporting
“When you are telling an adult because you are
trying to keep yourself safe, someone else safe or
keep the school safe.”
Should there be consequences for
Failure to Report ???
 ...for personnel who do not report
information regarding bullying and
other threatening behaviors
(similar to child abuse mandates)
 …for students who do not report
information regarding bullying and
other threats of violence.
Rationale for threat assessment
 FBI and the Secret Service conducted
studies of school shootings and found
that the perpetrators were often victims
of bullying who had become angry and
depressed, and were influenced by a
variety of social, familial, and
psychological factors (O’Toole, 2000;
Vossekuil, 2002).
 Implications for the school
 Issue of homicide/suicide and bullycide.
Decision Tree
 Evaluate the incident/threat
 Is threat transient or substantive?
 Get specifics by interviewing the
victim, bully and bystanders,
individually.
 Write down the exact content of the
event and statements made by each.
 Consider the circumstances and
intent.
INCIDENT/Threat REPORTED TO
BULLY INTERVENTION TEAM
Step 1. Evaluate Incident
• interview the instigator, the recipient and the
bystanders
• record the statements
• review the circumstances and the intentions of all
parties
Step 2. Decide whether incident is clearly transient or
substantive
•Consider criteria for transient versus substantive
incidents
•Consider student’s age, credibility, and previous
discipline history
Incident is clearly
transient
Incident is
substantive or
Not clear
Incident is clearly
transient
Step 3. Respond to transient
Incident: reprimand,
Parent notification, etc.
Student can make
Amends and attend mediation
or counseling
Step 5: Respond to serious Substantive threat
• Take immediate pre- cautions to protect
victim
•Notify victim’s parents
•Notify student’s parent
•Consider contacting Law Enforcement
•Refer student for counseling, mediation
or appropriate mediation
•Discipline student appropriate to severity of
situation
Incident is
very serious
Step 4: Decide whether substantive incident is
serious or very serious(threat to assault, use
weapon, rape, inflict serious injury
Step 6. Respond to VERY Serious
Substantive threat
•Conduct safety evaluation
•Take immediate precautions
to protect victims
•Notify victim’s parents
•Notify student’s parents
•Consult with law enforcement
•Begin a mental health evaluation
of the student
• Discipline student as appropriate
Step 7. IMPLEMENT A SAFETY PLAN
• Complete a written plan
• Maintain contact with the student
• Revise plan as needed
Incident Interview
 Who does the interview?
 How will the interview be conducted?
 When will the interview take place?
 Where will the interview occur?
 What form will be used?
Disciplinary Consequences
Hierarchal
 Verbal warning/reprimand to stop
bullying behaviors
 Parent notification of behavior and
expectations
 Counseling/support for victim and bully
 In-school or out of school suspension
 Student can make amends – restorative
justice type of activity
Disciplinary Consequences
SEVERE INCIDENT – If child poses a threat to
psychological or physical well being of the school
constituents – disrupting learning environment by
actions
 Alternate school assigned if possible
 Homebound instruction until placement
assigned
 Expulsion is recommended
 Law Enforcement consulted
 Law Enforcement contacts bully and others
involved in case
Disciplinary - Logistic
 Alter schedule of bully to increase
supervision
 Alter schedule of bully to
minimize contact with recipient
 Change or lose transportation
 Add adult presence to protect
victim
 Other safety precaution
Therapeutic Discipline Strategies
 Student is evaluated for special education
 Mental health evaluation by school staff
 Mental health evaluation by outside
agency
Services:
 School based counseling
 Outside counseling
 Out of district therapeutic placement
Questions ???
Early Intervention
 Identify, monitor and track the health and
well being of victims or students at risk
 Identify students with leadership skills
and re-direct them to become more
positive leaders
 Establish a mentor system in which adults
mentor students who are likely to be
victimized
 Encourage the community to connect to
school personnel with their concerns
Mental Health Interventions/guidance
counselors, social workers and psychologists
 Work with individuals who have been
identified as being “pre-victims” or “prebullies” to change their behaviors
 Provide crisis intervention services to
victims, bystanders and bullies at the time
of an incident
 Be the point person for victims and bullies
and develop a special working relationship
 Work individually and in groups to develop
empathy
Victim-Intervention
Give victims a VOICE
Teach victims to say NO!-verbally
and with appropriate body
language
Teach victims to travel with a
buddy
Victim-Intervention
 Provide class experiences where
victim is paired with other students
to increase pool of relationships and
desensitize others to victim
 Encourage independent thinking for
victim and class, in order to resist
bully
 Give victims a point person to go to
for support and to report incidences.
