Elementary schools join forces to stop bullying
By NANCY KIMBALL
The Daily Inter Lake
Getting everybody on the same page in putting a stop to bullying - from the police chief and mayor to the crossing guard and bus driver - is the best way to provide a child-safe community.
That's the philosophy of the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program, a philosophy embraced by administrators and a team of Kalispell teachers at Russell and Peterson elementary schools.
School officials invited police and parents to a staff training Wednesday on the Olweus program during early-release professional development sessions. Members of staff core teams that trained in August led the sessions.
"If the officers can talk the same talk when they come speak or have lunch with the kids, we'll know what's being communicated with the kids out in the community," Russell Principal Darren Schlepp said.
All Kalispell elementaries are adopting the internationally used program that Edgerton School pioneered in District 5 last year. Some of the junior-high staff members are beginning their training so the program can be implemented in another year or two. Helena Flats is the first rural elementary in Kalispell's high-school district to begin Olweus training this year.
Wednesday's training was heavy on common sense.
No reasonable adult tolerates or initiates bullying, Schlepp told his staff gathered in the Russell school gym Wednesday afternoon. So, he pointed out, Olweus is not changing anything considered acceptable at the school.
But it is giving everyone a universal language that calls bullying what it is and makes very clear that bullying will stop. If it doesn't stop, predetermined consequences follow.
There are four basic rules in Olweus-subscribing schools:
1. We will not bully others.
2. We help students who are bullied.
3. We will include students who are easily left out.
4. When we know somebody is being bullied, we will tell an adult at school and an adult at home.
That's it.
It's pretty much about teaming up in support of one another instead of ganging up to pick on or intimidate the low kid on the balance-of-power totem pole.
"This gives a common, consistent language that we can use to handle bullying issues," Schlepp said.
Today, a few more law-enforcement officers and parents are speaking that language.
Flathead High School's school resource officer Carl Brisendine and Flathead County sheriff's alcohol enforcement officer Travis Bruyer sat in on the training at Russell School. At Peterson, SRO-in-training Steve Hoover learned more about Olweus.
Kalispell Mayor Pam Kennedy sat in on an earlier training. Police Chief Frank Garner has been in on it. The Summit's after-school program leader is in line for training. Parent-teacher organizations at each school have been exposed to the ideas and are running with the concepts.
"A lot of community coordination is needed," Schlepp said.
"We want them to understand the foundation, to have a community understanding of how we can work through challenges between peers in all settings. We need a continuous dialog with these folks, to spread the word, to get outreach support."
Russell and Peterson schools plan schoolwide kickoff assemblies in November, preceded by an evening session on Olweus with the parent-teacher organizations.
Russell's spaghetti dinner and Olweus training for parents will be in late October or early November. On Nov. 7, the school-wide assembly will explain the "Russell'n Up Bullies" theme that teachers are building on this fall.
At Peterson, an Oct. 17 parent pizza night and Olweus training begins at 7:30 p.m. in the gym. The schoolwide kickoff is at 9 a.m. Nov. 15 in the gym, featuring speaker Mack Bledsoe, police Chief Garner and high-school athlete Brock Ostweiler.
Weekly or bi-weekly classroom meetings in each school will reinforce anti-bullying concepts and maintain an open discussion among students and teachers.
Reporter Nancy Kimball can be reached at 758-4483 or by e-mail at nkimball@dailyinterlake.com.