Massachusetts Ranks #1 in Bullying Prevention in Schools

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Saturday, February 14, 2015

Patrick Sargent, GoLocal Worcester Contributor

Massachusetts ranks first in bullying prevention in schools among all 50 states and Washington, D.C.. According to data by WalletHub, the Commonwealth ranked third in percentage of students bullied on school property, and ranked first with the lowest percentage of fights in school and lowest percentage of students missing school because they felt unsafe.

The report, 2015's Best & Worst States at Controlling Bullying, identified weighted the rankings by bullying incident rates, cyber bullying incident rates, and percentage of students involved in a physical altercation at school.

SEE MAP BELOW TO COMPARE OTHER STATES TO MASS.

"Every day across the country children are threatened, teased, taunted and tormented by schoolyard bullies.  Now, it’s in children’s homes via the internet known as cyber bullying.  Bullies use technology to harass victims at all hours, in wide circles and at warp speed.  Physical assault has been replaced by 24 hour online bashing.   In this age of technology we must encourage and maintain channels where students can directly communicate with parents, teachers, counselors and the members of the community," said John Monfredo, Worcester School Committee member and GoLocal Worcester MINDSETTER™.

Bullying in Massachusetts Schools

On WalletHub, Professor Malcolm Watson of Brandeis University in Waltham, Mass., said "Risk factors for children being bullied (or becoming a victim) are varied, but often include being isolated without a strong network of friends or supporters, often being withdrawn and socially awkward, being submissive and not assertive, and often being smaller and younger than the bully."

Massachusetts finished second in the rankings in "Bullying Environment and Impact." This ranking is weighted on several key data points including percentage of high school students who missed school because they felt unsafe at school, percentage of students who experienced feeling said or hopeless, percentage of students who attempted suicide, the number of psychologists per capita, cost of truancy for schools as a result of bullying, and state anti-bullying laws and policies.

According to the data, Massachusetts has the lowest percentage of students in the country who attempted suicide. 

Massachusetts law defines bullying as "..the repeated use by one or more students or by a member of a school staff including, but not limited to, an educator, administrator, school nurse, cafeteria worker, custodian, bus driver, athletic coach, advisor to an extracurricular activity or paraprofessional of a written, verbal or electronic expression or a physical act or gesture or any combination thereof, directed at a victim that: (i) causes physical or emotional harm to the victim or damage to the victim's property; (ii) places the victim in reasonable fear of harm to himself or of damage to his property; (iii) creates a hostile environment at school for the victim; (iv) infringes on the rights of the victim at school; or (v) materially and substantially disrupts the education process or the orderly operation of a school. For the purposes of this section, bullying shall include cyber-bullying."

The state defines cyber bullying as "bullying through the use of technology or any electronic communication, which shall include, but shall not be limited to, any transfer of signs, signals, writing, images, sounds, data or intelligence of any nature transmitted in whole or in part by a wire, radio, electromagnetic, photo electronic or photo optical system, including, but not limited to, electronic mail, internet communications, instant messages or facsimile communications."

"The anti-bullying law has been in effect for several years but it’s one of those issues that needs to be emphasized over and over again," said Monfredo. "This law is essential for it calls attention to the problems in our society and elevates bullying to an important social issue."

Bullying Prevention in Worcester

Worcester Public Schools has developed a comprehensive Bullying Prevention and Intervention Plan as a result of the 'Act Relative to Bullying in our Schools' being passed in May of 2010. All staff in Public Schools received a training on the Bullying Plan, including reporting requirements of anyone observed or is told a student is being bullied.

"We implemented a Flow Chart on the definitions of Bullying and Cyber bullying for all staff to have and the deadlines Principals and Administrators must conform to in investigating complaints of bullying that are made by students,staff, and or parents," said Robert Pezzella, School Safety Liasion for Worcester Public Schools. "My Office is the Bullying Reporting Line for anyone to make a complaint of bullying against a student if they feel Principals have not addressed the complaint appropriately."

According to Pezzella, WPS has conducted bullying and Cyber bullying trainings with the District Attorney's Office. These trainings happen on an annual basis across schools in the city.

Pezzella said, "My office has collaborated with You,Inc., juvenile court, police, and the District Attorney's Office in conducting an annual BRACE( Bullying,Remediation,and Court Education) Conference to Central Mass. Educators on giving them current information on laws and policies on bullying."

The 3rd Annual BRACE event will be held on February 25 at Cyprian Keyes Golf Course in Boylston. 

Monfredo said, "Please remember bullying is not just a problem in poor schools, nor is it confined to a particular ethnic group; it’s universal.  As difficult and widespread a problem as bullying is it is also a problem that can be solved.  Research from across the nation shows that when schools and parents take specific action, bullying can be eliminated."

National Bullying Statistics:

• - Roughly 160,000 children miss school every day due to fear of attack or intimidation by other students. 
• - 56% of students have personally witnessed some type of bullying at school.
• - 71% of students report incidents of bullying as a problem at their school.
• - 15% of all school absenteeism is directly related to fears of being bullied at school.
• - 86% of students said, “other kids picking on them, making fun of them or bullying them” causes teenagers to turn to lethal violence in the schools
• - According to bullying statistics, 1 out of every 10 students who drops out of school does so because of repeated bullying.

Source: Make Beats Not Beat Downs

Bullying Prevention Rankings in the United States:

Source: WalletHub

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Related Slideshow: MA School Districts With The Most Suspensions

Related Articles

• John Monfredo: The Dangers of Cyber Bullying
• Will The New Anti-Bullying Law Stop Bullying in Worcester Schools?
• John Monfredo: Bullying—A Problem for Everyone
• Couple Writes Children’s Book to Fight Bullying
• John Monfredo: Anti-Bullying Programs a Must for Worcester Schools
• John Monfredo: Anti-Bullying Conference Focuses on Efforts in Worcester
• Leonardo Angiulo: Can A Minor Be Arrested For Cyberbullying?
• John Monfredo: Worcester Continues Its Crusade to Address Bullying
• John Monfredo: Worcester’s Anti-Bullying Conference
• John Monfredo: Bullying Must Be Adressed at Home and in School

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