Victim- Counseling
 to change behaviors which increase
the likelihood of being victimized
 to reduce sensitivity
Provide assertiveness training
groups
Involve parents appropriately.
Bully-Intervention
 change the dynamics of power so that the
bully is not overtly or covertly reinforced
by the teacher, coach or other authority
figures
 identify the bully as having anti-social
behaviors which will lead to trouble
 listen to the bully and give him/her a
point person to speak with whose role is
to help the bully use their leadership
skills in a positive manner, emphasizing
cooperation, collaboration and equality.
 develop empathy in bully
Bully-Counseling
 use individual counseling sessions to
develop empathy and identification with
the victim
 try to develop insight and understanding of
why the bully behaves in that manner
 provide alternative approaches to
interactions and model cooperative
behaviors
 discuss short and long term consequences
of being a bully
 involve parents as needed
Bystander Intervention
“The whole drama is supported by the bystander.
The theater can’t take place if there’s no
audience.”
(Labi, N. “Let Bullies Beware.” Time online, March 25, 2001.)
ENCOURAGE bystanders to:
 Speak up to bullies if it is safe to do so
 Band together as a group against bullies
 Avoid joining in
 Ask adults for help
 Reach out as friends to isolated peers, be
an ally, offer support
 Continue to offer victim support at future
time
Why don’t more bystanders intervene?
 They fear getting hurt or fear retribution
(becoming the next victim)
 They feel powerless to stop the bully.
 They don’t like the victim or believe the
victim “deserves” it.
 They think that telling adults won’t help
or it may make things worse.
 They don’t know what to do.
Turning Bystanders into Upstanders
• Help students understand the
dynamics of bullying situations – 80%
of students stand by and watch
• Train interested students in teaching
the strategies of upstanding behaviors
• Help the students understand the
power they have to make a difference –
that THEY are the solution
Turning Bystanders into Upstanders
• Insure that bystanders understand
that adults will support their
actions
• Teach all children about the
reporting system that is in place in
your school
• Reward “upstanding” behaviors
and make them the norm.
Teacher Intervention Strategies
 Be aware of student friendship and create
working partnerships and groups for
students that promote positive interactions
 Hold class meetings that air student’s
concerns and feelings (group guidance,
advisory)
 Be on the alert for bullying behaviors and
step in… Refer to the class charter
 Follow established guidelines for hierarchal
consequences that have been established for
bullying behaviors (physical, social,
emotional)
Support Staff
Intervention Strategies
Adequate numbers of TRAINED support staff during unstructured time
such as recess, lunch room, hallway passing, bus stops, etc. should be
available
SUPPORT STAFF:
 should be trained in bullying prevention and intervention
strategies
 should adhere to school rules and acceptable behavior policy
 should have time to communicate with classroom teachers and
supervisors
 should be trained in a reward and consequence system that
reinforces positive behaviors and have authority to
implement it
 should be on alert for bullying behaviors and quickly
intervene and report
Parent Intervention Strategies
 Parents will be taught to recognize
the signs of bully and victim
behaviors
 Parents will be encouraged to model
appropriate upstander behavior
 Parents will be taught when and how to intervene
 Parents will learn how to report incidents
 Parents will learn how to support children who are
being victimized by bullying and cyber bullying
 Parents need to confront excuses and not accept the
answer “just joking.”
Caring Majority Program
 Invite 6th grade students to help create a
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CARING MAJORITY
Train 6th graders through workshop
Create an “upstander” philosophy
“ambassadors” form teams and create their own
grade level presentations
“ambassadors” take a mentoring role in the grade
level they have chosen
Caring Majority becomes a part of the school
culture and enhances a positive school climate.
Caring Majority Ambassadors
 Seek the help of students to spread the word
about the
dangers of bullying - can be done at various
ways at all levels
Caring Majority Ambassadors - Elementary
 Caring Allies – Middle School
 Natural Helpers – High School
• Training given by principal with support of
social worker/psychologist
• Students train the classmates on the
importance of inclusion, empathy and caring
about each other
• On-going partnerships/mentoring established
between older and younger students
CARING MAJORITY
AMBASSADORS
Today’s presentation is available online at:
bullyinterventionexperts.com